Ghost Story
With her new Ghost boutique at 28 Bond Street (646-602-2891), party-girl designer Tanya Sarne brings a covetably eccentric British sensibility to the of-the-moment block, where neighbors include Katayone Adeli and Daryl K. Fans of Sarne’s colorful wash-and-wear dresses, peasanty tops, and loose-knit sweaters, like Helena Bonham Carter, Nicole Kidman, and just about every English fashion model, will also find the sweet, funky Ghost kids’ line and a bunch of brightly embroidered home accessories. But don’t think Ghost is for haute hippies and hausfraus alone: The opening party drew Chloë Sevigny, Joaquin Phoenix, Liv Tyler, and Claire Danes.
SHYAMA PATEL
In the Bag
Planning a shotgun spring wedding or eloping to a desert island has never been easier. Designer Miguelina’s Honeymoon collection – inspired by clothes she made for her own honeymoon in Thailand – mixes washed-linen and crinkly cotton-gauze peasant dresses ($175), drawstring pants ($115), tunics ($115), and tanks ($55), bought à la carte or in sets that come in a virginal white linen bag (about $700). “It doesn’t matter if you’ve been rolling around in bed with your husband all night,” says Miguelina. “You can just wake up and go to breakfast in the same gown, wear it over your swimsuit all day, then go out for the evening.” Until her collection debuts at Bergdorf Goodman later this month, Miguelina is doing custom orders. Her first taker? The infamously unmarried Mariah Carey.
SARAH BROWN
Ratings Board
Log on to 2glow.com, the new beauty site launching this week, and you might just be buying Cynthia Rowley’s favorite candle, Pixie Yates’s body cream of choice, or Shoshanna Lonstein’s preferred facial exfoliant. Along with a slew of discerning beauty addicts like Marcia Kilgore, Plum and Lucy Sykes, Lulu Johnson, and Paige Novick, they’ve been recruited by the site to test and rate luxe beauty loot that has been nominated to top-ten lists by industry insiders like beauty editors, hairstylists, and makeup artists. The snappy, Zagat-like product ratings can be brutal: Lonstein gave wildflower-scented bath salts a top score of 5 for dissolvability but a less-than-stellar 3 for soothing power, explaining, “My skin didn’t feel that different afterward.”
S. B.
The Key Club
Nightspots have always showered favored patrons with embossed admission cards, VIP passes, and drink tickets. Eugene, the new Madison Square supper club, has a unique gift for preferred customers – a key to a small, unadorned private bathroom. “We only give them to special people,” explains owner Gene DeNino, who is distributing a total of 30, including the one he presented to Donatella Versace this week. Of course, if another key holder wants to use the bathroom while it is occupied, the privacy privilege quickly diminishes. “I’m thinking of putting a big sign on the door asking people to knock before entering,” says DeNino. Let’s hope not too many other establishments follow suit, or our key chains won’t fit in those itty-bitty evening purses.
BETH LANDMAN KEIL