First Look
Microsoft will open its first flagship store � five stories, six years in the making � on October 26 (677 Fifth Ave.).
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Illustration by Jason Lee
(Photo: Courtesy of the vendor) |
1. Answer desks: Complimentary PC tune-ups; personal training for all Microsoft software and hardware.
2. Community center: Two 30-person theaters for Girls Who Code classes and NFL-player talks.
3. Video games: Xbox One (from $350) with games like Halo ($50) to play on video walls with surround sound.
4. Video screen: A massive Microsoft monitor � 30 feet and two stories tall � displays new products like the Microsoft Band 2 fitness band ($250).
5. Laptops: Microsoft Surface Books ($1,499) and Lenovo ThinkPad touchscreens ($1,099).
6. Phones: Lumia 950 ($550) and 950 XL ($650), the first to support Windows 10 software.
7. Tablets: Surface Pro 4 (from $899) available for the first time on opening day.
2x2: Sophisticated Halloween Candy
Trick or treat for the Goop set.
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(Photo: Courtesy of the vendors) |
Sweet:
Reese’s alternative: Unreal milk-chocolate peanut-butter cups, $5 per bag at Whole Foods.
Starburst alternative: Torie & Howard assorted-flavors fruit chews, $5 per bag at torieandhoward.com.
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(Photo: Courtesy of the vendors) |
Savory-sweet:
Reese’s alternative: Wild Ophelia smoked-salt peanut-butter cups, $4 at Gourmet Garage.
Starburst alternative: Flaver popcorn candies, $14 per case at flavercandies.com.
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(Photo: Courtesy of the vendor) |
Moving In
On November 24, Jean-Marc Gaucher, the CEO of French ballet-inspired brand Repetto, will open its first Stateside shop (400 W. Broadway).
�We were thinking about the days when we would custom-design shoes for Brigitte Bardot and Serge Gainsbourg. The store presents our first line of heels, which includes the fringed Virgin Tutu ($895), with ’60s-inspired ostrich feathers. We’ll still have the ballet flats that we’re known for � there will be an atelier where people can customize them in 250 colors � and the rest of the shop is ballet-inspired, too. We’ll also have taffeta skirts and shop clerks who are professional dancers.�
Three in One
Astoria’s new Chateau Le Woof (30-02 14th St.) is a pet shop that offers happy hour for dogs and also a café for humans.
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(Photo: Courtesy of the vendor) |
1. Eat: Single-origin La Colombe drip coffee ($2), and tuna niçoise salads ($9) and hummus-avocado sandwiches ($7) packaged off-site and served at a countertop café.
2. Feed: Weruva gluten-free canned steak-frites ($2.50) and the Honest Kitchen’s Icelandic catfish-skin dog treats ($13) in an outdoor faux-grass-covered dog dining area.
3. Play: In-store doggy frolicking from seven to eight every evening (from $3) and weekend birthday parties (from $35 per hour), plus private training sessions (prices vary by trainer).
Deconstruction
Launching in November: the $995 flat-pack Campaign sofa (campaignliving.com).
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(Photo: Courtesy of the vendor) |
Velcro-bound pure-�cotton covers are layered with foam, for easy cleaning or switching among five color options.
Back cushions have a 50-50 mixture of pillowlike down and supportive polyester.
A no-tools-necessary assembly allows for the couch to be broken down and rebuilt in minutes, should you be moving into a new apartment.
The recyclable-steel inner frame, manufactured by the company that creates Tesla parts, connects the arms, back, and base like Legos.
Seat cushions are filled with a high-density, sag-resistant, two-pounds-per-cubic-foot polyurethane foam.
Solid maple legs and straight lines are inspired by American mid-century furniture.
Top Five
Wanderlustre (419 Court St., Carroll Gardens) carries scrap-metal birds and shell-covered chests that Katy Grogan Ivanfy finds in her travels.
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(Photo: Courtesy of the vendor) |
�A street artisan who works in a parking lot in Johannesburg makes these metal bird sculptures (from $200). They look glamorous, which is ironic considering their origins.�
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(Photo: Courtesy of the vendor) |
�This quilted patchwork flag ($700) was made by the Fante Asafo community in Ghana. I think it would be cool thrown over a chair or hung on the wall in a kids’ room.�
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(Photo: Courtesy of the vendor) |
�This Kuba box ($950) is encrusted with beads and cowrie shells. I’ve been scanning the internet for another one, but I haven’t been able to find anything like it.�
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(Photo: Courtesy of the vendor) |
�The underside of this chandelier ($960) has a star pattern, so the light shines through little tiny holes that have a textured effect.�
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(Photo: Courtesy of the vendor) |
�A combination of two of my favorite things: gemstones and fragrance soap (from $12). The pink looks like rose quartz and smells like grapefruit.�