First Look
Next month, punk icon Vivienne Westwood will open her largest store to date, and her only one in New York, in a three-floor prewar townhouse (14 E. 55th St.).
First floor
Seating area: Couch upholstered in Westwood’s signature squiggles print.
Second floor
Women’s accessories: Green houndstooth bags ($465) and suede pointy-toe oxfords ($815).
Vivienne Westwood collection: Red one-button miniskirts ($440) and fuzzy sweaters ($1,870).
Women’s couture: Plaid two-tone blazers ($5,435) and “Sexercise” T-shirts ($430) by Andreas Kronthaler for Vivienne Westwood.
Basement
Men’s runway: Bold print button-downs ($710) and asymmetrical blazers ($1,510).
Men’s accessories: Knit beanies ($190) and red leather boots ($1,140).
Men’s casual: Plaid pants ($345) and ribbed white mock-neck shirts ($105).
2x2: Beyond-the-Swan Pool Floats
Upgrade your vacation rental.
Reasonable
Snacks: Pepper, $10 at urbanoutfitters.com.
Pets: Swimline giant parrot, $33 at amazon.com.
Splurgy
Snacks: Funboy giant cherry, $80 at amazon.com.
Pets: Oversize lily frog, $150 at frontgate.com.
IRL
Mike Arnot opens a brick-and-mortar for his men’s-accessories start-up Owen & Fred (230 Mulberry St.).
“The thing about men’s accessories is, men don’t think they need them until they see them. When they pass our Hex brass cardholder ($35) on a neatly organized desk next to a concrete valet tray ($54), it’ll be the first time they ever think about a holder for business cards. We’ve always been focused on travel, so in November we’re going to set up a flight simulator with real pedals and a yoke to steer, and we’re bringing in a 747 pilot to help people get off the ground. That might also remind guys they could use our leather passport wallet ($79).”
Ask a Shop Clerk
Marc Tanjeloff’s Astro West (102 W. 79th St.) houses the latest in hard-to-find fossils, minerals, and meteorites.
What’s your rarest find?
“I have a T. rex femur that’s tremendous, almost three and a half feet tall ($120,000). There’s also a barrel of small geodes ($25) you can put in our geode-cracking machine to find out what’s inside. It could be anything from quartz to amethyst to calcite. Kids love it.”
Three in One
The VNYL (100 Third Ave.) is a four-floor ’70s-inspired bar, restaurant, and record store opening in mid-August.
1. Listen: Actor-musician Adrian Grenier curates the storefront record store with Whitney Houston’s Whitney Houston ($18).
2. Drink: Long Island Iced Teas ($15) on tap; table service where a private “mixologist” crafts a range of cocktails based on your bottle choice (from $300).
3. Eat: Large, medium, and small plates of candied-bacon quinoa sushi ($14) and salmon poke bowls with cucumber-seaweed salad ($22) imitate the three sizes of vinyl records.
Top Five
Design power couple Mark and Kristen Zeff pair Congolese bracelets with 19th-century cutlery boxes at their Dumbo boutique, Blackbarn (20 John St.).
“This antique box ($125) was probably used for cutlery in the 19th century. We found it in London, restored it, and now it would be perfect for a guy’s watch collection.”
“We searched every pottery place in Fez for these oil jars (from $135) because I fell in love with the Fez green. It’s such an unusual, specific color.”
“These chairs ($755) are made in Spain and have such a wonderfully strong and healthy leather. They’re not supposed to be precious; you could scratch them, they should be worn.”
“These Congolese bracelets ($85) are more objects than bracelets because they’re too heavy to wear. We have one on the bureau in our bedroom. You could also buy several and put them in a bowl.”
“We found the people in Bali who make these tribal necklaces ($325) and started working with them. Now they make these specifically for us. They’re for decoration, but I’ve seen someone wear one.”
*This article appears in the August 8, 2016 issue of New York Magazine.