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SoHo Shopping, New York

By
  • Imran Amed

Many emerging designers get their initial support from the myriad small boutiques around the world that are trying to give their customers something a bit different; something they won't necessarily find in a department store. High-end boutiques also differ from their department store counterparts in that they really get involved in giving their customers advice and tips on the newest designers and styles. I took a walk through SoHo on Saturday with my friend Joan, a serious fashionista, who also spends a lot of her time scouring eBay for unique pieces that speak to her individuality.

This is Joan camping out in front of some SoHo graffiti, wearing her first ever eBay fashion purchase, a shaggy shearling jacket that helps keep her warm in the frigid temperatures that New Yorkers have been struggling with over the past few days.

We visited a couple of Joan's favourite designer womenswear boutiques. The first one was Kirna Zabete

(96 Greene St., SoHo, New York 10012, near Spring St. +1 212-941-9656), which is a store selling the wares of young designers including Peter Som, Proenza Schouler, Tuleh and Derek Lam. The store is run by two very glamourous women who I have spotted at the shows in New York and Paris. You can't miss them. They are some of the best-dressed women around, and they run a good business to boot, having been flogging designer clothes for over 6 years. Many boutiques don't last even 6 months. I attribute their success to focusing carefully on their target customer and buying a tightly-edited collection that suits that customer perfectly. The store staff were helpful and smart (if not somewhat aloof), even though the security guard wouldn't let me take a photo of the store-front from the outside. We took one anyway because it seemed ridiculous to prevent people from taking photos on the street. I can understand why they want to keep people from taking photos inside, but outside too? Sheeesh.

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The next stop was Curve (83 Mercer Street, SoHo, New York), a new transplant from L.A. where Curve has been pleasing West coast fashionistas for several years now. The sales staff in Curve were extremely friendly and truly excited about the brands they are carrying, including their own house label "Curve" and Fenton jewelry, mixed in with

Vivienne Westwood

, and some serious vintage couture pieces from Dior and the like.

What's great about New York is that it is always reflecting the zeitgeist of America, which right now is of course about the war in Iraq. Joan and I spotted an unforgettable scene of simple graffiti in a basketball court which speaks for itself. The chain-link of the fence seemed to be perfectly appropriate symbol for this.

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