The Store-torialist

How do you say it? mix-ee-plyz-ik I was attracted to this store because of their playful window display, it appears to be Duncan’s Toy Chest for adults, and their inventory delivers on this promise.

MXYPLYZYK is the ultimate collection of things-I-don’t-need-but-kinda-want-but-now-that-I’ve-thought-about–it–I-must-have, a quirky mix of well designed and affordable items from around the world.

This is the greatest gift store of all time, especially if you don’t know what to buy someone.

MXYPLYZYK offers things with utility like the coat rack of hangers, and things with a sense of nostalgia- a book of Colorforms and a chair that’s decorated with random people’s graduation photos.

One can find useful and good-looking items for the kitchen like ketchup and mustard bottles with faces on them, stackable tea cups that create a totem-pole, an owl pitcher...

and fun/offbeat home design items like chairs, benches, lighting-schemes. This store can give any space in your home some character in case you don't have any yourself.

Shopping in Meatpacking is the same stores as anywhere, somewhere else. This is why I was delighted to find this amorphous and stylish gem that is Dagny + Barstow, on Gansevoort street of all places!  Note: they will be moving East to Bowery in a few months (that’s more like it).

The two owners/buyers/ladies-in-charge are Meredith and Emily, two women who felt similarly distraught by the monotony of NYC luxury boutiques. Many women want to look like everyone else, and buy the same things (cough, Intermix), Ok this store is not for them.

Dagny + Barstow harbor a plethora of international designers, most unbeknownst to me, that use interesting combinations of materials for simple and flattering ready-to-wear designs.

I can thank them for introducing me to designers/brands Gat Rimon, Stouls, Beatrixe, and the parfumer Etat Libre d’Orange and their many erotic-irreverent-limited-edition fragrances.

   Again, the store’s current location is not its’ permanent location. Rather than submitting to all of the permit and construction delays the store’s 264 Bowery location brought on, the girls setup shop in an old photographer’s studio which used to host late nights and parties for the fashion elite.

Emily and Meredith pay homage to the space’s legacy by hosting their own art , fashion and music parties at 64 Gansevoort, and they intend to keep their clothes on rolling racks to make space for such gatherings.

  The store is decorated with artwork from local NYC artists and Artstar.com that are also available for purchase.  Dagny + Barstow is a store you want to be in, proven by the female shopper who sat on their couch and played with the store-dog while I was there, it just feels fresh.  And for Meatpacking….that is refreshing.

Keep your eye out for an update when Dagny + Barstow relocates to 264 Bowery.

Partners & Spade is one of the first stores I wanted to put on The Store-torialist and not until now have I had the pleasure to photograph it. Part creative agency, studio and store, Partners & Spade is an impeccably designed outward expression of the Partners (Andy Spade and Anthony Sperduti) and their brand.

They see art in the everyday, and by curating and collecting various items with the same underlying Duchamp-ready-made-meets-Little-Rascals-clubhouse style there lie the value. Note: P & S actually do sell these products, some of my favorites (pin-cushion chairs and back-dated trophies) can be seen below.

There is also a bit of discovery here: large drawers are labeled with puns or the contents that fill them: FISH (fish) STOP TALKING (gavels) FREE GIFT INSIDE (sugary bright cereals with a toy)  

The entire concept of Partners & Spade may be confusing to some, but if those can’t see the asset of having a gallery/store that you can turn a profit on being the front end of your creative office, than this probably isn’t their steez anyway. In lamens terms- it’s the fucking coolest waiting room of all time.

A mathematician at Paul Smith.

But not really.

I asked, “what’s the formula?”

He chuckled.

“Are you a student?”

“Yeah, I’m studying…” (checks book, laughs)

“It’s made up?”

“Yeah, just made up.”

What an awesome idea, and missed opportunity! How cool would it have been if he were a real astrophysicist....

I did a double take walking by A Man and a Woman, a great store in it's own right, but the windows/rugs/boots are all sorts of divine...Oh, and the clincher, there's a Cobra Society subterranean pop-up coming this weekend which I'll cover.

The boots look like they've been on a journey and in fact they have. Alex Davis, the creator of Cobra Society hand selected the textile source from Morocco and then had a stopover in Italy where she shook hands [she has great hands] with her leatherer....and then brought them to Spain for the welting. The boots are a foreign mashup indeed. 

I love the juxtaposition of the neon yellow boxes and the colored textures adding a sense of modernity to the bohemian boots.

The sand + the rugs+ the boots=  a win. I can't wait for the pop-up.

Posters.com has absolutely NOTHING on Philip Williams which is not only the best and most vast resource for vintage posters, but is also one of my very favorite weekend activities.

The store's walls are constantly rotating between different posters of various genres from all over the world. The signs' color schemes, type faces and use of words serve as constant inspiration for me + PWP is conveniently located in my hood.

Love the old Osteology poster {study of bones} that has probably hung in some orthopedists's office 60 decades ago.

Poster of 'The Sting' or rather 'La Stangata'

idol.

idol.

PWP doesn't encourage 'rummaging' persay, but they do encourage exploring and the most knowledgable man that can point you in the direction of an italian advertisement for meat from 1922 in less than 30 seconds. Impressive.

It's a bird, it's a plane.....no it's Wonder Woman all over MAC Cosmetic's face?

One of their first 'concept stores' in the country as I'm told, Mac has shifted 2 storefronts down on Spring St., covered their veneer in red paint and insides in red carpet and comic swag [note: they still sell their main line of makeup as usual].

The walls are lined with back-issues of Wonder Woman organized per year. This dear 1959 cover was my favorite of the lineup. I love her high waist star shorts.

All in all, it's a bit WWF, a bit Andy Warhol and a bit campy, but the store is also super fun and drew me in for the first time since I was 14 and would spend my allowance on MAC eyeshadows... win.

Unless you've been living under a rock (a real rock) in Manhattan you should have heard about Park Here, the Pop Up Indoor Park that resides in the Openhouse Gallery through the end of the month.

I took my SADD ass to the park for a good ol' brainstorm and the space, though indoors, is quite refreshing. 

People are laughing, laying, playing and picnicing on the astroturf. Ambient nature sounds play through speakers and if you scroll through these photos real fast... it really seems like you're outside. Ready, go!

Park Here has supreme local food vendors on rotation to feed you, some free activities like daily yoga to keep your body movin, and scheduled evening activities a la Urban Daddy like picnic and a movie to keep your spirit alive.

Ideas like this one are so appreciated and useful during such dreary wintery times. The only thing missing a swing set...hellooo...

I am morally opposed to paying over $60 for a vintage t-shirt, luckily Scout is too for the most part. The draw here is vintage tees…I’m talking authentically super soft-mildly-see-through-without-any-sketchy-smells and all of the funny catch phrases and faded band names you could desire to flaunt on your chest and/or back.

The aforementioned price point of tees ranges from $18 (very fair) to over $150 (unfair, though a die hard Judas Priest fan could quickly disagree), and all shirts as seen are conveniently organized by color. 

  My personal favorite find = Joe Camel khaki tee.

Scout sells fairly few ‘things’ with a concentrated selection within all genres: used jackets of leather, denim, suede (fringe!) and canvas, a mile of used cowboy boots, 1950s workman pants and then some other 3rd party items like sunglasses, pins, necklaces and bags.

  If you’re intimidated by ‘the hunt’ don’t hesitate to ask the staff for uber-specific tee shirt requests, they’re a breathing card catalog for all inventory.

Whether you’re interested in purchasing a shirt or not, Scout is a great way to spend an hour or more shopping down memory lane in someone else’s neighborhood.