Designs by Gigi Burris, Robert Fitzsimmos and Shawn Reddy
Last night I stopped by Début boutique and immediately felt the young, refreshing energy inhibiting the room. Lisa Weiss owner of Début is the equivalent to a saint for burgeoning designers, she graciously introduces new innovative designers year round at her gallery-like boutique and for the second year is featuring work from recent parsons grads. Weiss held a cocktail reception to honor select alumn from Parson’s 180 members class of 2009 and for the next week exclusive designs from the featured grads are available to purchase at her store.
Simon Collins left and Lisa Weiss right with the recent Parsons grads featured at Début.
group photo Patrick McMullan
Court, the latest addition to Mulberry Street, is like the cooler friend that everyone envies. The fashion forward one, who always keeps up with the coolest contemporary designers. New York style crusaders Nicole Tondre and Lisa Fuller co-owners of vintage boutique, Circa Now located in the Lower East Side opened Court in Little Itlay in 2008.
Catering to a girl’s relaxed sartorial standards, the owners of Court know a thing or too about what makes a girl lust after a certain dress or vintage piece. The store’s dark energy brings a sense of intrigue when one walks by the dark tinted windows and black painted store front. Inside is a rotating cast of women’s and men’s designer clothing and a few vintage pieces that inspire current collections. Court also carries a generation of new rousing designers such as Sophomore by Chrissie Miller, Richard Ruiz and Kerrigan by Daryl K all hold a respectable spot within this ultra hip downtown boutique.
Court is located at 178 Mulberry St, NYC
Just passing by, Coclico appears to be a neighborhood shoe boutique with rows of tempting footwear lining opposite walls. Step inside, and it’s easy to get lost in the smart mix of beautiful clothes from a handful of European and American designers, IRO, Paul & Joe, Prairie Underground, & Wren, combined with Coclico’s own line of environmentally conscious shoes and an assortment of other harmonizing shoe designers including Argila, Esska, & Chie Mihara.
Coclico the shoe line itself has taken steps to become an environmentally sustainable brand. They have recognized the toll footwear manufacturing plays on the environment and have consciously progressed by sourcing more sustainable materials closer to their factory, reducing carbon emissions and working with other like-minded people. The brand extends the eco-friendly concept to all aspects of their business to help reduce their carbon footprint while granting their customers with the opportunity to have a prettier footprint.
Coclico is located at 275 Mott St, NYC in Nolita
Green Boutiques are often a win-lose situation although they are doing good by working to help our surroundings often what is lacking is in the fashion sector, meaning plain designs and an abundance of jersey-like fabrics. Luckily, in the last couple years a handful of eco-friendly designers have stepped up to the plate and have proved some of us wrong. These days every where we turn companies are claiming to be green which may not be entirely true, but we know we can rely on the experts at these green-shops to bring us the best of what’s available. One thing that the best eco-boutiques have in common is the passion held by each of the shop owners in striving to do better things for the environment every day so we thank them even more on this Earth Day.
Eco Citizen – San Francisco, Vie – Los Angles, Pivot – Chicago, Kaight – New York City
Odin, one of my favorite men’s shops in NYC has finally launched its online counterpart at odinnewyork.com. Even though they still have some kinks to work out it was exciting to see the site that was behind the coming soon page that we were greeted with for over a year, it was reminiscent of wondering what’s behind door number 3 on Let’s Make a Deal. The site features interviews, store news and designers including Robert Gellar, Common Projects, Engineered Garments and Band of Outsiders. Although I will always favor visiting Odin’s store, odinnewyork.com is an alternative for those with patience that just can’t make it to their physical locations.
