The Shophound

Mike Albo Goes Shopping:It's Preppy Time

Today, Critical Shopper Mike Albo finds himself at Tribeca's new J.Crew men's store in today's Thursday Styles. Like most New Yorkers of a particular generation, Albo remembers the site as the Liquor Store Bar, and like most of us, takes the transformation of a warmly remembered gathering place into yet another retail outlet with little more than a shrug.
What are you gonna do at this point?
Albo points out a few of the pitfalls of the current preppy revival which, while unavoidable, can still cause our bohemian shopper to bristle,

Still, some items were so outrageously preppy, I felt my original odium for the style rising in my throat like bad grain-alcohol punch. A series of knit ties in bright colors, $49.50, brought to mind a tragically alcoholic dorm mate from college on his way to a football game, and a quilted patchwork tote, for $850, was something his equally blotto girlfriend would use to carry around her pumps and kegger go-cup.

One must tread lightly, especially if one can recall the era of "The Official Preppy Handbook", a spoof that turned into a shopping guide.
We have two small points. One is that Albo referred to J.Crew as one of the Original Prep suppliers, which is not entirely accurate. Those would be L.L. Bean, Talbots and Brooks Brothers. J.Crew began much later at the height of the Great Preppy Craze in 1983 as a mail order catalog, and capitalized on the hunger for the style, offering an updated version that carried it through when the craze ended. We're pretty sure it's not even mentioned in the Handbook. Its first retail store didn't open until 1989.
The other point refers to the store itself. Lately, J.Crew has had something of a renaissance, tweaking its classics just enough to make them fresh and appealing, but the new store highlights on a more expensive, exclusive version of the brand. One of the things we like best about J.Crew is that it is still a relatively affordable brand offering great value, until you get to Tribeca, that is. If we are going to spent that kind of money, well then that opens up the choices dramatically. At that point, we don't really need J.Crew anymore.
Critical Shopper: J. Crew - A Package Store for Preppies by Mike Albo (NYTimes)
J.Crew Tribeca Mens Shop 235 West Broadway NY at White Street, Tribeca

Mike Albo Goes ShoppingTheory vs. Practice Edition

It's always nice to have your own suspicions confirmed.
In today's Thursday Styles, Critical Shopper Mike Albo visits Thom Browne's antiseptic boutique on Hudson Street in Tribeca for a bit of try-on.
We have always been of two minds when it comes to the acclaimed Mr. Browne's clothes. We love the trim, vaguely retro silhouette, minus the flood length pants, but whenever we attempt a good old try-on, those jackets punish our shoulders and arms. Even the slender Mr. Albo feels the squeeze, and we're not talking about the prices which despite the clothes' high quality, aren't in any way justifiable. Take this example:

Past the three-way mirror was a rack of hilarious outerwear, including an overcoat in a queasily cheery yellow plaid for $4,500 that no one should buy unless he is an exhibitionist looking for a more eye-catching cover-up before exposing himself on the subway platform. I slipped on a shortened tan trench for $5,400. Its hem rested above the knee, and the attached waist belt cinched high around the chest, giving me a squat shape. Hand me a brown beanie and I would resemble the Nowhere Man from “Yellow Submarine.”

On the hanger: intriguing. On the body: bizarre and potentially embarrassing.
We actually prefer Mr. Browne's Black Fleece collection for Brooks Brothers ourselves, which has a similar look, but a somewhat more forgiving fit, similar quality and lower, but still daunting prices.
Mike, we feel your pain here.
Critical Shopper -Thom Browne: One Size Fits Small (NYTimes)
Thom Browne 100 Hudson Street at Franklin Street, Tribeca

Now Open In Tribeca:J.Crew's Mens Store Debuts

Generally when we stroll into a store in an offbeat location on its first day, it's fairly quiet, and we can pretty much have the whole place to ourselves. Not so this afternoon at J.Crew's new Tribeca Mens Shop which opened today. The place though small -only 935 sq ft.- was buzzing with eager customers.
Sure, you only need about two customers to make a store that size buzz, but still, interest was evident even on a Summer Thursday afternoon.
Inside, the folks at J.Crew worked with Partners & Spade to create a much more evocative interior than your average J.Crew mall unit. The former Liquor Store Bar was left with its wooden bar though it has has been repurposed as a register counter à la John Varvatos/CBGB's with the same intent of preserving the heritage of the location -just without the beer and booze.
As for the merchandise, as promised, the store cherry picks from the increasingly luxurious side of J.Crew's product offerings, highlighting Japanese selvedge jeans (at premium prices) as well as a co-branded shirt collection using finer fabrics from England's Thomas Mason. Pricier leather jackets and an emphasis on tailored suiting separates round out the offerings as well as the exclusive, old school Globe Trotter luggage that has been getting so much attention lately. Classic American made Alden Shoes have also been added to the mix, emphasizing the preppy image, along with Baracuta jackets as well as the inevitable array of vintage belts, watches and jewelry (marked by "Liquor Store Vintage" price tags) shown in a case with a more expensive eyewear line made with Selima Optique.
If you think it sounds vaguely reminiscent of a famous American designer known for filling his stores with antiques and vintage accessories, you aren't far off. It's hard to make the sort of product they do without inadvertently referencing Ralph Lauren, but J.Crew remains thankfully logo-free, and rather than making an icon out of itself, seems to be getting more mileage out of allying itself with solid, well respected manufacturers like Alden and Red Wing Shoes. To that end, shelves are filled with carefully chosen vintage volumes supplied by the Strand Bookstore.
Overall, the store does a good job of living up to the appeal of one of the city's most charming corners, and from the immediate customer response, we are guessing that more J.Crew Mens Shops will start to appear sooner rather than later
J.Crew Tribeca Mens Shop 235 West Broadway at White Street

Imminent Opening:J.Crew Tribeca Getting Ready

If you peer carefully around the edges of the brown paper covering the windows, you will see that J.Crew's men's only store is thisclose to opening. We have seen new light fixtures and boxes of merch waiting to be unpacked amid much milling about. We have heard various reports of last Wednesday, this Wednesday and the Wednesday after that as Grand Opening dates, so at this point your guesses are as good as ours.
Why are we so interested in yet another J.Crew, and aren't we supposed to be righteously indignant that it has supplanted the much loved Liquor Store Bar?
Well, we're not at all sure that J.Crew is personally responsible for the demise of that bar, charming as it was, and frankly, these days we're kind of loving J.Crew. A few years ago, that was not the case at all, but they have stepped up their game in terms of quality and styling, essentially kicking Banana Republic's ass. The new store promises special items and an exclusive, upgraded product line for their first men's only unit in New York. It's kind of a low-profile counterpart to the women's J.Crew Collection store set to open this fall on Madison Avenue.
Now if they would just open up already and let us see it.
J.Crew Tribeca Mens Shop 235 West Broadway at White Street

Whole Foods #5 Hits TribecaWith Minimal Frenzy

Is the thrill gone?
Whole Foods opened its fifth NYC Store in Tribeca yesterday, adding another cavernous location to what now seems like a commonplace chain in Manhattan, at least downtown.
In typical fashion, they have added new elements to their mix including small, but heavily publicized shucking station and shawarma counters.
At, a certain point we have to wonder if Whole Foods has made the best location choices. They really have downtown well covered, perhaps overly so. We have never seen the huge Bowery store crowded despite shopping there frequently. Undoubtedly, Tribeca residents will be pleased to have any full service market nearby, but we wonder if there are enough of them to justify such an enourmous store. It may not actually be bigger than the Bowery branch (The chain's largest) but it feels like you could fit about three of the original Chelsea location inside this one. Frankly, the Chelsea store, once so luxurious and spacious, feels a little dinky now in comparison to the others. In fact, at 55,000 square feet WF Tribeca is slightly smaller than the busy Columbus Circle store. Most of its offerings are on the main level with café seating and only a coffee/crêpe/gelato/dessert bar upstairs. It's the layout that feels confusing. A huge sushi bar sits in the center of the store, and for some reason, the Whole Body personal care section lurks between produce, seafood and prepared foods. The logic of that arrangement escapes us.
At about 3 in the afternoon on Opening Day, the store felt like it might on any ordinary day. Even the free samples were not in unusually great abundance, which is always a disappointment. We don't mind admitting that a quick session of guilt-free grazing has led us into Whole Foods on more than one occasion.

Sample Sale Report: Steven Alan

There's a bonanza of sample sales going on right now. You could go to a different one  every day this weekend.
Somehow, we never managed to make it to Steven Alan's sale, but this season we decided to make a concerted effort. Though we heard reports of horrible lines earlier in the day, by mid-afternoon there was only a short queue of three or four people being slowly admitted by a security guard with no apparent method. (Three people leave. One goes in. Six people leave. One goes in.)
Once inside, the sale holds an abundance of the checked shirts and khaki pants that made Alan the fashionable anti-fashion designer of choice for stylish Manhattanites. It's J.Crew with the slight edge that makes it cost four times as much. Except, that is at the sample sale, where the goods are marked down to J.Crew prices.
As sales go, it follows the classic pattern. Held in Alan's showroom space, down the street from his Franklin Street boutique, it is cramped, crowded and frenzied with lots of anxious grabbing and rummaging. The street level is mostly devoted to the Steven Alan label, hence the endless rack of plaid shirts.
Downstairs there is an equally abundant selection of other labels like Cool Hunting People, Hyden Yoo, Gilded Age and others. People furtively try things on in corners. The stacks of women's shoe boxes were naturally a busy spot with shoes flying, but the staff managed to keep things relatively in order by operating the two levels as separate stores. That's right. Shop downstairs, then pay and check your bag so you can shop upstairs and pay again. For a Thursday afternoon it was very busy, so we can't imagine what kind of mess it will be over the weekend, though one saving grace might be the big sale at A.P.C. in Williamsburg that could pull people away.
Oh who are we kidding, you'll go to both.
Steven Alan Showroom Sale 87 Franklin Street between Church Street and Broadway, Tribeca
A.P.C. Big Sale 35 Grand St., near Kent Avenue, Williamsburg

Big Boxes to Invade Tribeca

Are the days of a relatively quiet and crowd-free Tribeca numbered?  The Whole Foods at the 1 million sq. ft. 101 Warren Street complex will likely be a welcome addition as supermarkets of any sort are few and far between below Houston Street, but The Shophound wonders what effect the Barnes & Noble and recently announced Bed, Bath & Beyond stores will have on the corner of Warren and Greenwich when the neighborhood has been slowly developing with it's mix of boutiques, galleries and, of course, restaurants. We suspect they might not be as welcome as the Target coming to East Harlem. Actually, a Target in Tribeca would probably be more happily received than another Barnes & Noble. It's a year or so off, so enjoy Tribeca while you can.

Chain Stores Swarming Tribeca (The Real Estate)
Storefronting: East River Plaza Shocker (Curbed)

Tribeca Rising: Nili Lotan on Duane Street

Tribeca is starting to feel a little bit like SoHo for people who hate SoHo. Quieter, cleaner, and without all those street vendor tables that make walking down Prince street an exercise in in artful pushing and shoving. The retailers are descending, however, in their paradoxical way. They like to go to an less traveled location to distinguish themselves, and then proceed to attract crowds and more stores. The overcrowding of Tribeca is still a long way away, and its retail mix currently alternates a smattering of small boutiques with restaurants and home furnishing stores most of which maintain a casual, independent ambiance. The latest addition is New York designer Nili Lotan's smartly designed new boutique on Duane Street. It's the only store we've ever entered with windows in the floor.

More after the jump

Hide and Seek part IV: Rogan in Tribeca

We have been hearing about the impending new Rogan shop for a while, so now that it's finally open, we thought it was high time that The Shophound took a look at the Franklin Street store from the designer who is partly responsible for raising the average price of of premium jeans above $275, a dubious distinction, to be sure. What we found was yet another example of that curious New York retail phenomenon we like to call "Here I am! Don't look at me!" How else can we explain why the display window is made of mirrored glass rather than something that would offer a view inside the shop.
More after the jump