Fashionably Late with Stacy London

I should really hate this show, and in theory I do because it's way too bullshitty girly retarded, but I do think that there are some very useful fashion tips to be gotten from Fashionably Late with Stacy London (Friday at 10 p.m. ET on TLC)- such as a black skirt that can be worn in 13 different ways.

Subway Fashion: Sunday

Whilst trekking back uptown on the subway on Sunday, after visiting my real apt., which is about 85% rebuilt, I noticed a high level of interesting fashion going on around me. I wondered why....and then realizing that it was the Sunday after Thanksgiving, decided that it was probably full of actual New Yorkers. I.e. the tourists had all gone home and the NYers were all just returning from whence they came. Sorry to all of those out-of-towners who are offended by my NYC fashion snobbery, but 99 out of 100 times, it's the truth. I use the Sex and the City "scrunchy episode" as an example.


Anyway, the best spotting was a trio of young, very thin Asian girls who were each wearing tight stretchy jeans, Converse low tops or leather Airwalk high tops, and many layers of tops, jackets, and/or hoodies. The most interesting thing about their get-ups was that they were each wearing (real) fur "scarves" around their necks. To me, they were the epitome of modern urban street fashion. And no I don't have a photo, which is why I do this for free.

Samples for (eco)mpassion/Lauren Moffatt Sample Sales

What: Samples for (eco)mpassion Sample Sale

Alice and Trixie, Citizens of Humanity Fourtys, Chelsea Flowers, Julie Brown, Tricia Fix.
A few examples of some Finds…

-Current Alice and Trixie silk dresses starting at $99 originally $250 to $350.

-Hundreds of chic bohemian dresses and tops from Chelsea Flowers and Fourtys.

Dresses priced at $69 to $89 normally $150 to $300.

-Citizens of Humanity jeans marked way below wholesale.

When: Friday, November 30th to Sunday, December 2nd 2007 - 11am to 8pm.

Where: 201 Mulberry street between Kenmare and Spring streets.

A new sample sale event founded by the founder of Find Outlet, a chain of high quality outlet boutiques and the current founder of the new Greenfinds, your online source for a green lifestyle.

Samples for (eco)mpassion will have the same great deals and high energy and high volume designer sample sale events as Find Outlet once did but at the same time will be giving back to the environment. 5% of total sales will be donated to the environmental charity of the designer’s choice. Some of the charities are: Global Green, Charity Water, Riverkeeper, Stop Global Warming.Org, Environmental Justice Foundation and Trees for the Future.

Another sale: Lauren Moffatt Sample Sale

Tuesday, November 27 thru Thursday, November 29

10:00 am - 7:00 pm

214 West 29th St., suite 1503 between 7th and 8th Ave.

My Mundane Xmas List

The Guerilla Mama asked me for my Christmas list, so I gave her the same list I sent to my insurance company after the fire. Basically all of the things that are "no more" and must be replaced in order for me to begin living a normal life again, once I move back home:

• Two welcome mats
• Hallway rug
• Kitchen rug
• Bathroom Shelving Unit
• Hand mirror
• Shower curtain/liner
• Salt & Pepper shakers
• Microwave
• Queen sized mattress and box spring (Simmons?)
• Bottom sheet
• Recliner chair
• Two window blinds for bedroom (Wood slats?)
• Kitchen wall clock
• Make-up organizers
• Kitchen garbage can
• Kitchen recycling bin
• Bathroom garbage can

I think much of this can be gotten from Target, which is what I shall suggest. But if anyone has any other notions of where I can get the fabulous version of any of these items, don't be shy.

I also want a flat-screen LCD TV, a new computer (also flat screen), and a new stereo receiver - so if anyone wants to donate any of these electronic products to my cause, I will be more than willing to blog about them afterwards :)

When is Pinkberry opening on 3rd Ave?

Who will make it to the neighborhood first - the Guerilla Shopper or Pinkberry? The race is on.

Black Friday

Hi all - Today is Black Friday and I am NOT shopping. I told you so. But if anyone has any good stories to impart - either successes or mayhem, don't be shy! Send them along (schoolied@gmail.com) and perhaps I will publish some of them soon!

xoxo GSNYC

A non-shopping Thanksgiving message

I got this today from my friend, and thought it was a very personal, heart-felt (and slightly humorous) wish that I wanted to share with my blogeees:

Yesterday my son asked me what I was thankful for...and I said the usual: family, and that we are all healthy, that we have a roof over our heads and that we don't go hungry...then I said my friends..and he asked why..I told him that they are a very important part of your life and that you need to be thankful for them...they are there to lift you up and make you laugh and to accept you for who you are, not what you have...so with that I realized that I probably don't say it often enough and that I really am thankful for each and everyone one of you...I am thankful that we have the kind of friendships that don't require any work...and that it's known that at anytime I can call anyone of you just to vent, or laugh, or cry or just to simply tell you something stupid that I did that day. So in the spirit of Thanksgiving...this is my official THANK YOU...for being the kind of friends that a person is truly lucky to have in their lives...I love you all....and yes I am PMSing a little bit : ) Hope you have a great holiday!

Black Friday: Club Monaco

I would normally tell everyone, "don't believe the hype" surrounding Black Friday shopping. It's a nightmare and you'll get as good as - if not better - deals if you wait until the last few days leading up to Christmas (never mind those post-Christmas sales!).

However, leave it to the marketing wizards at Club Monaco to pique my interest in possibly venturing outdoors on Friday, November 23.

WSJ: With a spate of new hotels, Brooklyn bets on tourism

Sorry Brooklyn, the gentrification is in full swing and appears that there's no stopping the freight train now (see y'all in Staten Island??):

Travel
WEEKEND JOURNAL
And Maybe a Side Trip to Manhattan? --- With a spate of new hotels, Brooklyn bets on tourism
By Candace Jackson
17 November 2007
The Wall Street Journal

Brooklyn, N.Y. -- At Hotel Le Bleu, rooms have 42-inch plasma-screen TVs with Bose speakers and showers with views of the Statue of Liberty. But the hotel is in an unlikely spot: sandwiched between a taxicab depot and a Pep Boys auto shop, in a former plumbing-supply building in the gritty Brooklyn neighborhood of Gowanus.
In recent years, New York's borough of Brooklyn has been luring top chefs, celebrity residents and high-end retailers away from Manhattan. Now, with a spate of new hotel openings, it's trying to take the tourists, too.
Not far from Hotel Le Bleu, the 93-room Smith Hotel is scheduled to open early next year, complete with cork floors (said to be eco-friendly) and a yoga studio. Starwood has plans to open a hotel under its aloft brand in the artsy neighborhood of Dumbo by 2009; next door will be a Sheraton. And downtown, the Brooklyn Marriott recently added 280 rooms, nearly doubling its size.
It helps that Manhattan hotels have only gotten more crowded -- running at almost 90% capacity last year, according to industry researcher PKF Consulting -- and expensive, at an average nightly rate of nearly $280.
Visiting Brooklyn right now is a chance to watch a place very much in transition. Gowanus, for example, is an industrial area sandwiched between posh Park Slope and trendy Carroll Gardens. The neighborhood is still home to blocks of abandoned old textile factories, vast truck parking lots and areas that most locals avoid after dark. The Gowanus Canal, for which the neighborhood is named, breaks up the grim landscape, but its surface is still slick and shiny with oil.
In the past few months, several high-rise condos have cropped up here. A Whole Foods Market is coming. Artists have begun renting studio space in old factories neaby. The Annual Gowanus Artists Studio Tour, which happens in October, started 11 years ago with just 15 artist lofts as stops -- this year, there were 140.
For travelers who've never crossed the Hudson River or been further east than Manhattan's South Street Seaport, a weekend in Brooklyn might seem like an odd vacation. But it's now possible to do just that. Below, a three-day itinerary.

FRIDAY
CHECK INTO Hotel Le Bleu. Don't be deterred by the gritty surroundings -- it's pretty calm inside and centrally located.
START YOUR DAY by wandering the shops of Fifth Avenue -- the one locals like to call New York's "other" Fifth Avenue, albeit without the Bergdorf's and Bendel's. Once considered scary to walk at night, the street, roughly between Flatbush Avenue to the north and 12th Street to the south, is now lined with high-end restaurants, day spas and boutiques.
Brooklyn Mercantile, opened last summer by Tamara Lee, an independent film producer and longtime resident, sells quirky items for the home like vintage spools that could double as candlestick holders and handmade silhouette cut-outs in glass frames. Some of the best shops include Eidolon for shoes and jewelry, Area Kids for hip infant and children's clothing and Cog & Pearl for unusual gifts like iPod cases made out of old vinyl records.
FOR LUNCH, grab a lobster roll and fresh oysters at Brooklyn Fish Camp, an outpost of the Manhattan restaurant Mary's Fish Camp.
IN THE AFTERNOON, take a walking tour of the neighborhood with Norman Oder, who runs the tour company New York Like a Native. Mr. Oder has an encyclopedic knowledge of the borough and can point out lesser-known sights like the corner in Park Slope where a plane crashed in 1960, killing 135 people, and the empty field in Gowanus that's destined to be a Whole Foods Market (nylikeanative.com).
In warm-weather months, more adventurous types can hop on a canoe and take a "discovery tour" of the Gowanus Canal with the Gowanus Dredgers Canoe Club, a volunteer organization working to revitalize the area (gowanuscanal.org).
SINCE MANY of the most popular spots for dinner are small, they tend to fill up quickly, so make reservations. One of the newest, Palo Santo, serves Caribbean and Latin food with an extensive wine list from South America. (The chef-owner lives upstairs.) Or head to a restaurant called Two Toms, a holdover from the days when Gowanus was primarily a neighborhood of Italian immigrants. It's been serving juicy pork chops, lasagna and antipasto in a no-frills wood-paneled dining room since 1948.
FOR A DRINK after dinner, go to Union Hall, a cavernous bar with fireplaces and indoor bocce courts.

SATURDAY
TAKE A SHORT cab ride (or a 30-minute walk) to Tom's Restaurant in Prospect Heights (no relation to Two Toms). Don't worry if there's a line -- it moves quickly and the waiters will bring you cookies and orange slices as you wait. The place feels like a relic from the 1930s, with an old-fashioned soda fountain vibe.
WALK A FEW BLOCKS southeast to the Brooklyn Museum, one of the borough's biggest cultural institutions. Through mid-January, a watercolor exhibit includes works by Winslow Homer and Edward Hopper.
SATURDAY MORNINGS, a farmer's market that rivals Manhattan's biggest one sets up a few blocks from the museum on Grand Army Plaza. Warm up with a cup of hot apple cider and take a walk through Prospect Park, Brooklyn's answer to Central Park, which has two-thirds the acreage and a slightly woodsier feel.
WALK ALONG the side streets leading to Prospect Park West to check out some of the neighborhood's famous tree-lined brownstone streets, most built more than 100 years ago. Montgomery Place and Carroll Street between the park and Eighth Avenue are two especially picturesque blocks.
FOR DINNER, Franny's on Flatbush Avenue serves thin-crust pizzas out of a wood-fired oven. Most have fashionable toppings like ricotta and pork sausage supplied by nearby farms.
LATE-NIGHT, Southpaw is one of Brooklyn's hippest concert venues, and on most Saturday nights a DJ collective called the Rub spins old-school hip-hop and newer hits. (Family-friendly alternative: some Saturday afternoons, the same venue hosts "Baby Loves Disco," where many local parents bring their toddlers for a few hours of socializing.)

SUNDAY
ON SUNDAY MORNING, walk a few blocks east to Carroll Gardens, a leafy neighborhood that used to be known for Italian groceries and social clubs. In recent years it has become known for high-end restaurants and boutique shopping along Smith and Court streets from roughly Atlantic Avenue to Ninth Street.
EAT BRUNCH at Israeli restaurant Miriam in Cobble Hill on Court Street. Try the burekas, puffed pastries stuffed with olives and feta served with organic eggs.
SMITH STREET'S boutiques rival Fifth Avenue's for both quirky home goods and high-end apparel. When you hit Atlantic Avenue, make a right, and you'll find rows of antiques stores (many more affordable than those in Manhattan's Garment District) and Middle Eastern groceries selling scented oils, incense and robes.
FOR DINNER, try Saul, a Michelin-starred restaurant on Smith Street that offers seasonal dishes such as spiced crusted loin of venison with ginger pear chutney and desserts like spiced pumpkin souffle.
IN THE EVENING, head toward Fourth Avenue to Brooklyn Lyceum, a former bathhouse that's been converted into an event space with live jazz Sunday nights.
---
Along the Route
Hotel Le Bleu
370 Fourth Ave., 718-625-1500
Brooklyn Mercantile
335 Fifth Ave., 718-788-1233
Cog & Pearl
190 Fifth Ave., 718-623-8200
Eidolon
233 Fifth Ave., 718-638-8194
Area Kids
45 Fifth Ave., 718-230-7495
Brooklyn Fish Camp
162 Fifth Ave., 718-783-3264
Palo Santo
652 Union St., 718-636-6311
Two Toms Restaurant
255 Third Ave., 718-875-8689
Union Hall
702 Union St., 718-638-4400
Tom's Restaurant
782 Washington Ave., 718-636-9738
Brooklyn Museum
200 Eastern Pkwy., 718-638-5000
Franny's
295 Flatbush Ave., 718-230-0331
Southpaw
125 Fifth Ave., 718-230-0236
Miriam Restaurant
229 Court St., 718-522-2220
Saul
40 Smith St., 718-935-9844
Brooklyn Lyceum
227 Fourth Ave., 718-857-4816

New New York Times Building

I shot this immediately after they put the sign up outside the front door of the new New York Times building this weekend in the neighborhood that refuses to improve: Port Authority (Po' Ho'...?)

Kenneth Cole Kicks

So on my travels southward last week I encountered a younger (not by much!) male version of yours truly, the Guerilla Shopper.

I first noticed his shoes in the airport (it's the shoes money, it's gotta be the shoes) and didn't yet know that he and I were going to the same place! When I ran into him later on, I took the opportunity to admit my shoe admiration at which time I learned there was another pair that would make its debut the following day (brown/tan). Don't they look lovely against the puke-carpet that covered the entire hotel? I haven't seen a worse floor covering since I was in Reno in the 80s.

Anyway, he explained that he made his "kicks score" at an 80% off sale at Kenneth Cole store at the Chestnut Hill Mall in Mass. A man after my own wallet saving initiative, indeed!

Bo Concept Warehouse Sale: Bayonne NJ

Calypso Cashmere Sale

Calypso Christiane Celle
Warm up this winter with cashmere
Enjoy 30% off all Women's cashmere accessories and apparel

For example:
Cable Turtleneck Dress (pictured)
Regular $ 275.00 SALE $ 192.50

Simon Showroom Fall 07 Sample Sale: 11/14-11/16

One of the top showrooms in the city is opening its doors for its annual blowout sample sale.
Find your next cocktail dress from Parisian sensation PAUL & JOE, comfy tees from cotton wear giant C&C CALIFORNIA, and your favorite jeans from CITIZENS OF HUMANITY.

Simon Showroom Fall 07 Sample Sale
***Wholesale prices or less!
Wed Nov 14th-Fri Nov 16th 11AM-7PM
CASH ONLY
Located at Simon Showroom
95 Fifth Ave (at 17th St), 4th Fl

Actor Crafts Fine Art and Crafts Sale: Sat. Nov. 17

Benefits Broadway Cares/Equity Fights Aids
Actor Crafts featuring: IKE DESIGNS JEWELRY BY DORI O'DEA (AKA Dori Eisenhauer) can be found at Actor Crafts A Fine Art and Craft Fair featuring the work of New York Theatre Professionals

• One Day Only •
Saturday, November 17th, 2007

Holy Cross School
332 West 43rd Street (between 8th and 9th Ave.)
10 am to 6 pm

Over 40 Exhibitors!

Featured items include:
Jewelry · Sculpture · Paintings · Photography ·· Dolls & Bears · Clothing & Hats · Knits & Crochets ·· Vintage & Handcrafted Furniture · Handmade Cards ·· Picture Frames · Soaps & Sachets · Rubs & Scrubs · and much, much more!
Don't miss this one-of-a-kind tradition
held only twice a year in the heart of the Theatre District!

FREE ADMISSION

BLUMARINE BLOW OUT SALE Tues, Nov 13

BLUMARINE BLOW OUT SALE
Where: Blumarine Showroom
37 West 57th (9th Fl)
12-920-1128
When: Tuesday, Nov 13th
10am-6pm
What: Bargains Starting At $60
Tops...Pants...Dresses
One Day Only

Cole Haan, Eileen Fisher, stuff

Hi all. I am likely not going to be online much in the upcoming week so I am going to throw a few tidbits out there for you to chew on in the interim.

First, I haven't tried these on (and my hulking calves will probably prevent me from fitting into them), but as an urban walker, I am thinking that I need to work these Cole Haan/Nike technology shoes. Not cheap, but possibly well worth it if you are able to combine style and comfort.

Also, the Eileen Fisher boutique (314 E. 9th St. b/t 1st-2nd Aves.) is having its Holiday Sample Sale on Saturday, November 17, 10 a.m. - 7 p.m.

Another Portolano Sample Sale: Nov. 12 - Nov. 16

And yet another Portolano Sample Sale next week:

Monday Nov. 12 - Friday Nov. 16 (10 a.m. - 6 p.m.)

15 West 37th St., 11th Floor, NYC.

Major credit cards accepted

Roberto Cavalli at H&M Today

Roberto Cavalli's collection for H&M goes on sale there today. As reported in today's New York Times' Urban Eye:

"There are dozens of graphic pieces for men and women, including sharp military jackets, leopard gowns and spangled little dresses, priced from $20 to $350. The divo himself will make an appearance at the flagship store at Fifth Avenue and 51st Street."

Spanx Expands

Did you guys know that Spanx doesn't only make gut-and-ass firming underwear of various lengths and sizes, but that the company also has lines of bras, socks, pantyhose and even pants and tops?

I didn't know, but I learned when I received the Spanx catalog a couple of months ago. I've not tried anything new, but the "undershorts" definitely changed my life...I won't tell you when or where, however, the secret is mine!

Former CBGB's Club To Be Men's Clothing Store

While I love good fashion, this kind of thing ills me (and in the meantime, keep your fingers crossed for all of the big NYC Banks to continue to fall to pieces):

Billboard.biz

Former CBGB's Club To Be Men's Clothing Store

November 05, 2007

Rock and Pop
By Chris M. Walsh, N.Y.

The space of New York City's former seminal music club CBGB will be reopened as a men's clothing boutique from John Varvatos."This store is going to be totally unique, different from our other boutiques," Varvatos said. "We're going to make it a great way to look back at this remarkable history but also forward to what's happening in music today." A stage permanently integrated into the store design, along with an in-store performance series are among the unique plans intended to honor the space's history. CBGB closed in October 2006 after 33 years. The Bowery club served as the launching pad for the Ramones, Television, Blondie, Talking Heads, the Patti Smith Group and dozens of others that would become synonymous with punk rock and its many offshoots. The club's founder Hilly Kristal died in August at 75, following a battle with lung cancer.

te casan: jeweled pumps

I have not seen these shoes available at te casan in person, but I am really digging the colors. Also, the embellishments are interesting and not in the "bedazzler" camp.

Street (un)Fair

After the gym this afternoon I strolled through a street fair on Broadway near Union Square. Oftentimes, street fairs are all alike and have the same jewelry, bedding, makeup, lemonade and New York Post subscription stands. But this one had more than its fair share of artisans, so I decided to check some of them out. I encountered one interesting stall that featured groovy cotton stretch dresses and handbags seemingly made from upholstery. I began to touch and admire one, and ran my fingers along the be-chained hand strap at which time the woman (owner? designer? salesperson?) became EXTREMELY annoyed with me and gave me a disgusted glare shaking her head and saying, "oh no...we don't do that..." Um, do what? Actually touch the MERCHANDISE that I might purchase inside the stall of a public street fair in the middle of New York City? I am still annoyed at the sheer ridiculousness of it all. Needless to say I floated on out of there without buying a thing.

And thus ends another street fair season. Stay tuned until March 2008!

Crumbs Cupcakes: The Artie Lange

Once in a while I discover that I am no different than most other women. I love cupcakes. I love them so much. And with the cupcake bakery explosion, the competition for cupcake customers is fierce. I've been uptown, downtown, and all around the town on a quest for the best cupcakes ever. Last night, I went into my neighborhood Crumbs and learned two things:

1. My favorite cupcake is the "Cookie Dough"

2. Call me late to the party on this one, but Artie Lange from the Howard Stern Show has a cupcake named after him, i.e. the "Artie Lange Cupcake." Details include:

• Designed and created exclusively by Artie Lange of the Howard Stern Show
• Vanilla sponge cake filled with chocolate buttercream covered in vanilla cream cheese frosting and topped with chocolate fondant icing w/white and chocolate sprinkles on the sides!
• Retail: $3.75 per cupcake
• Portion of the proceeds benefit LIFEbeat - dedicated to reaching America's youth with the message of HIV/AIDS prevention. LIFEbeat mobilizes the talents and resources of the music industry to raise awareness and to provide support to the AIDS community.

Shelly & Renee Big Sale: Nov. 4 - 14

Shelly & Renee's famous big fall sale starts this Sunday, Nov. 4 and runs through until Wednesday, Nov. 14. (it's closed on Saturday).

Starting at 10 a.m., head on over to 140 W. 57th St. (b/t 6th-7th Aves.), 9th Floor.