299: The fall I crawled Manhattan

A 20-something-store-visit month.

The fall I crawled Manhattan began with a great text from Bergdorf Goodman’s publicist, Max McCormack: “Mr Armani has arrived.” Max had invited me (as the exclusive press!) to welcome the 90-year-old designer at the unveiling of his New York capsule for the retailer. And my god did he have a presence. It was like meeting Obama. Or seeing the wailing wall.

Mr. Armani wore a navy blue knit blazer over a hooded zip-up sweatshirt, navy slacks, and white leather boat shoes with a nonagenarian rubber sole. (The Armani/Casa furnishings of his shop-in-shop were course-altering, but that’s another story…) In my mind, I’d come primarily to see and feel and, of course, try on the collection—a suit on one of the mannequins made me want to cry, so I just became her. A sales associate told me a gown cost $25,000, so I brought that into the private client fitting room, too.

L: Giorgio Armani Double-Breasted Cashmere Flannel Jacket, $6,750 / Giorgio Armani Straight Leg Cashmere Flannel Pants, $3,395 / R: Giorgio Armani Strapless Embellished Tulle Gown, $25,000

Bergdorf’s is my Uptown third place, so being that I was already in the building, I extended my visit to Phoebe Philo’s relocated boutique on the fourth floor. A leather bomber with a detachable scarf merited a longing throw-on and, seeing these glove boots in person, I’m honestly surprised they haven’t been met with the idolatry they deserve.

L: Phoebe Philo Jacket With Attachable Scarf, $8,900 / R: Phoebe Philo Club Boot 30, $1,200

I saw a lot of other things I loved at Bergdorf’s…Marc Jacobs’ runway collection (this trompe l’oeil bikini bodysuit!), a sailor-esque side-buttoning Courreges jacket (actually on sale at SSENSE right now), a crazy multi-buttoned Jil Sander wool blazer, and sooooo many Manolos I need, like, yesterday (ruffly suede boots! silk scallop trim kitten heels!).

It was a hyper-inspiring day, so I decided to just…keep going. In the end, I research-shopped for basically the whole month.

From Berg’s, I walked down Madison to the new Toteme boutique, which the sales associate told me was designed as a personal shopping space but had become so popular in the short time it’s been open that it’s operating more like a flagship. She pulled out a leopard pony hair coat from the back for me—it implanted a brain worm that likely impacted my eventual purchase of the Tom Ford Gucci coat. Next door, at Veronia De Piante, I finally tried on the Margaux boots I’d seen at a preview over a year prior and decided without hesitation to buy them. All boxes checked: flat with a broad and thin heel, thick and supple leather, zero hardware.

R: Veronica De Piante Margaux boots, $995

Onward! And upward. To The Row and Ralph Lauren, my favorite double feature of the UES. Oddly enough, my biggest takeaway from the former is that I now want to de-influence you from the leisure suit I was so certain about before any actual contact. Saggy bottom boots.

Things knitted together better over at Ralph’s. Not only did I get to visit my favorite couch in the universe (those who know!), I also got a closer look at the Polo ID bag. It’s brilliant, like a version of the Hermes Maurice Sac Arçon that doesn’t cost $12,000—it’s just under $800 for the large, and it turned out that I simply had to have it in blue suede. There was also a bountiful display of colorful, stacked cable knits, obviously a gifting suggestion, but a good one (I brought my relatives colorful Polo towels when I visited them in Italy over the summer, and a blue-blooded American Ralph Lauren cable knit is the winter version of that).

L: Ralph Lauren Polo ID Calfskin Mini Shoulder Bag, $498 / Ralph Lauren Polo ID Calfskin Large Shoulder Bag, $798

Another afternoon Uptown saw me stopping into Armani and Ganni’s respective new Madison Ave locations (the latter launched with an event hosted by Emilia Petrarca). The vibes were not as disparate as you’d think, and while this trend is showing up in many places, I clocked that two brands on distant ends of the price spectrum are appealing to shoppers with tiny bags to wear on their bags. Cute is the great class unifier! Oh, and did you know Armani makes blueberry jam? Armani/Dolci is a thing with its own little room.

L: Ganni Bou Card Holder, $95 / Ganni Bou Bag Nano, $148 / Ganni Bou Bag, $425 / R: Giorgio Armani La Prima Palmellato Leather Mini-Charm, $325 / Giorgio Armani La Prima Flap Suede Shoulder Bag, $2,095

I did check out the new Louis Vuitton store during its opening party, but was doing more Martha Stewart gawking and than clothes inspecting, so you’ll forgive me for glossing over that bit. Let’s head south, by way of Tribeca.

It truly tickles me how differently people perceive La Garçonne. I could totally get the impression a friend had of it as a place that sells “Japanese potato sacks” (into that sometimes), but it did make me feel smugly better-versed in the store trying on a straight-up hot-girl piece from Marie Adam-Leenaerd, a snipped-crotch maillot top. Actually nuts how good it is. I quickly made up for it by throwing on some Auralee, Labo.Art, and Dusan.

L: Marie Adam-Leenaerdt Bikini Top, $740 / R: Labo.Art Tina Shirt, $275 / Extreme Cashmere Cotton Cashmere n°268 Cuba Top, $225

It was inevitable though not unwelcome I’d end up in Soho. There’s actually a lot happening there beyond the blockbuster-type stores, which, as it happens, I also love visiting in a shop-til-you-drop-montage way.

Only Liana Satenstein could get me to the Versace boutique at 10 in the morning, where I remembered a pair of Medusa earrings I once bought on eBay, only to have them stolen (!) by someone I half knew in a weirdly obvious setting. I protested the act by never rebuying them, but seeing them in the case relit my desire for the coin-like studs.

At Burberry nearby, I thought I was just popping in to see some scarves and coats, but ended up learning about a whole made-to-measure business I didn’t know existed. There are styles of trenches you can have designed to your proportions and cut from the suede or leather of your choosing…brilliant teals and deepest navies shown in a chic little box pulled from behind a closed door.

L: Versace jewelry / R: Burberry bespoke trench service

At this point in my crawl, Substack is warning me that I am “nearing email length limit,” and yet, I still have a whole neighborhood and a half to cover? Charging forth.

It’s miraculous that I left Alaïa without buying something, even though it was running a private sale on pieces I’ve vividly imagined myself wearing. Instead, I eyeballed bags that eyeballed back (no more Teckel shortages this season, but an embarrassment of good new colors and sizes). I also very much dug this gray knit bodysuit with gaping sides—me-coded, I’d say.

At Prada, architectural marvel! Obviously. But also, “quieter” accessories (in the grand scheme of the brand) like a snakeskin clutch and some not-online-yet sunglasses were nice surprises. The biggest surprise, though, was that, at his new US flagship, a tote from Jacquemus—lacking any exterior branding—might’ve been the best everyday bag I saw below 14th street.

Over at Khaite is where shit got serious. It’s about this coat. And let me just say: If any retailer wants to show up with the goods this Black Friday, I’ll be ready.

L: Jacquemus Le Turismo, $1,790 / R: Khaite Saphra Coat, $3,800 / Inset: Alaia Sphere Leather Tote, $3,990

Now approaching the part of Soho that doesn’t quite feel like it. Lauren Manoogian holds down that fort, where I actually made two stops (it’s my Downtown third place) and came home with two, potentially life-changing, pieces: a knit button-down shirt in inky off-black and a thrillingly simple dress that’s effectively just a tube with extraordinarily placed openings for your head and arms, but when worn tugs asymmetrically across a shoulder and spills down your body.

I also tried on a sleeveless turtleneck hand knit to have an hourglass shape (a size too big, would go back to try the smaller one) and regret not trying on a very sexy-seeming knit scarf halter. Seems another visit is already due.

L: Lauren Manoogian Shirt, $494 / R: Lauren Manoogian dress (coming soon)

I’d been at an event at Stoffa the night before, but didn’t have a chance to inspect the clothes that were so obviously of great quality, even from distant, over-cocktail conversation. So I went back the following day and made myself comfortable between the front room’s RTW and the back room’s made-to-measure showroom. Just unbelievable stuff, all made very thoughtfully and romantically in Italy. A piece of on-hanger styling that moved me: a square-tipped crochet tie laid over a zip-up double-knit sweatshirt but under a blazer that concealed it, left to be discovered by some curious browser like myself…

Stoffa is typically billed as “menswear” but I asked, and apparently they have plenty of women clients on both the RTW and MTM sides. From where I’m sitting, this kind of retail feels like a very real, very desirable direction for shopping to head.

L: Stoffa Cotton-Twill Suit Jacket, $1,400 / Stoffa Reversible Wool Merino Blouson Jacket, $1,350 $2,250 / Stoffa Knit Tie, $125 / R: Stoffa Double-Breasted Cashmere Suit Jacket, $3,600

Colbo also gets labeled “for the guys,” arbitrarily enough. But a lot of people have the wrong impression of what Colbo is in the first place. (They think it’s desert-tone slut clothes for LES fuckboys, but really it’s what little princes wear in children’s books.) I tried on a silk-blend rugby shirt from Tal’s latest and the thick, squishy, somehow cooling fabric made my brain buzz.

We’re coming to a close, can you feel it? My last stop was just down the street at Kallmeyer, where Daniella has known for eons longer than the rest of us what we should be wearing. I tried and died for several things from the just-launched collection, which she says began selling out so quickly, like to the detriment of operations fast (good problems). The Remi leather jacket has some fans, rightfully so, and I’ll also vouch for the Warner blazer, which many agree gives '“old Donna Karan”; the boxy but delicate Wynn long sleeve; and the muted olive Gemini blazer that slopes ever so gently forward at the shoulder—I wore it to a dinner with the brand the previous night and they’re sorely wrong if they thing they’re getting it back. Kidding!(?)

L: Kallmeyer Remi Leather Jacket, $2,500 / R: Colbo Rugby Shirt, $365

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