the PIPELINE: Style on Tap

• December 22, 2008 8:00 AM
• Just Opened

From Philly to Paris, the Best Store Openings of 2008

By Karen Day, Sarah Moroz, & Xiyin Tang

In a year clouded with closings, foldings, lay-offs, and mergers, we're extra-glad that these innovative boutiques braved the odds and struck out on their own. Whether it's New York darling Steven Alan bringing his cool, classic goods to sunny Cali or beloved Swedish line Acne opening up their first U.S outpost, 2008 was a year for new beginnings despite the less-than-hot economic condition. Below, we've gathered the finest new boutiques so that you can put your hard-earned, cleverly saved pennies to good use.

• New York—Acne Studio

Well before Sweden became fashion's birthplace of over-dyed skinny jeans, it was the home of Acne, a multi-faceted design company that infused the hallmark of Scandinavian aesthetics into a truly modern trend-free collection. This year, Stockholm's finest brought its singular vision of subdued utilitarian idealism along with the brand's creative director Jonny Johannsson and Acne architect Andreas Fornell to a light-filled shop on Greene Street--the label's first "studio" in the States. Johannsson extended his penchant for unfinished work-room style details into a quaint space accented with original Acne-fashioned furnishings, a cluster of potted tulips, and clever hidden door panels concealing the back-room office and fitting areas.

Acne Studio, 10 Greene Street; 212-625-2828; www.acnestudios.com.

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• Los Angeles—TenOverSix

This accessories haven features items by A.P.C., Band of Outsiders, Rachel Comey, Martine Sitbon, Vena Cava, Gryson, Rogues Gallery, amongst others. The feel is pure fun, with a little bit of a gallery vibe: bags are hung on walls, jewelry is framed, and shoes are poised on chairs and suitcases.

TenOverSix, 7420 Beverly Blvd.; 323-330-9355; www.tenover6.com.

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• November 14, 2008 10:36 AM
• Just Opened

Just Opened: Smith + Butler Redefines the Idea of Biker Chic

By Sarah Moroz, Photos by Olivia Jade Horner

New-shop-on-the-block Smith + Butler is proud of the community it belongs to. Opening next Monday (officially), the store embodies the kind of easy-going elegance that is at the heart of Brooklyn and many of its loyal inhabitants. Named in honor of the corner it's located on, BK is as much a part of the store as the merch. Much like her Montauk boutique, Tauk, shop owner Marylynn Piotrowski has filled it with forever classics and modern staples alike. "Tauk is the young surfer crowd," Marylynn says of her first shop. "And Smith + Butler is the grown-up version…it's for the person who still loves to be active but wants some polish, too." Here, labels include Wrangler, A.P.C., Woolrich, and Barbour, to name a few. Local talent has also been tapped, such as yet-undiscovered Save the Manimal—an inspired brand of moccasin boots and leather accessories locally made in Park Slope.

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• October 22, 2008 11:35 AM
• Just Opened

Just Opened: Scandinavian Grace Sets Up New Shop Upstate

By Kelley Hoffman

We love Scandinavian Grace for bringing the best design pieces from Northern Europe to our neck of the woods. But the Williamsburg store is expanding, to in fact, the actual woods. A new flagship shop opened on October 17 in the Catskills, complete with a 4500 square foot showroom, along with a garden and café (full of drinks and treats from Scandinavia) to boot. The store carries many of the favorites found in the Brooklyn store (we're personally found of the Iittala Ultima Thule Glassware, Sagaform Cheese Dome, and Vik Prjónsdóttir Beard Caps) and introduced us to collections from All In Wood, G.A.D. and Carl Hansen & Son, and vintage mid-century wears from Copenhagen Vintage. If you're looking for some inspiration outside of the city, we'd highly suggest a day trip to check out the new set up alongside the upstate autumnal splendor, before you have to put that beard cap into actual use.

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• October 17, 2008 10:11 AM
• Just Opened

Double Play: Two L.A. pop-ups make it clear that clever shopping is still on the menu

By Lisa Dionisio

These days, it's no secret that stores have to go the extra mile for us to drop our hard-earned dough. Nowhere does this seem more apparent than in Los Angeles this week, where two boutiques are welcoming brand-new shop-within-shops. For the next two weeks, downtown indie boutique Ooga Booga is playing host to Mary Ping's line Slow and Steady Wins the Race, and newly opened TenOverSix is launching its first pop-up installation with Leana Zuniga's Electric Feathers.



It's refreshing to come across Electric Feathers hand-crafted made-to-order collection, which features Zuniga's hand-painted cotton dresses, draped hooded jackets, funnel-neck mini-dresses, as well as an assortment of hats, scarves, shoes, and jewelry designed with the New York-based Randi Mates. Inspired by the L.A. day-to-night lifestyle, Zuniga creates pieces that are seasonless and can be easily transformed by the wearer with adjustable drawstring details and removable sashes.

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• October 16, 2008 9:51 AM
• Just Opened

Confederacy: An alliance of fashion, art, and design blossoms in L.A.'s forgotten Los Feliz

By Sydney Pfaff

Most of Landmark-heavy Hollywood Boulevard is the exact opposite of glamorous—it's nitty and it's gritty. Recent years have seen transformations in the area in an effort to reduce drug use and crime, but toward the east is where the most exciting changes have been taking place, slowly, but surely.

Confederacy opened its doors on Hollywood Boulevard in Los Feliz this week to much anticipation. On the same block as one of the millions of American Apparel shops in and around Hollywood, the 5,000-square-foot store is made up of two buildings—the front, serving just women, and the back building, which stocks menswear, tons of gorgeous shoes, and other accessories—complete with a newsstand, tea room, and vintage telephone booths for fitting rooms, equipped with old-fashioned phones that dial the front desk for service. The 1940s-inspired buildings are decked out in rotating art from established and emerging artists, and divided by a cozy deck that will soon function as seating for the store's café, slated to open in December.

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• October 9, 2008 5:34 PM
• Just Opened

Recess Time!: Upper Playground Comes to NYC

By Gabriel Bell

Upper Playground, already, a staple of the T-shirt-hunting, graphic-loving, skateboard-riding set, is already an institution on the West Coast with a strong presence in the Bay Area and a relatively new store in Los Angeles. Well, today, The Cut got the scoop on their newest location, right here in our own East Village. Now, of course, being a New York store, the new Upper Playground is far more cramped and dark than its West-Coast siblings, but considering the wears on sale, including Grotesk and Upper Playground's house brand, we think we'll be okay. Skate on down. (The Cut)

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