boutiques

Agent Provocateur to Open in Beverly Hills

Luxe British lingerie brand Agent Provocateur is opening a new boutique on Beverly Hills' famed Rodeo Drive this spring. The new location will be considered a West Coast flagship store for the company, known for steamy ads featuring the likes of Kate Moss, Helena Christensen and Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, the Beverly Hills Courier reports. The upmarket label, which saw profits soar 45 percent in the past quarter, plans to expand its lineup to include sunglasses, cosmetics and bedding. The London-headquartered chain also plans on growing online sales and opening up a flagship East Coast store in New York next month. It currently has 51 stores in the U.K., Europe, Russia, South Korea, Hong Kong, the Middle East and the U.S., with plans for branches in Russia and Japan in the works as well.

Tags: Agent Provocateur, Beverly Hills, boutiques, Helena Christensen, Kate Moss, lingerie, London, luxury shopping, Rodeo Drive, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, UK

Barbour Opens New Outpost in NYC

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Apparel, Men's Style

Classic British outwear company Barbour is opening a new outpost in New York on Wooster St. in Soho's historic Cast Iron District. The new space will be open briefly to feature the Barbour Autumn / Winter 2010 Heritage Collection through the holidays, and will the reopen in early spring with a complete collection of Spring / Summer 2011 Barbour apparel and accessories.

"We are very excited to expand our New York presence with a new store in Soho," notes Jamie Millar, Head of Retail for Barbour Inc., North America. "The neighborhood is steeped in history and culture, but is constantly evolving and remains one of the most fashionable neighborhoods in the country. With Barbour's strong heritage and growing popularity among the fashion-forward, SoHo was a natural fit for Barbour. We are very excited to be joining such a prestigious shopping district." Other Barbour retail store locations include Madison Avenue on the Upper East Side; Boston, Mass; Ardmore, PA; M Street in Georgetown; and the Barbour by David Wood boutique in Portland, Maine.

Gallery: Barbour Opens in Soho

Tags: Barbour, boutiques, mens style, New York, New York shopping, SoHo

Cunard's New Queen Elizabeth to Have a Fortnum & Mason Onboard

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels, Yachts & Sailing, Luxury Shopping

Cunard's new Queen Elizabeth luxury liner (above), successor of the QE2, will have a branch of London's famed food emporium Fortnum & Mason, holder of a Royal Warrant, onboard when it sets sail in October. The move marks the first time ever in Fortnum & Mason's 300-year history that its luxurious products have been available to purchase at sea. The shipboard Fortnum's will join a host of other British brands setting up shop on the Queen Elizabeth, including men's style mecca Hackett of London, Scotland's famed Harris Tweed, fashion designer Anya Hindmarch and famed fragrance merchant Penhaligons. Several brands have also announced special items produced exclusively for the ship which will only be available onboard. The Queen Elizabeth can accommodate over 2,000 passengers in its luxe Art Deco-style interior.

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Tags: Anya Hindmarch, Art Deco, boutiques, cruise ship, Cunard, Fortnum and Mason, Fortnum Mason, Hackett, Harris Tweed, London, QE2, Royal Warrant, UK

Movado To Shut Down Retail Watch Boutiques

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches

American owned watch maker group Movado, will permanently shut down all of its Movado brand watch store boutiques in the US. There are under 20 Movado boutiques in the US - each located in mostly high population areas or large cities. Movado watches will still be sold by independent third party retailers. The Movado boutiques, which sold watches as well as Movado jewelry were apparently not seeing sales nearly on par with corporate expectations. Having personally entered a few, I can't help but blame unqualified, under-trained employees for at least some of the problems.

While Movado hasn't done spectacularly over the last few years, they haven't seemed to do worse that other competitor watch brands that have equally been hit by the 'tragically bad for luxury items' recession. Movado group seems to site a lack of overall profitability recently, and sees the closure of its boutique store division as a serious help in moving back towards profitability. Not all is lost though, Movado will retain one boutique store as its flagship retail location, the Movado boutique in Rockefeller Center in New York City. Most of the Movado outlet stores will remain in operation. In addition to Movado, the group also makes and markets ESQ and Ebel watch brands. Most famous for making the Museum Face Watch one of the most iconic timepieces around, the last few years have arguably seen some of Movado's strongest product offerings in years. Movado will place most of its efforts on its wholesale business, so consumers looking for Movado watches will simply go to one of their many authorized dealers.

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch review site aBlogtoRead.com.

Tags: boutiques, closes, closure, Movado, shuts down, store closings, stores

40 Years of Fred Segal Feet

by Rigel Celeste (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Celebrity Shopping, Shoes

Fred Segal Feet will be celebrating its 40th year in business this year and the tiny LA boutique is as big now as ever, continuing to serve celebrities and the fashion elite as the go-to place for the latest and greatest in men's and women's shoes and accessories.

Located on Melrose Avenue in Los Angeles, every piece for sale in the 610 sq ft store is hand-picked by the husband and wife team that started it so many years ago, Stanley and Patti Silver. Credited with many 'firsts' including being among the first to bring European shoes to the West Coast, being the first to sell Mui Mui in Los Angeles, and being one of the earliest to fall in love with Uggs, the Silvers make time to travel to Milan and Paris every year (usually twice) and have a knack for scoping out the latest and greatest in fashion and design. Brand names include the likes of Prada, Roberto Cavalli, Christian Louboutin, and Giuseppe Zanotti and they have hundreds of offerings for both men and women. The Beatles, Desperate Housewives, and countless other celebrities are common in the store although the Silvers like their goods to be accessible to everyone, and so stock a variety of offerings starting as low as $60 and ranging well up into sky-high thousands. Congratulations on such a long and successful history, with no end in sight!

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Tags: boutique, boutiques, fred segal feet, FredSegalFeet, handbags, shoes

Iradj Moini in Soho

by Annie Scott (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Jewelry

Iradj Moini, a former couture designer for Oscar de la Renta, makes some of the most exquisite and unusual jewelry we've seen this millennium.

As you shop in NYC's Soho neighborhood this holiday season, be sure and stop by the Spring Street boutique (198 Spring, near Sullivan). The boutique has been open since Spring 2007, and feels like an art gallery. You won't believe you're looking at new pieces, released seasonally, and not well-kept relics of the 1920's.

If you're not in NY, you can also browse a number of Iradj Moini's items at Domont Jewelry, a West Hollywood, CA jewelry dealer with an exceptional selection of Iradj Moini on display their website.

Almost every piece is stunning, and worth a look if only for inspiration.

Tags: boutique, boutiques, brooch, brooches, domont, domont jewelry, iradj, iradj moini, jewelry, jewelry designers, JewelryDesigners, moini, new york, new york city, NewYork, ny, nyc, scarab, shop, shopping, shops, soho, store, stores

Marc Jacobs to Open at Elysian Chicago

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Apparel, Real Estate Developments

Louis Vuitton designer Marc Jacobs will open a boutique for his signature collection at the lavish Elysian Hotel development in Chicago (right) early in 2009. Jacobs' quirky, so-hip-it-hurts clothing is revered by celebs like Victoria Beckham, who starred in his ad campaign.

Jacobs has inked a ten-year lease on the 2,700-sq.-ft. space, which will be located in the development's Beaux Arts-style retail courtyard. The designer already has a boutique for his bridge line, Marc by Marc Jacobs, in the Windy City.

The 60-story edifice designed by architect Lucien Lagrange, is being billed as "a throwback to the grand hotels of the 1920's with the modern conveniences of today." It features 188 guest suites starting at $600,000, 51 private residences which start at $3 million, and a restaurant by famed chef Charlie Trotter.

Gallery: Elysian Chicago & Marc Jacobs