Mick Margo

Sometimes I wish (in a self-enabling way) that there were more shopping within a 5 minute walk of my apartment. Unlike for you, Sara, driving my fancy car to Georgetown is not an option! Then again, it does obviate my ever making shopping a 'weekend trip' - except when a Billion Dollar Babes type event is concerned!

The thing is, I live in a sort of weird border neighborhood - you can walk from a kinky sex shop to Milk and Cookies in five minutes. There is a French patisserie, run by a grumpy French baker, around the corner. Two blocks away, the Dunkin Donuts I pass to and from work has a resident posse of very loud and saucy young, black, cross-dressing regulars.

Despite all these charms, there aren't a ton of nice places for clothes shopping right in the area. I guess I always forget about...

Mick Margo
June 14, 2007

Overall Experience: 3.5 - an adorable, quintessentially "tucked away" boutique on the very residential Commerce Street.
People: The requisite slim long-haired girl typing away at her requisite mini MacBook. Sometimes it's easy to feel intimidated by these shopgirls, especially if there aren't many people in the shop. Then again, sometimes the girl seems genuinely nice and not judgmental of your intense exploration of the 80% off rack.
Prices: Any boutique is rendered even more adorable by a storewide summer clearance! Prices weren't as bargain basement as at Castor and Pollux - eg, there weren't any bargain bins, but I did pick up two nice things for work. I paid $80 for:

• a white cotton top from "750 by Golden Goose"
• a navy blue canvas tulip-cut skirt from Etoile by Isabel Marant

Selection: There was a tank top with a French recipe for gaufres and some gorgeous, unusual Jerome Dreyfuss bags. The store carries designers with an intellectual/luxurious aesthetic, like Borne, Maria Bonita Extra, and Rachel Comey. Hurry and stop by while the prices are intellectually/justifiable!

The Georgetown Crawl

Oh Jo, why are you always making me jealous of your high-flying (i.e. sample sale shopping) NY life? But I can't complain--DC has proved itself a great shopping city for me. (Well, I guess one could argue that every city is a great shopping city for me...)

But yes, I'll see your Castor, Pollux, GenArt, and raise you The Best of Georgetown Shopping--I'm even gonna follow your format! DC, ftw! Tee.


Cusp-
Overall- 3/5. This is a great store to start an M-Street shop-crawl, since it's all the way towards the edge of Foggy Bottom, where there is often good street parking, and you can work your way back towards the main drag. It's also a great browsing store that's got a nice warehousey vibe—it’s bigger than a boutique, but manageable enough that you could be in and out pretty quickly (provided you’re like me and stick to the sale racks).
People- Decent: since this a Neiman Marcus spin-off (it's a concept store that they created to cater to the younger crowd), of course the service is attentive and has a bit of that Neiman-pampering style, but because this isn’t your mother’s department store, you won't get the judgmental/snooty service you sometimes get for being young/dressing badly (though on the other hand, the staff isn't as knowledgeable or professional.)
Prices- Variable: the designer labels they carry have standard retail prices, so I don't even bother looking at the non-sale items, but if you stumble upon a good sale (a good summer sale is going on now), you can find things 60+% off. I got a pair of J-brand skinny jeans for $60 which is something like $100 off retail. Don't ask me what that percent comes out to, since I think I stopped doing arithmetic sometime in the 6th grade.
Selection- Not large, but quite good: you get all the young, fun stuff like Alice&Olivia, Vince, Nanette Lepore, Development, plus an entire upstairs section devoted to jeans and t-shirts.

Barney's Co-op
Overall: 4.5/5. They pretty much carry all the young, up-and-coming brands you find next door at Cusp, plus the less affordable ones like Philip Lim 3.1, Prada, Helmut Lang, Marc Jacobs, which is, if nothing else, fun to look at.
People- The sales people can be a bit snobby—which means they'll ignore you for bigger fish if you're like me and exclusively (and blatantly) scour the sale racks. But I guess I don't mind, since I prefer to be left alone until I need a dressing room.
Prices: Again, I rarely pay retail because I consider that ridiculous, BUT, given a good sale (like the one going on now), Barney’s Coop can have better deals than next door. Sample sale prices: Velvet lacey black shift dress (see photo), $89, James Perse jersey dress, $69!
Selection: Described in the Overall section.







BOUTIQUES
Wink
Overall: 2/5. Tiny little store with a great selection. Good for browsing, trying on stuff for fun, but it gets low score cuz none of their sale items are ever deeply discounted enough for me.
People: The trendy, hipster-type sales girls are super well-dressed, tending to give off bit of that too-cool-for school vibe.
Prices: Too high for cheapos like me.
Selection: Most of the usual suspects, but for a small store, really excellent stuff.

Sugar
Overall: 3.5/5: Even smaller than Wink, and you have to hike all the way up to Wisconsin and P, but I like that they put their one sale rack at the very front of the store (you can literally walk right into it upon entry), which saves me time. It’s hit or miss, but it will honestly only take you 2 minutes, max, to step in and find out.
People: Fine—there is usually one girl at the register who also helps you out if you need. Very no-nonsense shopping, which I like.
Prices: They carry some pretty high-end labels, but again, stick to the sale rack at front. Up to 2/3 off, e.g. Tibi tuxedo skirt for $85.
Selection: Tibi, Mason, Nanette Lepore—and a lot of the same stuff as the other stores, but tending towards more girly things than jeans and shirts.

Urban Chic
Overall 4/5. Across the street from Wink, this store may take more time, since the selection is quite extensive. Sale rack is at the back, and can contain some gems.
People: Friendly and helpful staff—I somehow get an almost Southern vibe from this crowd.
Prices: The sales stuff is usually half off, e.g. Trina Turk shirtdress (see photo) for $106.
Selection: Fantastic. They have everything from older designers like Trina Turk and Catherine Malandrino to cuter young ones like Milly, Ella Moss, to (relatively) cheaper labels like Splendid. Maybe it’s because I like the layout, but I even enjoy raking through the non-sale racks here.




Edit-- I just realized I didn't give any 5/5 scores! And these are my faves! Not sure what that means... I guess I'm still holding out for the perfect shopping experience?

My lumpy white sunglasses

When I first read about the white sunglasses trend this Spring, I immediately filed that with my list of crazy fads like headscarves, jumpers, and enormous Olsen-twins/Nicole Richie-type sunglasses*, a.k.a. stuff that might look cute and quirky on girls like Zooey Deschanel, but would be absurd(ly bad) on me.

Well, next thing I know, white shades started popping up on celebrity pictures everywhere—and you see the likes of Chloe Sevigny, Kirsten Dunst, Michelle Williams rocking the 80s look with these strange white Ray Bans.

Not to say that I’d ever be cool enough to pull off the borderline fug looks these girls regularly go for, but then again, I’ve always been strangely drawn to borderline fug fashion. And I do wear a lot of white in the summer. I was intrigued. A quick Google search informed me that the Ray Ban Wayfarers were pretty much the hottest thing in the 80s, back when it was okay to think Tom Cruise was cute in Risky Business. Anyway, Ray Ban relaunched the Wayfarer line at the beginning of this year for the Spring/Summer 2007 season, adding these hot new white and limited edition red versions. And at a $99 list price, it’s a bargain compared to your typical, overpriced Safilo-produced shades (Yep, your Gucci, Prada, CD, Chanel glasses were all made by the same folks in Italy, thanks to industrial districts and the development of regional specialty trades! So who wants to read my senior thesis? No?).



So, you say, I'm into questionable fashion trends too--where can I get these? Well, friends, another quick Google search tells us that we lowly non-celebs simply cannot get the red or white ones ANYWHERE (besides ebay, but ebay doesn't count cuz you never want to buy branded stuff from ebay where there's no guarantee what you're getting is authentic). Darn.

Wait… it's Nordstrom’s half-yearly sale to the rescue! I found the cutest knock-offs of the white Wayfarers, complete with those little metal rivets-things on the side, and best of all they fit my [large, flat] face and were, get ready for this--$10!! Done and done. And you know, they’re pretty great. I’ve pretty much cast aside my designer frames (which never fit my face very well anyway) in favor of these, cuz they’re summery, I can toss them around, and they make me feel instantly more stylish and cool with no effort. I’m not normally a fan of knock-offs, but I’m pretty sure I’ll be glad I only spent $10 on them in a few months when I realize how ridiculous they really are (see below).

* Trust me, I tried super hard to embrace this one. I have a famously (yeah, I’m kind of a big deal… to my 5 friends) big face, and wouldn’t it be great and flattering to cover it up with oversized sunglasses? Well, it turns out that besides being large in surface area, my face is also pretty flat, due to my lack of a nose bridge. Yep, me, MJ, and our missing noses. Sigh. Well, suffice it to say, those oversized frames simply do fit faces lacking a nose bridge. I give up.

Castor & Pollux Sample Sale

Oh, and I guess I didn't mention the Castor & Pollux sample sale that I went to on Saturday, after rounding up my less glamorous errands (buying paper towels, getting my Contrex fix).

Castor & Pollux
June 23, 2007

Overall: 4/5. Completely unlike the Gen Art event and not at all in a bad way. If you've ever been to the store, you understand - it's about the size of a large Manhattan bedroom, and is located on one of those first, quiet, leaf-light-dappled streets West of the gaudiness of the Christopher Street stop.
People: The owners very nicely congratulated me on my purchases (all from the bargain bins on the floor) and seemed chirpily busy as they talked to the regulars, ordered coffees from the nearby Starbucks, and printed out receipts from their Mac.
Prices: $100 even for a 3.1 Phillip Lim white cotton sweater and thin-wale grey corduroys, and brown embroidered Mint sundress.
Selection: If you weren't me, you might have been able to afford the REAL DEALS - it seemed like the entire store's merchandise was marked down 30-50% (as coded by little round stickers on price tags). Labels like Rodebjer, 3.1 Phillip Lim, Cacharel, and Sonia Rykiel. The stuff you'd design if you were a designer.

Gen Art Sample Sale

Oh, Sara.

Doesn't my sample sale schadenfreude just kill you after awhile?

The fact is, living in New York means that I can, on a Tuesday night, decide on a whim to change out of my pyjamas, hop on the subway and go shopping. At a sample sale, no less!

Gen Art Shop NYC
June 19, 2007

Overall Experience: 5/5. The lights, the cameras, the corporate sponsorship - all conspiring to make some young and artful fashionistas very happy on a summer's Tuesday night.
People: Well, the designers or the frenzied hipster maidens (and their obliging boyfriends)? The designers I met were all unfailingly nice and seemed happy and excited to be there. The shoppers were well dressed to a fault. The usual sample sale bonhomie - where garments and opinions are cheerfully swapped between strangers in the changing rooms - was in full effect. Chipper Gen Art photogs and swag booths from the likes of Fiji water and JetBlue didn't hurt the atmosphere, either!
Prices: Without getting insultingly specific, I paid less than $200 for a Grace Sun dress, Plume necklace, and Tucker blouse. I should also divulge that I didn't pay the $15 admission; the girl at the front just waved me in when I said I wanted to buy a ticket at the door. I know it went to a good cause, but, you know - score!
Selection: I recognized a lot of designers there that have been featured in Lucky and Nylon, and some that I had been hankering after after seeing their designs in ... those stores I can't afford. What was even better was that each designer had an array of styles and sizes; it definitely wasn't a pawing through the racks affair.

A quick word on the Fashion Pipeline

This... 'stuff'? Oh... ok. I see, you think this has nothing to do with you. You go to your closet and you select out, oh I don't know, that lumpy blue sweater, for instance, because you're trying to tell the world that you take yourself too seriously to care about what you put on your back. But what you don't know is that that sweater is not just blue, it's not turquoise, it's not lapis, it's actually cerulean. You're also blindly unaware of the fact that in 2002, Oscar De La Renta did a collection of cerulean gowns. And then I think it was Yves St Laurent, wasn't it, who showed cerulean military jackets? And then cerulean quickly showed up in the collections of 8 different designers. Then it filtered down through the department stores and then trickled on down into some tragic casual corner where you, no doubt, fished it out of some clearance bin. However, that blue represents millions of dollars and countless jobs and so it's sort of comical how you think that you've made a choice that exempts you from the fashion industry when, in fact, you're wearing the sweater that was selected for you by the people in this room. From a pile of stuff.

For better or worse, my senior thesis was in large part about the fashion pipeline. I love reading and learning about high fashion (haute couture, alta moda, etc.), but let's face it, how much of the designer "stuff" we see in Vogue or Harper's Bazaar can we realistically pull off or afford? For regular folks like us, it's all about the pret-a-porter (ready to wear), the diffusion lines, the lumpy blue sweaters, if you will. This blog will occasionally cover high fashion to see what trends are coming down the pipe, but mostly, I'm all about the "value finds", or those up-and-coming designers' clothes that can actually be affordable if you're willing to wait for the right sale. Anyway, thanks for reading, check back for updates soon!