STORES I LOVE: The Dressing Room, NYC

Last time I was in New York I kept hearing a lot of buzz about the Lower East Side and the constellation of great stores that have popped up over the past couple of years. I headed on down to Orchard Street, grabbed an iced-cap from a grassroots cafe and began to sleuth. I came across this little gem of a store by complete accident, and was immediately struck by how unique of a place it was.

The Dressing Room is a a part co-op/ part bar/ part vintage boutique that made me feel at home from the second I walked in. They showcase a lot of local NY designers, most from the LES area. There is also a  bar on the main floor which apparently has a pretty bumpin happy hour scene. The clothes were unique and wearable without being too "I'm a fledgling New York designer trying to be too edgy and too many things at once but before you go let me run up to my sixth story alphabet city walk up studio and get some coke." Lots of great colors, and some really beautiful cocktail dresses for the ladies.

My personal favorite part of the store was the "clothing exchange" in the basement. You have to fight for your life to get down a narrow, steep set of back stairs which dumps you into a basement which, decorated with overstuffed couches and candy dishes for your enjoyment, feels more like someone's parlor or -lol- dressing room. I instantly ran to the men's rack and began pawing through. And then, like an epiphany, I saw the light: a vintage Yves Saint Laurent whtie dress shirt, the fabric in a sort of very slight herringbone pattern. Fit me perfectly. Heaven. And then I saw the pricetag-- $38. I died.

I kept looking through the vintage section and, although the YSL dress shirt was the best menswear piece I found, there were lots of great womenswear pieces-- vintage Prada and Weitzman pumps for under $70. Beaded purses and pretty little things, all for extremely reasonable prices.

I went upstairs to purchase my shirt, and before I knew it, was striking up conversation with the store owner. She told me to go home, give the shirt a quick steam, toss it on and come back for their free peach sangria party later that night. Unfortunately I had a train to catch. But I rest assured, there is at least one great niche in the LES where I can come back to and know I'll find a friendly face and fashionable treasures.

The Dressing Room is located on the Lower East Side, at 75a Orchard Street between Broome and Grand.

STORES I LOVE: North River Outfitters, Boston

This is probably one of my favorite places to go shopping in my home city, Boston. First of all, it is nestled in the cutest, most historic part of the city, Beacon Hill. It is near lots of great places to go for lunch after you shop 'till you drop- pizzeria Figs being my absolute favorite- and is steps from Boston Common where you can go and sun yourself after picking up the latest in preppy apparel.

North River Outfitters is everything a boutique should be. The retail space itself is neither too big nor too small, but is extremely well stocked with everything from Lilly Pulitzer dresses to a host men's accessories, my personal favorite being the Belted Cow belt which reads "5 O'Clock Somewhere" spelt out in nautical flags. NRO calls itself a "Classic Clothier to Ladies and Gentleman," and it is just that. I walked in off the street and felt like a classic gentleman! The salespeople were impeccably dressed and were some of the warmest and most helpful I have ever encountered.

Any sort of preppy haberdashery can be found here, at a very attractive range of price points (and if you go in late summer, you're sure to find some great sale items!) They literally have everything a prepster could ever want here... iconic Barbour jackets, socks and ties in every color/pattern you would ever need to match your bowtie collection, Vineyard Vines blazers and dress shirts , Dale of Norway sweaters to stave off the cold when you're sailing your America's Cup boat around Nantucket, and even more hardcore outwear from brands like Patagonia, Atlantis Weathergear, Mammut and Cloudveil.

I totally love this store; it represents everything that classic Boston was, is, and is going to be. Don't forget to stop by North River Outfitters next time you're in Boston!


North River Outfitters is located in Boston at 126 Charles Street, corner of Revere. (617)742-0089. And, of course, they are also located in Martha's Vineyard on Dock and Mayhew in Edgardtown. (508)627-7789.

STORES I LOVE: uniqlo.

NEW FAVORITE STORE. Uniqlo is out of Japan and, to me, is the next big thing. (I can't wait for them to open more North America locations. As of right now they just have one in New York.) I couldn't have created this store in my wildest dreams: American Apparel meets H&M with just a dash of JCrew thrown in. LOVE LOVE LOVE.

Every pricetag in this store made me do a double take..... Vneck lambswool sweaters for under twenty bucks, cashmere sweaters for 99. Every basic garment you could ever need. In every single frigging color you can imagine. And even some more complex garments if you are so inclined. They've got everything from the broadest selection of sweaters I have ever seen, a great range of warm winter peacoats and other outerwear, fun graphic Tshirts, great basic dress shirts in really high quality fabric, to selvedge denim! I walked into their New York flagship and, to use the RachelZoe-ism, I died. It was bananas. Completely OOC.*

(*"Out of Control")

Boys and girls, next time you're in The City, be sure to make a stop of Uniqlo. on Broadway between Prince and Spring.

STORES I LOVE: montreal

BOUTIQUE DUO, prince arthur+clark
Love this store. The salespeople are always so helpful and friendly. I always make this place a weekly stop as they are pretty good about rotating whats on the shelves. Great selection of accessories. They have a extensive price range, so if you're looking for a $30 tee shirt to go with your new jeans, or a $400 Alexander McQueen oxford to wear out. I've also known them to have a pretty reasonable sale rack in the back. This place is such a one-stop-wonder, and they totally get what the stylish Montreal man is looking for. Love the aesthetic, love the experience.

U&I BOUTIQUE, saint laurent between prince arthur and ave. des pins
Slightly pricier, but beautiful and stylish clothes nonetheless. All sorts of fashion-forward labels like Acne and Phillip Lim. They always have a really wide selection of distinctive shoes. A big thing that they're pushing right now are these winter parkas from Mackage, a local Montreal winter coat maker. The salespeople can be a little pretentious and standoffish, but the selection totally makes up for it.

FRIPERIE SAINT-LAURENT, saint laurent and duluth
Off-beat, very hit or miss vintage store specializing in leather jackets. Careful, I'm not suggesting you should run off with one of their intense-hardcore-decked-out-in-fringe-texan-cowboy-revival-hipster leather jackets, but if you look carefully enough, I'm sure you can find a buttery soft, perfectly broken in leather jacket for a pricetag that won't break the bank.

BOUTIQUE MICHEL BRISSON, saint paul between rue mcgill and rue st paul
Absolute favorite. A wide array of designers, including everything from lots of accessories to the latest in contemporary suiting. The salesperson was actually helpful and interested in selling me something I wanted and looked good on me, and wasn't pushing me to buy something for the sake of making a sale. And on top of that, when I went, they were having this rediculous sale.... Martin Margiela shirts (fashion-forward design, impeccable craftsmanship) which usually retail for upwards of six hundred dollars, for $59!!!