Tue. 06/15/2010 - Shop in Nolita and Lower East Side

Finding little boutiques in NoLita or Lower East Side is like finding hidden treasures. Even though both areas are pretty much famous at this point as new shopping destinations in the city, shopping around is not anything like shopping in SoHo, or 5th Avenue. 

To me, going to SoHo is for shopping for well-known designers or mass market shops, but going to NoLita or Lower East Side is for new designers, unique pieces, vintages or just simply looking around those little boutiques. 

Especially in Lower East Side, they are still hidden among bargain shops or Chinese places (any kind of places with Chinese sign on), so sometimes I find a great place in the middle of nowhere. (And China town is getting bigger and bigger stretching to every direction).

Also, the areas are constantly changing and so do the shops. When I was working in SoHo about 7 years ago, NoLita was already booming with little shops, but Lower East Side had more bargain stores and several new stores. And after several years later, the stores got all changed. And Today, when I went there, I could find only a few of them remaining as the same. And this is another reason why shopping there is like finding hidden treasure, because next time I go there, I may not be able to find the same shop there. But I really hope the ones I found today stay there forever!

{ALIBI}

I really loved everything about this store, the decor, the staff and of course the jewelries. The store was lovely feeling like cute French country house, and the staff was so kind, and the pieces it carried were unique and well-priced. The designers of the jewelry pieces are new and upcoming and mostly local, and store has very well edited collection. It's always hard to shop at well-edited store, because I would want everything from that store. I especially liked vampire teeth knuckle which I was kind of looking for where to find. 

ALIBI at 241 Mulberry Street, www.alibinyc.com

{Only Hearts}

Only Hearts was one of the oldest stores that settled down in NoLita and it was still there. This used to be my ultimate destination for cute little lingerie adorned with lace, but comfortable enough for every day.

Only Hearts at 230 Mott Street, www.onlyhearts.com

{Project 234}

Even though I normally don't wear prints, I thought I could wear these pieces by Yumi Kim. The prints she used had quite a bit vintage feel, and one or two pieces could be great accents in my monotone wardrobe. And I had a nice long chat with the Korean American owner who's farther was from the same hometown as me...

Project234 at 234 Mulberry Street, www.project234.com

{A. Turen}

Ashley, the owner was doing a really cool job here. She not only designed her own line, but also painted the vintage or used bags and gave them a totally new life. I loved what she did with her own Balenciaga bag, and the Chanel one. I want my Balenciaga re-born like hers as well!

A. Turen at 124 Ludrow Street

{James Coviello}

This one, I almost just passed by...but I was glad that I went into. The store was tastefully decorated in more like English style with a little bit of Chinoiserie spice. It seemed like mixing with vintage and antique is a big trend of store decor these days but this was one of the best among all of them. James Coviello himself has a studio in the back of the store, and I heard he liked the Edwardian style and 20s style, which was obviously showing at his store and his line. The store also sells antiques on display and my favorite was real antique cards from Edwardian era.

James Coviello at 70 Orchard Street, www.jamescoviello.com

{SZEKI}

This was another one I almost missed...but found! The owner herself is a jewelry designer, so the jewelry is done by her, and bags are designed by her mom. The clothes are all unique and only one piece available per design because she gets them from local sample makers. Her jewelries were very delicate but at the same time bold meaning they were very small in terms of size (like pendants), but the inspiration seemed to come from machinery parts and looked bold. Her store, I thought, reflected her designs very well. She picked up chairs from the street, or bought inexpensive pieces from flea markets and decorated the place in a simple but bold way mixing natural materials like wood furniture and jute rug with industrial accent like the hammers on the wall and steel hangers. Also, I finally found how to use the wood panel for letterpress that I saw at Hell's Kitchen Flea. She totally inspired me!

SZEKI at 157 Rivington Street, www.szekiny.com

{Le Labo}

The place was like laboratory as the name says. They customize perfume and put your own name and address on the bottle...

Le Labo at 233 Elizabeth Street, www.lelabofragrances.com

{Victor Osborne}

Victor Osborne is a millinery selling hand-made hats. The atelier was in the store and I could watch how the hats were made there...Unfortunately, I was too intimidated to ask for photography in the store...

Victor Osborne at 160 Orchard Street, www.victorosborne.com

Finally...Bowery Street, which is sort of the boundary of NoLita and Lower East Side is also famous as go-to place for kitchen equipments and restaurant furniture. Sun used to have this big steel table at her old place that I loved. I think these so much industrial pieces can be great accents at home (and they are not expensive), and I will get the same table as Sun had for my dining table and desk, once I go to Korea...