Shopping on the first sunny spring day
by Jamee Gregory
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| Inside Ed Hardy's colorful window, looking out towards Mercer Street. |
| Finding myself on Mercer Street on the first sunny spring day I was drawn inside the Ed Hardy store by its arresting window display and colorful signage. When everything looks the same, who can resist original designs painted over very functional clothes? Sweats covered in writing, studded with stones, painted with flowers seemed just right for April, when rain has dampened our days and lowered our spirits. Orange v-necked tee-shirts and tunic length tees, covered with faces, skulls, and scrolls may be too much for some conservative types, but a touch of fantasy seems right for our times. The colorful shop is worth a trip downtown. Tables are stacked with daring designs, including some by France's Johnny Holliday. No two things look alike. There are studded baseball caps in a zillion colors, halters and dresses in rainbow colors. Hoodies are turquoise, beige and black, with color layered upon color, covered in unusual patterns. |
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| L. to r.: A signature Ed Hardy for Christian Audigier hot pink tee shirt, featuring sculls, flowers and gold print ... Wearing my new zip top in Southampton. It's green for Earth Day. |
| Skulls and garlands, flowers and sequins, rays of sun decorate everything. The look is French, to be worn over jeans while racing on a Vespa, or oh so LA, to stroll along Robertson, but will be equally at home in Tribeca, or sauntering down Madison Avenue, if you're tired of Polo. My salesman, Mario, was attentive and kind, bringing scores of sizes into my fitting room. I fell for a long-sleeved pink tee shirt and an olive green hoodie. I tried on Capri pants and sweats, tunics and halters and all were tempting. Even the shopping bags, black, covered in signature swirls, are fun! |
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| Bright merchandise displayed on gleaming white tables. |
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| Painted sweat pants, v-necked tee shirts in bright orange, hoodless hoodies with zip-up fronts, all wildly painted and decorated. |
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| Wall displays hung with sporty clothes for men and women. |
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| L. to r.: My very helpful salesman, Mario, in front of the Ed Hardy logo, waiting to ring up my purchases ... Who could resist this panda covered tee-shirt lined with a camisole in stretchy mesh at Vivienne Tam? |
| My second destination, the elegant outpost of Vivienne Tam, was worth a stop. Tam's Asian influenced shapes, many with Mandarin colors, were covered in spring flowers. Red dresses and hot pinks proliferated, perfect for the season's first warm nights. Simply cut, the designs are especially chic. This season Tam is enamored of pandas and who wouldn't be? A series of tee shirts in black and white show the adorable creatures cavorting. One oversize tee sports a giant panda covering half the shirt. Another has black piping across the neck and a series of the friendly animals in a colorful square across the chest. My favorite was done on clingy mesh, covered with colorful pandas, each in a different square. This shirt is dressy enough for an uptown lunch and wild enough for clubbing downtown. Vivienne Tam has also designed the year's sexiest computer, in a red case covered with colorful blossoms. The computer, perfect for travel, is such fun. It beats white, silver or pink, hands down! It is so beautifully designed and light weight. I can't think of a better way to fight April showers than to buy these spring flowers. |
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| Vivienne Tam's tempting creations. |
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| The inside of the Vivienne Tam store, with its curving surfaces in white and wooden structure in the center. |
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| Tam loves pinks and reds and her dresses are covered in beautiful spring prints. |
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