HERE’S
THE Empire State Building and the Rockefeller Center, the
Statue of Liberty and Central Park—all unmistakable calling cards
for New York City. Just try wending your way through any of these
on a typical weekend day—virtually impossible and certainly no fun.
The progressive, entrepreneurial creative root of each, however,
reflects the essence of New York City’s allure: people (and loads
of them) and their ideas make this city tick. We suggest fast-forwarding
past the never-ending queues of some of these major attractions
(we suggest hopping the Staten Island Ferry with a zoom lens camera
and being done with the big, splashy spots), in favour of discovering
the living, breathing locales that the locals crave day in and day
out.
Finding the local haunts that are not festooned
with Hawai’ian shirt-wearing tourists and camera-toting, paparazzi-proportioned
mobs in New York City is like playing the lottery: the typical odds
are as steep as the concrete landscape in this town. Living and
breathing here means pounding the pavement and carrying wee bits
of paper and nubs of pencil in your pocket ever ready to take down
a name or a recommendation from a cool- (or hot-) looking stranger
on the street. Where shopping and entertainment, food and drink
venues number into the multiple thousands on the island alone, it’s
crucial whether visiting or a local to know where to go, if you
don’t fancy finding yourself marooned at a Starbucks thumbing a
Zagat guide.
New York City shopping
THERE’S NO
SHORTAGE of shopping: New York City is the home of Madison
Avenue after all. If your taste leans hard-to-find though, you’ll
have to branch off Madison and make your way to the locally attuned
shopping scenes downtown, such as the Lower East Side, Nolita (North
of Little Italy), and Alphabet City. Suzette Sundae is one
such absolutely must-stop and shop spot located in Alphabet City.
An haute vintage and refashioned clothing and accessories boutique
opened by Suzette Sundae (Susie) in January 2003, its æsthetic sensibility
is perfectly mirrored in Susie’s own delightfully dichotomous self-description:
‘Jackie O. meets Wendy O’ (Wendy O’Williams, the lead singer of
the notorious 1980s punk band, the Plasmatics).
When asked about the relation between the two,
Susie remarked, ‘My own style is pretty distinctive and firmly rooted
in a deep love of vintage and punk rock. I tend to a mix between
rock n roll and ultra-feminine elements.’
One does not stroll into Suzette Sundae, one weaves
into and out of and around apparel and accessories, where every
single square foot of retail (in a city that makes one sweat for
every square inch it gives) has been transformed into a rock girl-cum-new
front guard socialite “it” girl’s closet. Suzette Sundae stocks
an eclectic mix of vintage and reworked vintage (Susie’s original
designs using new and used materials), and accessories for days
and days. Expect to find best sellers such as Sarah dresses and
jeans by Harlow, Twist and Oliver, along with Susie’s favourite
designers including Alexia Admor, Charlotte, Catherine Brûlé, and
Loungewear Betty, and tees by Johnny Was. Accessories’ lines include
bags by Hype, Ipanima (look for bags by Bulga shortly) and baubles
by Karen Silverman, Arianne Jeannot, Katie Thompson, and Suzette
Sundae’s own collections—a new and vintage mix of charm jewellery
and the Astral Plane line, which features laser cut line drawings
in 10 and 14 ct gold and sterling. Oh, and did we mention that there
are too many colours and styles of perfectly preserved sleek, sexy
vintage sling-backs, pumps and boots?
Check out www.suzettesundae.com
and look for Susie’s preferred shopping seasons— spring and summer—to
be all about the girl in light colours and white; the one that’ll
be wearing cotton circle skirts (think ’50s garden parties) and
’70s-esque sundresses with loads of print and hand-painted bodices.
You also won’t be disappointed if you’re looking for refashioned
vintage pieces that are ultra-revealing, with plunging necklines
and lace off-set by studs and delicate, leather appliqués! Suzette
Sundae is located at 182 Avenue B; 1 212 777-7870.
CONTINUED
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We suggest fast-forwarding
past the queues of some of these major attractions in favour of
discovering the living, breathing locales that the locals crave
day in and day out
|