West Village
Oh-so-quaint and charming hood, until you get trampled by those darn Sex and the City tour groups. Begin your adventure at 37 Greenwich Ave. (cnr Charles St.) at Jonathan Adler / 212 488 2803 / jonathanadler.com; the master of ceramics also has plenty of juicy homewares. Exit right and scoot on down to #9 Personnel of New York / 212 924 0604 / personnel ofnewyork.com / for curated Cali casualwear that brings a taste of Venice Beach to NYC. Exit right down to Christopher St. and if you look diagonally across the village square, you’ll see C.O. Bigelow Chemists at 414 6th Ave. / 212 533 2700 / bigelowchemists.com / ye oldest drug store in the US, with vintage atmos and cult supplies. Race across for C.O., or right for honeybunch Christopher St. First on your right, get caught in fragrante at #9 Aedes de Venustas / 212 206 8674 / aedes.com, a baroque jewel selling the best in hardto-find scents and candles; elegant Albertine at #13 / 212 924 8515 / albertine-nyc.com / stocks new American designers and C.19th jewellery, and charming Flat 128 next door at #15 / 646 707 0673 / flat128.com / focuses on jewellery from British artisans. Cross for Leffot at #10 / 212 989 4577 / leffot.com / with trig men’s shoes from Aubercy, Ed Green etc, plus MTM service; then squeal at the window of Le Petit Puppy at #18 / 212 727 8111 / lepetitpuppynyc.com. No, you can’t have one. No, put it down. Absolutely NO! Oh alright then, but YOU have to clean up after it. Fido or no, cross for Doyle & Mueser at #19 / 347 982 4382 / doylemueser.com / a plush mini-clubhouse offering beaut M/W’s bespoke suiting. On the next corner spot old-fash dinette Jeffrey’s Grocery / 646 398 4630 / jeffreysgrocery.com / with full raw bar, sarnies or a glass of bubbly if you’re pecky; or push on to find at #39 Greenwich Letterpress / 212 989 7464 / with sweet stationery to-go or bespoke. Exit and you’ll see that the road forks to your right: take the left fork along Grove St. crossing 7th Ave. Before you reach the Bleecker St. retail belt, duck into Lori McLean at 49 Grove St. / 212 242 3204 / lorimclean.com / for handmade bijouterie, and note at the corner with Bleecker is Caudalie / 212 308 3552 / caudalie.com / for French, vinebased beauty prods and skincare. Now twirl right onto Bleecker and look out for the divine botanical creations at Ovando florist at #337 (see V. Useful) and Gatsby-worthy handmade hats also at #337 Goorin Bros. / 212 256 1895 / goorin.com. Alexis Bittar’s bold baubles in Lucite and dazzle hues beckon at #353 / 212 727 1093 / alexisbittar.com, then ohso-sweet Sucre at #357 / 212 352 1640 / sucrenyc.com / is packed with pretty accessories handpicked by owner Selima. Cross for Cynthia Rowley’s femme frocks at #376 / 212 242 3803 / cynthiarowley.com, then zip left to the corner of Perry St. for Robert Marc’s modish eyewear at #386 / 212 242 6668 / robert marc.com. On the opp. corner is Marc Jacobs’ wham-glam debut beauty shoppe at #385 / 212 924 6126 / marcjacobs.com, and next door, English bagmen Mulberry / 917 261 4394 / offer a custom design service. Lulu Guinness across at #394 / 212 367 2120 / luluguinness.com / has fanciful arm art, and Jack Spade at #400 / 212 675 4085 / jackspade.com / is a onestop wardrobe for dapper dudes. Cross Bleecker for Bond No. 9 at #399 / 212 633 1641 / bondno9.com / and since you’re here, why not sample the signature ‘Bleecker St.’ scent? Go on, fuff it on...
Now, skirt around the lardy tourists lining up outside Magnolia Bakery and on to James Perse (w) at #411 / 212 620 9991 / jamesperse.com / for butter-soft basics. Leg it quick sticks back to Perry, whirl right, then left onto Hudson and hike down to End of History at #548½ / 212 647 7598 / theendof historyshop.blogspot.com / for a staggering collection of midcentury glass and lighting, then cross the road for the teeny Monocle store at #535 / 212 229 1120 / monocle.com. Darling, you must be drier than a Quaker’s convention by now, so beeline one block down to Employees Only (see Bars) for exemplary martinis behind the glowing ‘psychic’ sign.