About 100 years ago, the women who lived in this district’s tenements – mostly European immigrants – were employed as milliners, silk flower-makers, shop clerks and, of course, seamstresses and dressmakers. Bohemians and artists came to live here next, seeking cheap rent, raw spaces and distance from Uptown moirés. Although every bit as posh as Uptown today, NoHo boutiques – nestled among what remains of immigrant enclaves, successful artists, creative offices and a huge student population – are less polished, more eclectic, irreverent, and betray the zone’s industrial and bohemian past. The setting might actually inspire you to take some fashion risks!
Opening Ceremony (pictured above)
College buddies Humberto Leon and Carol Lim left their corporate fashion jobs in 2002 to open Opening Ceremony on a sleepy stretch of the SoHo-Chinatown border. Their intent? To celebrate collaboration, friendship and a mix of established and under-the-radar fashion – with the added zing of a foreign country’s best designs blended in. A hangout space for artists and friends, and with an ever-evolving display ensuring a feeling of discovery, Opening Ceremony’s multinational approach hit a nerve. The store now occupies four stories and features over three floors of womenswear, a shoe gallery in the basement, a bookshop, a kid’s corner and a men’s store next door.
35 Howard St.; openingceremony.us
I ♥ NY Shopping
Erika Yang is a Brooklyn-based editor who writes frequently about fashion, design and fragrance. She has written for Slate and Vogue among other publications.
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