“SoHo” – South of Houston Street, New York is of those places one must have on his or her shopping trip checklist. Known for its commercialisation and eclectic mix of boutiques for shopping, the sidewalks are often crowded with tourists and vendors peddling small goods and the customary New York memorabilia.
I was less interested in the smaller scale “Times Square” vibe of tourists and peddlers as my gaze were drawn to the top of buildings that surrounded the hustle and bustle below. I was looking at the most beautiful cast-iron architecture up above, classical French and Italian architectural designs proudly displaying their decorative facades made by the cast iron foundries in New York (Badger's Architectural Iron Works, James L. Jackson's Iron Works, and Cornell Iron Works) from the mid to late 1800s.
Approximately 250 cast-iron buildings stand in New York City and the majority of them are in SoHo.
Left | The newly restored 101 Spring St. Right | The Silk Exchange Building, built in1896, though not a cast iron building, steals the show as one of the more prominent architectural accomplishment in SoHo’s sky-scape.
The stores in SoHo were very well presented. Most of them occupied those beautiful period buildings. The list of occupancy was impressive, ranging from the well known “big” names to the lesser-known but more interesting boutiques. My personal standouts were Miguel Antoinne and Blue In Green. Miguel Antoinne is a men’s designer brand with an edgy signature and luxury appeal. All of Miguel’s designs are manufactured in New York City. Now, that is a rarity in the industry. The pieces are beautiful and fashion forward, a show of talent and vision well balanced in their creation.
Miguel Antoinne’s SoHo store, elegantly presented.
The leather pieces at Miguel’s were outstanding.
Blue In Green was the complete opposite showcasing a multitude of brands offering loads of denim and casual wear. There was a lot of “Japanese” here in both denim and brands.
Blue in Green, the denim hotspot in SoHo.
I simply cannot leave New York without buying a hat. The closest hat shop was Goorin Bros. Well, you just can’t go wrong with these guys, Goorin Bros have been around since 1895.
Goorin Bros shop, a wonderland of hats, hats and more hats.
Great sports-lux looks from the runways with paneling highlights on tops, track jackets, track pants, all in a softer, loose silhouette.
Astrid Andersen putting the “lux” in sportswear mode with voluminous coats and sumptuous fabrics.
some key runway hair looks for AW17-18
Of course, I’m not talking about the northern area of the neighbourhood. They're clustered among the beautiful buildings of SoHo were the evils of retail; the off shore conglomerates, the succubus of the industry, H&M, Sephora, Zara.... All of a sudden this part of Soho reminds me of Times Square, indiscriminate retail stores filled with poor quality goods that fuels a wasteful society with the lure of its cheapness and disposability.
I took a snapshot of the Empire State Building instead.
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