So yesterday, after a big, long, gossipy lunch on Lafayette Street with one of my favorite New York people, book editor (and proto-Girl of a Certain Age) Sarah Crichton, I headed south toward Center Market Place, looking for inspiration.
I ended up at No. 6, where most everything was marked down and the staff was congregated toward the back of the store, unpacking new Fall arrivals. I didn’t get an exceptionally close look, can tell you with some degree of confidence that if you like a sequin, you’ll be liking what No. 6 has going on for Fall.
No. 6 has made a fortune off of their clog boots, which every year I think I might buy a pair of and then every year I don’t. They fall under the heading of Things That Look Cute On Others But Not At All on Me.
It’s impossible to actually buy anything but clogs on the No. 6 website, which is SO annoying, because they’ve got some fantastically beautiful stuff in that store (like this pretty back-button sundress, for example). The in-house line is both feminine and avant, and the other designers they’ve chosen to include are, for the most part, edgy but still quite wearable. And the jewelry is to die. Still, one must be vigilant.
At No 6, it’s way too easy to get caught up in the spirit of the place and say to yourself: You know what? Maybe I could actually pull off a silk jumpsuit.
So off I went. And, upon hitting a particular block of Spring Street, saw a brand new Splendid store. Nearby, workers were putting the finishing touches on a Michael Stars boutique, and, farther down a bit, a big sign in an empty storefront announced that it was the future home of a Sam Edelman shop. It’s not like I have anything against any of those brands. I actually like them all. And you know, it’s pointless to bemoan Soho’s death as a destination for interesting, indie retail: it happened. It’s here. But still.
And yet, happily, Spring Street is still home to a couple of delightfully loopy stores—the longest-standing of which is Evolution.
I’d lived in New York for years before a friend dragged me into the weird and wonderful universe of Evolution, a place where, if the spirit moves you, you can pick up a taxidermy of a rattlesnake head. Is somebody you know in the market for a replica gorilla skull? Because Evolution’s got that covered too.
But what I’m most drawn to are their insect displays. You can buy them ready-made, like this pretty one of butterflies, or go the customized route. Which is definitely what I—with my constant need for clean color palettes—would have to do. (Think about if you took those three yellow and black butterflies in the far-right column and built from there? Would that not have the potential to be kind of awesome?)
Or maybe you’d prefer a whole mess of insects? Evolution actually employs licensed entomologists on staff, which I find rather impressive.
They’ve also got all manner of crystal and mineral and stuff. I love these agate bookends.
On to Kiosk, which is weird and wonderful in its own, very different, way. It’s hidden on the second floor of a building near the corner of Spring and Broadway, and you must ascend a very creaky old staircase to get there.
One of my big retail peeves is how often people throw around the word “curate” to describe the act of selecting goods to be sold in places of commerce. And yet I have no problem thinking of the owners of Kiosk as dedicated and rigorous curators.
The husband and wife team who own Kiosk are dedicated to rooting out beautiful and interesting everyday items from around the world. It’s been called an “anti-design shop,” and that’s kind of exactly right. Most everything they sell is exceptionally well-priced, and their website is an excellent source for gifts—for others and oneself. I love a lot of the stuff just for its awesome packaging alone —like this German “nerve tonic.”
Likewise, this Portugese toothpaste, whose old-school packaging is so distinctly not of our culture. Can you imagine if Crest came in the same tube as it did in 1958?
I’d buy this Japanese Carpenter’s knife for the box alone and definitely never take it out, because that thing looks dangerous.
The Kiosk team does theme collections, one of which was Northern California. They saw these earrings on a waitress in Marin County when they were on a scouting trip, and she pointed them right down the road to the jeweler who made them.
How very, very clever is this travel thread kit?
And I love these Hand towels, which they picked up on a trip to India.
They’ve also got a collection of classic Bread and Puppet protest posters from the 60s, which really take you back, no?
For reasons that seemed good 18 years ago, my NYC trips often include two teen-age boys, so I am always on the lookout for sites which allow me to shop without having to listen to whining and sighing. Evolution is a great shop for that! Great t shirts with skulls, lollipops with scorpions in them, etc. etc. Next time in Soho, we will definitely try Kiosk.
I’m always amazed that Kiosk is still there!
And their aesthetic is fascinating…the crazy lighting, the mysterious back room thing, the stairway.
Amazing.
Ahhhhh!! Curate! The most overused word of 2011/2012. Everything is curated! Menus! Wine lists! Stuff for sale in a retail store! According to the NYT it started in 2009:
“For many who adopt the term, or bestow it on others, “it’s an innocent form of self-inflation,” said John H. McWhorter, a linguist and senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute. “You’re implying that there is some similarity between what you do and what someone with an advanced degree who works at a museum does.””
I disagree partially though. It isn’t so innocent, it’s actually obnoxious and pretentious.
I am so go ing to Kiosl in three weeks when i’m in the city. I cannot wait, it can replace my fix at Pearl River.
Kiosk…sorry, i was excited
I have very mixed feelings about the dead insect displays. I wonder if it is wrong to kill something because it is beautiful. It would be one thing if they died naturally but I assume they don’t. In a museum I could see it, maybe. They *are* beautiful. But why would it be okay to do that, but not wear real fur?
And the taxidermy trend never made sense to me either, unless it is an animal one actually killed and ate.
I’d have to see the clog boots on someone. In the picture, I just say no.
Kiosk sounds like a dream. Can’t wait to go check it out. Thanks for the rec!
I’m really coveting those clog boots now. The insects, not so much.
I read your blog every day and often, I have the eerie feeling that I could have written the post (if I was capable of maintaining an excellent blog, which I’m not, sadly). I am always thrilled by what I read, because I agree with every solitary thing you say, but it’s sometimes unsettling. Am I real, separate person, or am I a physically displaced fragment of Kim France? Anyway! I always want to write you and beg you to be my friend in real life, but I usually refrain. Today I just had to say that I have taken this exact walk many times (tempted but ultimately leaving No. 6, dismayed by a new chain retail store on Spring, and then stopping into Evolution and Kiosk to remind myself that there is still quirkiness in Soho) with the very fine addition of a chocolate croissant at Balthazar, which really helped the mood. Thanks so much for your blog, I love it.
Sadly I have to quit this blog. No fashion for woman on a budget. Over $300 for a pair of clog bootees? I’ve got bills to pay. I’ll miss you.
And Kisan up the street! I dig that shop. The Hansa stuffed animals, the Servane Gaxotte necklaces, the Megan Park scarves…
Do you miss Tootsie Plohound?
Oh my God, I LOVED Tootsie Plohound back in the day. Toward the end they got a bit too clunky and aggressively arty for me, but I think that from the late 80s to mid 90s, all of my shoes that weren’t Doc Martens (and that was a lot of my shoes) were from Tootsie Plohound.
I still have a pair of tall black boots from Tootsie Plohound that I bought about 12 years ago & they are in great condition and look great with lots of things. Love them. Yes they were a few hundred dollars but over the years cost per wear cannot be beat. I totally hear the previous poster on bills vs clothes though!! Damn reality some days, right?