Photo: nytimes.com

The Critical Shopper goes to Brooklyn to check out the new Bird store this week. Cintra Wilson writes: "Much of the clothing at Bird appears to be recovering from its too-adventurous lives ... It seems a bit perversely bourgeois to demand a patina of robust character from our clothes in an economy in which garments bearing the marks of age are not an elective style choice for so many ... It is possible to look at these pretrashed jeans as more than just a look that sedentary poseurs borrow to mimic outdoorsy virility. They may be viewed as a declaration of taste, to wit: 'I may not have had to fight feral, screwdriver-wielding 9-year-olds in the Outback, but I am wise enough to appreciate the pants of those who have.'" [NYT]