-
Swedish Fishing: The Wait for the Red Hook Ikea Opening
We talked to those hardy souls who will wait in line for anything — even a discount Scandanavian sofa.
Posted 06/17/08 in Daily Intel : Intel
-
FreshDirect Admits That Something Has Turned Sour
Hey, remember before Christmas when we told you about how FreshDirect was out of many basic products and was having trouble offering prompt delivery times? And how it might have been because of an exodus of illegal immigrant workers after a Homeland Security probe of the company? When we asked a rep for the popular grocery service about the issues, we were cryptically told to "plan ahead and to double-check available times." Now, though, FreshDirect brass are finally addressing the problem. Regular users with e-mail logins were sent a letter late yesterday telling them that this month, the company is "going to have a harder time meeting your food needs" than usual. The letter explains the labor issues and employee shortages they've been battling. Which is all well and good, but if it means we are going to have to carry an entire spiral ham on the M14 bus back from Whole Foods tomorrow, we might just have to move back to the suburbs.
Posted 12/31/07 in Daily Intel : Intel
-
We Ask Shoppers Whether They’re Spending Like Good, Patriotic Americans
The Times reported earlier this week that nationwide sales of women’s clothes are “unusually bleak” this holiday season, thanks to the slowing economy and weak fashions. As with most everything else, we wondered whether this “ominous” sign for year-end retail revenue applied to those great American exceptionalists, New Yorkers. And so we put some questions to them — plus a couple of bargain-hunting Euros — as they shopped. —Kendall Herbst
Posted 12/19/07 in Daily Intel : Intel
-
FreshDirect Snafu Endangers Cookie Plans, Livelihoods
Perhaps, last weekend, you were thinking of making some cookies for your officemates. You were going to give them out this week, before everybody left for the holiday. So you woke up on Saturday morning and you logged on to FreshDirect to order the ingredients. Except, to your surprise, they were out of chocolate chips. And nearly out of flour. And running low on sugar. And then, when you tried to schedule a delivery time, you learned that the soonest they could get your modest ingredients to you was four days from then. You may have been irritated. You may have been outraged. You may have even gone to the grocery store. See, readers, this week there's something amiss with FreshDirect, and it's going to get in the way of your food planning. They're out of many of their staples, and they don't have any available delivery openings. It may be the holiday season, but it's practically unbearable. What could be worse?!
Posted 12/19/07 in Daily Intel : Intel
-
Macy's Hosts Your Holiday After-party
Macy's announced this week that they are going to keep eight of their locations, including the Herald Square flagship store, open at all hours of the day and night from December 21 to Christmas Eve. From the Staten Island Advance:Shoppers will be greeted with the ongoing sales Macy's has been holding since Black Friday, said spokeswoman Elina Kazan. "The most important thing about being open 24 hours is that it makes shopping convenient to people with different schedules," she said. "This gives everyone a little extra time." Company officials have been planning the shopping marathon for months to ensure there is enough manpower and merchandise.
Everyone is saying this is so nice of Macy's to open the store so everyone, no matter what their time constraints, has a chance to shop. Now, once all the crowds have gone for the day, customers will be able to wade through the dunes of scattered merchandise in peace. What a great Christmas present. And just think of all the homeless people who will have a nice bed of jumbled merino V-neck sweaters! At Macy's, A Shopping Marathon [SI Advance]Posted 12/14/07 in Daily Intel : In Other News
-
Saks Loads Up on Logos at New Shoe Department
The new shoe department at Saks opened this morning, and, much as we'd love to gush about it, we can't. Don't get us wrong: It's nice. It's very nice, and it's a major upgrade from the well-to-do-suburban-mom- attempting-to-be-fashionable selection the store formerly offered. But we're shoe addicts, and we were expecting more. The floor was buzzing with camera crews, waiters were serving breakfast munchies, and salespeople were announcing every two seconds how proud they were of the new space. They had the patent-leather Miu Miu spectators for sale, and the two-tone Pradas with the curved heel. They even had our knee-high Chloé boots, with the gold zipper going up the calf. But what they also had was way too many logos for our taste: Gucci, Chanel, and Dior; sneakers, loafers, and ballet flats.
Posted 08/17/07 in Daily Intel : Show and Talk
-
Call Me
So the iPhone went on sale Friday afternoon; America rejoiced, God smiled, and people who'd been waiting on line for three days could finally go take a shower. (We must say our favorite touch is the line of what seem to be Apple employees at left, applauding the dude for, you know, shopping.) Funny thing: After all the hysteria and lines and waiting and so forth, our friend walked into an AT&T store Saturday afternoon, bought an iPhone, and left in about a half-hour. UPDATE: Aforementioned friend IMs: "Errata! I was in and out of Apple Store in 5 minutes." Apparently reporting over drinks late on Saturday night doesn't always yield complete accuracy. Who knew? Earlier: Daily Intel's we're-giving-Steve-Jobs-exactly- what-he-wants iPhone coverage.
Posted 07/02/07 in Daily Intel : Photo Op
-
For ‘The Sopranos,’ Everything Must Go
The Sopranos is over, so the show's producers are having an estate sale. A Silvercup Studios warehouse is selling off set dressing (cash and carry!) all this week. So what's there? Actually, nothing we recognized. We didn't see Junior's kitchen table; we didn't see Tony's desk at the Bing. But there were lamps and rugs and placemats aplenty. History only you will recognize, for a small fee! Plus you have to go to Long Island City. Movie Company Set Dressing and Warehouse Sale [Craigslist] Related: The Long Con [NYM]
Posted 06/19/07 in Daily Intel : Intel
-
It's a Steal!
Fashionable sources tell us that some Marc Jacobs bags are on sale at his Mercer Street store today. The Mixed Chain pouchette and handbag are starting at $200. Get down there!
Posted 05/16/07 in Daily Intel : Show and Talk
-
At New Location, J. Press Hopes for New Money
J. Press, the venerable clothier of generations of New York Wasps and their privileged offspring, moved from East 44th Street — once the epicenter of conservative men's fashion — earlier this month, after nearly 50 years on the block. (Brooks Brothers, bless them, remains.) Just around the corner on Madison and 47th, a few changes at the new J. Press stand out. The old shop, like a Wasp wedding, was a little too big and a little too quiet. The clothes were immune to the vagaries of new fashion; you could always find a sport coat that went out of style sometime during the Carter administration and dress shirts with little button flaps over the chest pockets.
Posted 05/16/07 in Daily Intel : Intel
-
Let's Go to the Swap
The new trend in clothes-shopping among the city's more environmentally conscious sorts are clothing swaps, like last Sunday's Swap-o-rama-rama (that's not a typo) inside NYU's Eisner & Lubin Auditorium. (There's a smaller swap this Sunday afternoon, from 3 to 5 p.m., at 49 Warren Street in Manhattan.) It's a simple idea: Walk in with a bag full of clothes, pay $10, and walk out with as much as you can carry. This is not vintage shopping in the fashion-y, "curated," sense; rather, swappers peruse tables piled high with disused crap, hoping for the occasional gem. Polyester and pleats considered too weird to be vintage move on to a new life phase: Sewing machines lined the NYU room, and participants were invited to transform unwearable pieces into dolls, bras into handbags, and sweaters into mittens. We spoke to a few shoppers about their finds.
Posted 04/27/07 in Daily Intel : Intel
-
Madewell? Ask Uma Thurman for the Number
On Monday night, Uma Thurman scheduled a special preview appointment to shop the Madewell spring collection, located in a private showroom near Astor Place. The "store" is open to New Yorkers for just eight days (tomorrow through Friday, and then next Monday to Friday) by appointment only. And to make the call, you need the "secret" phone number. Inspired by the Massachusetts workwear company founded in 1937, the spring women’s collection (currently available only at the label’s two stores in Dallas and L.A.) includes garment-dyed denim, washed “boyfriend” shirts, and an assortment of cool and girlie skirts, dresses, and accessories, ranging from $12.50 for tanks and tees to $248 for the flat, equestrian boots. The renowned jeans range in price from $75 to $115. Often likened to the hip and modern French label A.P.C., Madewell is owned by the J. Crew Group but bears virtually no resemblance to the classic, preppy label. The Manhattan pop-up store has garnered impressive fashion buzz owning to its semi-secret, exclusive viewings. For those who are not privy to the private shopping experience this week, do not fear: More Madewell stores are opening soon. This Friday, a branch opens in Austin, Tex., and in May, stores arrive in Short Hills, New Jersey, and Las Vegas. New Yorkers will have to keep waiting, however, as a permanent Manhattan spot has not been chosen. Sources swear that it will open before the end of 2007. Until then, women can just scour the city for that secret phone number. —Doria Santlofer
Posted 03/06/07 in Daily Intel : Show and Talk
-
Saks Now Offering Package Deals?
We couldn't help noticing this mannequin in a Saks window as we walked past last night. We have no idea what they're actually trying to sell with it. Or, come to think of it, maybe we do. [Snap a Photo Op–worthy shot? Send it to us at intel@nymag.com.]
Posted 02/16/07 in Daily Intel : Photo Op
-
Clothing Bargains for Transgender People, Too!
In another small victory for the city's ever-brawnier transgender-rights movement, Loehmann's, that venerable mecca of fashion markdowns, has agreed to let its customers choose fitting rooms and restrooms based on the gender they identify as rather than the one they may look like to the rest of us. The decision came after Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund filed a complaint with the city's human-rights commission because the Seventh Avenue store last year denied Jane Galla, "a transgender woman and regular Loehmann's shopper," as the press release describes her, access to the women's dressing room. Galla took today's news with aplomb. "Like all New Yorkers, I appreciate a good bargain," she said in the release, "but the price is too high if I have to endure discrimination when I go shopping." Agreed. But, well, what if it's a really good bargain? —Tim Murphy
Posted 02/14/07 in Daily Intel : In Other News
-
All These People Wore Khakis
On Monday the Gap — you know, that ubiquitous purveyor of khakis and pocket T-shirts you stopped shopping at sometime in college — fired its chief executive, Paul Pressler, after it decided he couldn't turn around the flailing brand. As the company searches for a new direction, we sent an intrepid New York reporter to the enormous Fifth Avenue store in midtown to chat with shoppers on their way out and see what advice New Yorkers have for the retailing giant.
Posted 01/26/07 in Daily Intel : Intel
-
Men Don't Make Passes?
And yet the guy behind the counter at A.R. Trapp Opticians on Madison Avenue tells us he's never even seen Ugly Betty. Ugly Betty [abc.go.com]
Posted 12/22/06 in Daily Intel : Photo Op
-
Still Standing at Tower
Tower Records, at long last, is really no more. Today's the last day of business at the Village location; the Upper West Side branch closed yesterday. In the weeks leading up to this, cost-conscious music buffs have streamed into both locations to pick through thousands of marked-down CDs and DVDs. But some things you literally can’t (almost) give away. After the jump, a sampling of what remained at the Upper West Side store near the close of business yesterday. —David Browne
Posted 12/22/06 in Daily Intel : Intel
-
Bruce Ratner, Atlantic Yards Neighbors, All Set to Have Heart Attacks
Atlantic Yards: IRS set to make thing more expensive for Bruce Ratner. [Brooklyn Papers] Brownstone Brooklyn: In fancy-pants gentrified neighborhoods, people binge-drink more and die more often of heart disease. [Brooklyn Papers] Carroll Gardens: Is a biodiesel plant coming? [Carroll Gardens Courier] Downtown Brooklyn: Developer wants to "Botox" Fulton Street Mall, adding maybe a Cheesecake Factory and an Equinox. Existing shoppers ain't thrilled. [Brooklyn Record] East Village: Crappy scaffolding gets a scolding. [Neither More Nor Less] Flatlands: The Aviator Sports complex, opening soon at Brooklyn's Floyd Bennett Field, will be joined by high-end and highly caloric eateries like Junior's, Grimaldi's, and Jacques Torres. [Brooklyn Record] Fort Greene: Residents fight to save a big rock. [NYDN] Hell's Kitchen: Pier 76, behind the Javits Center, would be a good place for a recycling transfer station. But then what to do with the tow pound? [Villager] West Village: Locals still don't think enough is being done about the queer kids who hang out at the Christopher Street Pier. [Villager] Williamsburg: Northsix to close for renovations, plans are in the works for a new version of the club with a really lame name. [Brooklyn Record]
Posted 11/06/06 in Daily Intel : Neighborhood Watch
-
Uniqlo — Japan's H&M — Signs Up Chichi Brands for NYC Store
Uniqlo, the Japanese source of hipster basics, is known for affordable T-shirt collaborations with artists like Barbara Kruger. Now we hear that the company plans to bring the same approach to its New York flagship when it opens on November 10. (Meantime, there's a temporary store at Rockefeller Center.) Sources say Uniqlo has tapped high-end designers Lutz & Patmos (cashmere sweaters), Philip Lim (womenswear), and Cloak (menswear) to create collections for the store for spring 2007. An official announcement is expected on Monday, but spokespeople for both Lutz & Patmos and Cloak confirmed the partnership. (Phillip Lim's spokesman would neither confirm nor deny.) All items — in Cloak's case, a jacket, a slim jean, a trouser, a polo shirt, and some shirting — will conform to Uniqlo's reasonable pricing philosophy (nearly everything is in the low double digits). We only hope the sizing will be more American than Japanese. — Rima Suqi
Posted 10/19/06 in Daily Intel : Intel
-
Gamers Roam Manhattan, Seeking Next Level
Say what you want about this morning's rush of hush-hush Playstation 3 preorder sales — at least it got the gamers out of the house. Here's how the whole event — itself reminiscent of a video game — went down: Around midnight, EB Games and Gamestop blasted their mailing lists with an announcement that down payments would be accepted on PS3 consoles, set to go on sale in November 17. And by first thing this morning, fans laid siege to the stores' Manhattan locations — to find the coveted product doled out in sadistically small doses.
Posted 10/10/06 in Daily Intel : Intel
Advertising
Popular Topics
spring 2009, paris fashion week, politics, movies, music, sarah palin, the greatest depression, early and often, television, john mccain, barack obama, models, designers, slideshow, video, books, media, tv, behind the scenes, joe biden, openings, real estate, art, hair, mayor bloomberg, neighborhood watch, nightlife, party lines, reality tv, comics, early and awesome, neighborhood watch, park slope, shopping, tina fey, tom colicchio, art candy, beef, campaigns, chat room, countdown, economy, gossipmonger, harvey weinstein, karl lagerfeld, mediavore, newsfeed, overnights, sales, slideshow, sports, two for eight, advertising, bill clinton, bill maher, bravo, britney spears, christian dior, cindy adams, controversy, corton, craft, debates, fragrance, gossip girl, hussein chalayan, katie couric, madonna, makeup, mtv
Can Paterson Navigate the Troubled Economy?
Will Sulzberger's Heirs Sell the 'Times'?
How McCain Lost His Public Image
What Wall Street Will Look Like in Fall 2009
