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The luxury book publisher of glossy monographs on photography, art, and fashion unveiled its first stateside boutique in the lobby of the renovated Plaza Hotel in 2008. Flush against the Rose Bar on the mezzanine level, the shop’s balcony hovers over lobby loungers tippling afternoon tea, with Fifth Avenue visible through arched windows. Deep, towering shelves of coffee-table tomes on style icons like Dior and Coco Chanel and photography greats like Irving Penn and Henri Cartier-Bresson compliment the building’s opulent atmosphere. Painted ostrich eggs, African masks, and animal tusks adorn the stately space, too. The rear of the store houses the “living room,” a luxe alcove decked with the brand’s signature red accents, where book trollers can sit and read. The room contains first editions like Saul Bellow’s Herzog and rare books like Jackie and Lee Bouvier’s One Special Summer. Notebooks, stationery, and special-edition John Derrian plates or title-stuffed Goyard trunks provide unexpected (and big-ticket) gift options. — Genevieve Leon

The store offers a hefty selection of striking images from its table-topping titles as framed prints to guests who inquire.