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When French Corner opened in Soho in 1991, most if not all of its merchandise was French in origin. Today, however, with its innocuous floor-to-ceiling white decor and hypnotic trance soundtrack, this high-end Euro-babe shop defies easy geographic categorization. Running the gamut from casual to elegant international fashion, the shop offers designer jeans by trendy American labels like Sacred Blue and Joe, as well as cocktail dresses by Italian masters Valentino and Gianfranco Ferre. Customers will also find a smattering of baby novelty and concert tees (for those who missed The Pretenders and The Grateful Dead when they still existed), and a tasty selection of fashionable tops, sweaters, and trousers by Moschino, Versace, and Nude. French Corner has long catered mostly to urban women in their twenties and thirties interested in sexy, up-market fashion, but their men's stock increases daily; it now includes such fine offerings as traditional Lacoste polo shirts and denim by Duarte, 575 and the much-sought-after Robins Jeans. — Sarah Walker