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Sittin’ Pretty
Just in time for summer, Ikea introduces new pieces in its groovy PS line. Our favorites: a lacquered rattan chair and footstool, both designed by James Irvine. They’re light, easy to put together, and give you a lot of style for not a lot of money (chair, $69; stool, $30).
IKEA
1100 Broadway Mall, Hicksville/516-681-4532
1000 Ikea Drive, Elizabeth, New Jersey/908-289-4488
800-434-ikea
www.ikea-usa.com
String Theory
A girl on the go never knows when she might need an extra pair of underwear. So Victoria’s Secret created the Spare Pair Panty, a little cotton thong in a package so tiny it fits in your pocket. Choose from black, white, light blue, and pink, and sizes small, medium, and large ($5).
VICTORIA’S SECRET
1981 Broadway, at 67th Street
646-505-2280
Walk in the Clouds
French artist Frederique Thomas photographs cloud formations in her travels around the world. Her dreamy pictures from Rio, Aspen, London, Pont Aven, Amsterdam, and Delhi are silk-screened on a set of drinking glasses – a perfect gift for armchair travelers ($15 each).
MXYPLYZYK
125 Greenwich Avenue/212-989-4300
AUTO
805 Washington Street/212-229-2292
THE CLAY POT
162 Seventh Avenue, Brooklyn/718-788-6564
Hip to Be Square
Susan Ward’s handmade designs usually cost hundreds of dollars, but she recently introduced a line of six-inch-by-six-inch glass plates (the perfect catchall for change or cuff links) at a much more affordable price. All are hand-painted with an original image and backed in felt. Themes range from golf to globes and maps to farm animals, like the rooster shown here ($45).
BERGDORF GOODMAN
754 Fifth Avenue, at 58th Street
212-753-7300
Play Footsie
Tired of your old drugstore Dr. Scholl’s? Try Olive & Bette’s sassy customized versions. Hand-painted with cherries, lobsters, pink poodles, or dogwoods (pictured), the wood-soled slides come with a shoe bag and a pair of matching nail polishes ($175).
OLIVE & BETTE’S
1070 Madison Avenue, near 81st Street/212-717-9655
158 Spring Street/646-613-8772
252 Columbus Avenue, near 72nd Street/212-579-2178
Show Your Stripes
Rafe’s new canvas cosmetic bags are too cute to keep stashed in the bathroom. They’re super-functional (one has a removable pouch inside; another comes with a built-in mirror), and they double as little clutches for a summer night out on the town. There are five styles ($85–$195).
RAFE NEW YORK
1 Bleecker Street/212-780-9739
SAKS FIFTH AVENUE
611 Fifth Avenue, at 49th Street
212-753-4000