Don the Verb

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Yanina Landsaat’s Lower East Side shop has one of the wittiest names on the vintage-boutique circuit: If Don doesn’t seem like a name you’d relate in any way to womenswear, the phrase “the Verb” clears up the seeming nonsense of it (think: “She donned the most elegant YSL gown ever”), while simultaneously hinting at Landsaat’s smart sartorial philosophy. Culling her collection from the closets of fashion diehards from around the world, every piece—from Comme de Garcons to Valentino—adheres to one stricture: “It has to be interesting enough to go forward in fashion forever.” In addition to a vintage collection, the store also has an appointment-only rental archive where stylists, designers, and other WWD types seek out photo-shoot wear and inspiration. There’s a home label, too, which launched in the spring of 2007 and is aimed at those women who like to go from dawn until, well, the following dawn in the same dress. — Caroline Callahan