As part of our 2nd Annual Best of the L.E.S. magazine issue, we asked our Shop Talk contributor, Jessica Delfino, where to go for the best deals in the neighborhood. Here are her top picks:
GeorgiaNYC (27 Orchard St.)
Orchard Street is really kicking up it’s heels in recent years with new restaurants, shops and my personal favorite – more than one vintage store. Each spot brings something unique to this happening little stretch, and GeorgiaNYC is an example of something quite special, indeed. Inside, you’ll find glamorous vintage items and finds with a strong ’60s influence from around the globe as well as Georgia Fenwick, the young entrepreneur at the storefront’s helm.
For such exotic designs culled from across the globe, the prices are competitive. You can borrow a higher end modern piece from RentTheRunway.com for one night or pay about the same at GeorgiaNYC for your very own, inspired by a photo straight off Georgia’s imagination board which features fashionable snapshots from yesteryear of celebrities and family members alike.
GeorgiaNYC is open Tuesday through Sunday from noon to 8 p.m.
Cloth Culture (392 Broome St.)
I recently discovered Cloth Culture, which is located inside of Carpet Culture. You absolutely wouldn’t know it was there unless you were a person who took the time to go suss out the secret gems of New York City. The two $20 “art gallerist in a hurry”-style shirts I purchased there are in high rotation in my wardrobe—they are hip, functional and are of impressive quality. My savvy readers know that $20 for a well-made, highly efficient and fashionable shirt is a super-duper steal. Most of the clothes I saw weren’t priced at higher than $40. What-the-wha?
Hours: 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 12 p.m. to 6 p.m.
Pamela Barsky (29 Essex St.)
I. dig. this. chick. I mean, I don’t know her or anything, but I sometimes stop to delight and marvel in the sayings screenprinted on her pouches that decorate the little storefront window of her Essex Street shop. If Twitter and purses mated, they’d have Pamela Barsky’s bags. Plus, her sense of humor, which she pours out onto the pouches en masse, is vibrant and fun—from “New York Is My Boyfriend” to “You Will Never Convince Me Macaroni & Cheese Is Not A Vegetable”—it’s too much!
Her merchandise is the perfect go-to gift for a secret santa, nieces and cousins, thank-you gifts and more. At $16 for a handmade, incredibly cool little bag? I mean, c’mon. If that’s not “bang for your buck”, I don’t know what is.
Hours are generally noon to 8pm.
Impressions (South side of Delancey, east of/near Forsyth Street)
This little vintage and secondhand clothing store is run by a little vintage Spanish woman who has been in NYC for longer than most of us have. It’s a cash-only joint and you have to dig. It’s not your typical New York City thrift store—you won’t hear Black Keys playing on a state-of-the-art Bose speaker system, see hip decor or hand-painted murals, or wonder why the prices are so damn expensive for clothing that was obviously worn many times by people who are surely long gone.
But when you’re paying $5 for a gorgeous vintage dress that you wouldn’t get away with paying less than $178 for at a competitor’s store, you can’t go wrong. This shop might, in fact, be THE VERY BEST bang for your buck in the whole entire city.
Hours: Wander by and hope it’s open. The place keeps odd hours, but weekdays from about 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. are a good bet.
Jessica Delfino is a comedic musician who has lived and performed in the LES for like, forever. She first fell in love with beautiful clothing as a kid when her mom let her dress up in her vintage stash. Jessica was called “One of NY’s 50 Most Fashionable People” by Time Out NY. Check her out at here. She’s also @JessicaDelfino on Twitter.
