Shopping with Coup de Coeur
Shopping in New York City is as much of an art (or science) as truffle hunting in Italy or animal tracking in Botswana, so naturally we always have some ‘pigs’ on hand to help us out. Meet our Manhattan gurus and their favourite discoveries.
As personal stylists and founders of Coup de Coeur, we’re always asked “where do you like to go shopping?”. There’s no definitive answer to that; what we like is moseying through downtown streets and uptown avenues, stopping when a window or a sign catches our fancy and ending up finding something unexpected and amazing. What really gets us going is discovering a serendipitous treasure in a store we thought we knew. Last weekend we had an impromptu afternoon of just that.
We began the day at ADAM, New York designer Adam Lippes’ namesake boutique, stocked with a full range of his women’s and men’s lines. What keeps us peeking in regularly, though, is the chic and quirky range of accessories and home décor. French-girl-cool sunglasses, hand-crafted jewellery and even many of the objet d’art and furniture pieces are for sale—all you have to do is ask. We left with this black Areaware Piggy Bank for our office.
We walked from Soho to Nolita for a quick trip through Love Adorned, the sister boutique to the infamous tattoo shop New York Adorned. This light-drenched store features quirky finds any fashionista or hip host will want to collect. Perhaps you’re in the market for a hand-made deer leather dream catcher or an Indonesian skull? If so, you’re in luck. For a mid-trip snack we went next door to Tacombi. Their fish tacos (cooked in a VW bus) are delicious, particularly when followed by a red velvet cupcake from Billy’s.
Next we cruised to Flatiron to visit one of our favorite stores in the city, ABC Home. Most shopping guides would point you to this six floor design institution for furniture and decor, but we also love their edited yet extensive jewelry selection. Pieces from St. Kilda, Sarah Macfadden, ila & i and Bluma Project are artfully arranged in an oval of glass cases on the first floor.
We ended the day at Maison Ladurée, the crème de la crème (excuse our French) of Parisian macarons which has finally made it to the States. If you, like us, don’t have a sweet tooth, shop their exotic tea collection instead. Each blend is inspired by a macaron flavor, such as Rose, Earl Grey and Lapsung Souchong. But the most unexpexted treat is the Ladurée line of beauty products such as Bonbon Foam Bath, Rose Body Cream and Violet Bath Salts; the perfect souvenirs to bring home.
Styling duo and novice bloggers Amanda Sheppard and Lucia Tait are the minds behind Coup de Coeur Shopping Concierge. They have lived in NYC for 10 years, all of which they have been friends, two of which they lived together and four of which they have been business partners. They still enjoy each other’s company.
