All Saints Spitalfields Allegra dress, $650. Too froufrou for my stature, but my b.f. wanted me to try it on. I obliged but it was so heavy I had a hard time taking it off. I wanted to cry.
NEW YORK—After visiting the McQueen show at the Met, I was in the mood for Brit fashion and chanced upon All Saints Spitalfields in SoHo, at 512 Broadway, a new favorite store. What got my attention was the store’s window display, with eye-catching antique sewing machines stacked floor to ceiling for an industrial look, echoed throughout the store.
The London-based company started with menswear and has branched out to womenswear with a Gothic sensibility. There was a lot I liked about the collections which ran the gamut from deconstructed parachute styles to tailored pieces with intricate details and construction. When I later wore a Jezabel skirt out, a person who understands construction had to get her hands on it for a closer look, asking if she could see it because, “It intrigues me.” I’m afraid she would have had to take it home to figure it out, and that wasn’t going to happen.
So much better than Topshop. I also didn’t find anything at Zara and H&M this time around.
Meanwhile, at Century 21, I found this really cute and quirky Swedish brand I liked, called Odd Molly, with romantic, vintage, homespun touches from smocking to embroidered button holes and finishes, to cowgirl fringe. I loved how each of their silk slip dresses came with its own lace storage envelope with ribbon ties.
