Hint Fashion Magazine -- Shop Tart

If the much-heralded return of the suit hasn't given you the sweats yet, it will with this sweatshirt-cum-blazer from Buckler. Formerly the men's designer at Daryl K., Andrew Buckler has been building his own cult following since 2001, when the British expat embarked on his eponymous men's line known for its high-low mix of dandy and punk influences. The complete range of stylistic syntheses—frayed tuxedo shirts, seersucker suits, sleeveless tees applied with English crests—can be perused at his just-launched 3000-square-foot flagship in an old subterranean nickel-plating factory in the Meatpacking District. But if you've already embraced the suit revival, you can have your measurements taken at the store and sent abroad to bespoke tailor Luigi Borelli who'll hand-make your custom two-piece from his atelier in Italy. Whatever suits you. Buckler, 13 Gansevoort Street at Hudson, 212-255-1596.

Has lust lost its luster? Need more couture with your coitus? Look no further than Coco de Mer. The high-end, socially-conscious London sex shop established in 2001 by Samantha Roddick, daughter of The Body Shop's founder Anita Roddick, has launched an online boutique where you'll find everything from nipple covers and clitoris creams to Swarovski-encrusted merkins by J. Maskrey and feather-tailed Molten crystal vibrators by Shiri Zinn. As for us, we'll soon be tied up with these leather bondage gauntlets designed exclusively for the erotic emporium by Paul Seville, an artisan of animal skins better known for his collaborations with Alexander McQueen and Vivienne Westwood. Although we can't try them on in the store's changing rooms, a kinky peepshow-like experience, we can throw some nudie webcam shots of us into a slideshow, if you like.

A D V E R T I S E M E N T

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In a peculiar series of events—whether accidental or shrewdly calculated, you decide—the opening of New York's most talked-about new store hinges on a door. By now, everyone knows that Australian trio George Gorrow, Gareth Moody and Dan Single acquired a space on Mulberry Street to sell the colorful line of clothes and accessories they design (down) under their Tsubi label. Many an urbanite also knows they threw a raucous bash to mark the boutique's supposed opening a couple of weeks ago. But head down to the Nolita address and you'll encounter a polite request to come back at a later date as the store is mysteriously closed until further notice. "Early next week. The glass door was supposed to have been put in last Friday, but that didn't happen," contritely explains a rep for the notoriously scruffy and laid-back Aussies. Either it's arriving by boat from Adelaide or this is all some kind of hype-building PR gimmick. We don't really care, as long as they install the door soon so we can stock up on skinny jeans. Just give us a Foster's while we wait. Tsubi, 219C Mulberry Street, 212-334-4690. -Suleman Anaya

Something out of a 1930's garden party, the crazy plaid cotton fabric known as madras isn't exactly a staple of today's wardrobe. But given our current obsession with all things preppy and jaunty, we think the traditionally Indian textile deserves another look, especially now that Jean Touitou of the ever-forward French label A.P.C. has asked London designer Jessica Ogden to design a summer line of the stuff, called...well, Madras. And it's all madras all the time, from this patch-happy tote to halter dresses and men's shirts of a more disco-glittery variety. Made from true Indian madras characterized by vegetable dyes that bleed, the range is available online at A.P.C. or offline at their New York store, 131 Mercer Street, 212-966-9685. -Suleman Anaya

A D V E R T I S E M E N T

"We dwell in the depths below mainstream culture," says co-owner Martin Bundock, explaining the concept behind Beneath, the store that's at the center of all things underground in Sweden. This month it completes its move to new digs in the dirty-cool Kungsholmen area of Stockholm, where it will continue to push a northern-style cold fusion of streetwear and high fashion. Featuring mostly European and Scandinavian brands including Bless, Kim Jones, Henrik Vibskov, Midnight Division and Behnaz Aram, Beneath stands as the only outlet on the peninsula for alterna-titles Butt, Arkitip, Pavement Licker and Sneaker Freaker, not to mention one-off toys, books and CDs. The new space, created in association with UK illustrators Andrew Rae and Chrissie Macdonald of Peep Show, will also be home to art shows, beginning with a Gomma Records exhibition in June. Beneath, Kronobergsgatan 37, 3 Tr, 11234 Stockholm, Sweden, +46 (0) 8643 1250.

Read previous store news in Shoptart Archives

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