All posts in: New York City

09 Dec 2017

Everlane’s New York Store

Last week, San Francisco’s Everlane opened up their first permanent New York store in the Nolita neighborhood. Here’s what you’ll find: puffers, denim, millennial pink, and the ultimate minimalist style that defines 2017. Earlier this year, I discovered that my office was within walking distance of the Everlane Lab (not quite as large as this store) but even still, it was a dangerous routine and habit that I kept up for weeks.

I’ve known about Everlane since it first began back in 2011, but it wasn’t until this year that I bought my first piece – a striped long sleeved tee that I wore every week for a month. The pieces are simple, but functional. Most importantly, they are affordable. They’re the basics that you need, but want to have in every color.

There’s a piece about Everlane though that separates it from being just a normal retailer. In San Francisco, many consider it to be its own startup because of how tech is immersed into it. What that means is that shopping at this Everlane location won’t be like a normal shopping experience. It’s true, many retail stores are looking at innovative, immersive ways to attract customers and give them an unforgettable shopping experience. Streaming businesses like Atmosphere (https://atmosphere.tv/) offer in-store digital experiences that store owners can implement as a way of merging the digital with the physical. At Everlane, you’ll have a chance to learn how one of their tees are made via headphones in the store and have shopping made easier and more convenient with your credit cards on file from your previous purchases.

For many early adopters of Everlane, the assumption was that it would always be an online retailer. Why the change to a physical store? Founder Michael Preysman explains:

“The original idea was that we would never do stores,” he admitted. “But when you’re in the online-only world, you can’t bring people into your space and your brand the same way you can with a physical store, where it feels transparent, open, and honest. So we wanted to bring the brand to life and be part of people’s lives in a more meaningful way.”

“People do want to try things on,” Preysman said. “Having them come in and touch the product and talk to employees makes such a difference. We started out with T-shirts, which are really easy to buy online, but denim in particular is really hard to shop for [without trying it on]. So this is perfect timing.”

You can find Everlane at 28 Prince Street.

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28 Jul 2017

Limited Too’s Pop Up

Limited Too will always hold for a very special place in my heart. It was the first retailer that I truly felt that I could identify with as a young girl growing up in the 90’s and discovering my own style. It meant so much to me that it was the first employer I ever had when I was just 16 years old and could finally start working. I lasted a whole three months before I decided to throw in the towel and jump ship to another retailer literally across from the store. Even though I wasn’t there anymore, I wanted Limited Too to continue on being the place that it was for young girls. Not too long afterwards, the store went through a name change to “Justice” and then ultimately was bought by Bluestar Alliance in 2015. It seemed like their footprint was disappearing from malls almost everywhere.

Now, word has dropped this week that Limited Too is staging a comeback and I couldn’t be more onboard. Any by onboard, I mean supporting from afar because I can no longer fit into their clothes. Centered around back-to-school shoppers, Bluestar has announced that Limited Too is coming back for a limited time only mobile pop-up! The pop-up will tour around New York City starting August 6th until August 10th.

The Limited Too back-to-school pop-up will start on 3rd Avenue, between 59th and 60th Streets (on August 6), and then will be stationed in Herald Square (on August 7 and 8), moving to Union Square (August 9) and finally ending the tour with a stop near Flatiron (August 10).

I cannot wait to see what their new merchandise will look like! The styles in which I wore as a kid and even the ones that I sold when I worked there will have vastly changed from what kids might be looking for now, but you can definitely assume that the glitter will be everywhere and that graphic tees and slogans are still a hot item.

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25 Mar 2017

Snaps for a Snapshot

Who: Kiernan Shipka

Wearing: Rosie Assoulin

Where: Wednesday screening of “The Blackcoat’s Daughter” in New York City

So no, florals for spring isn’t necessarily groundbreaking, but they are when you’re wearing them the way Kiernan is. I love that this isn’t just a floral printed dress and instead the florals are full immersed into the shape of this dress. Don’t even get us started on those straps. We love it.

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29 Dec 2016

My Favorite Posts of 2016

Typically when I write “end-of-year” posts, I’m always pulling up what I wrote the year before in another tab as a reference. I already know that I didn’t do too much writing this year so it will be ambitious to find 12 posts that I really liked as opposed to last year when that feeling was so easy for me! That being said, I think there are going to be a few treasures in here that we can highlight. They may not be the posts that rank to the top in terms of views, but they are the posts that I enjoyed writing the most and the ones that you know I probably re-read a dozen times before feeling comfortable posting. Thank you all for another fantastic year… now let’s head into our 8th year of Yow Yow! This blog is now older than my previous Polly Pocket collection (7 years!)

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  • This Happened Tonight – I honestly don’t know if this is enough to consider it one of my favorite posts, but this is me totally just fangirling out over here. It might be on my list of funny moments in 2016, but whatever the case – this needed to belong on SOME list and I chose this. I think I like this post just because it reminds me a little bit of how I used to write in the old days – you know back in 2009/2010 – no filter – just blagh! whatever I felt like spewing out at the time. If you read the post though (and you know me!) then you know I’m suppressing my feelings here for the sake of appearing normal on Yow Yow! If only this weren’t so short lived…

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  • Happy 7th Birthday Yow Yow! – We’ve never celebrated a Yow Yow! anniversary like this before. The number 7 has no significance to me or Yow Yow! but after all this time, you kind of just feel like you need to do something different. We were already doing regular outfit photos, so I thought – why not throw in a balloon?! One of the best parts about this post is that Aritiza decided to feature this photo above for their Instagram account. I was ecstatic, but very quickly commenters started to notice that the balloon didn’t actually look like a “7” and actually looked like… male genitalia. So almost immediately, my excitement did a 180.

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  • Looking Back: Space Girl – It’s a weird thing to be in front of a camera. I’m not a natural by any means. Every shoot, Elynn probably takes on average 15-25 photos and while we sometimes get 2-3 really good ones, the rest are of me opening my mouth, fixing my clothes, talking, being awkward, you name it. We’ve come such a long way… this post was incredibly special to me though. Space Girl was everything to me when we were in college. I never could get comfortable in front of the camera and having this helmet on made me feel invincible. When we stopped using it and went back to outfit shoots, you can plainly see how hard it is for me in these photos, but I will never forget the gateway that Space Girl provided for me to get me to where we are today.

[vimeo http://vimeo.com/136132769]

  • Wedding Mondays – I know what you’re thinking. How can you choose a favorite? We’ve highlighted so many incredible wedding videos in 2016, but one that I keep going back to (in addition to Mandi’s of course!) is this one featuring Jean (from Extra Petite) and her husband Nick. To this day, we still can’t wrap our head around the three dresses, but we think it’s amazing. Secondly, Long Haul films is no longer doing wedding videos so that makes this one extra special. (see what I did there?) Also, when I was in Boston this past fall for work, I got to stop by the Boston Library and see this venue myself and we fangirled the  same amount we did for BJ Novak. It was just as amazing in person as it is in the video…

[vimeo https://vimeo.com/17721680]

  • Revisiting Casual – I like to look at “Casual” as something we continue to pass on. Every year, I’ve gotta share it with someone new and last year that was Manan. Together, him and I watched the entire series from start to finish and he loved it as much as I did! No surprises there – everyone I’ve ever shown this too has fallen in love with the series so it’s not too late if you decide to hop on the bandwagon. We’re still accepting fan club members. In all honesty, relationships are hard, okay? I’m never 100% content with mine and in 2016 it’s tough to date. If I knew in the long run that I was going to be okay then I would love to have that off my shoulders, but if Casual has taught me anything and if life has taught me anything – it’s that it’s all about timing. We have to let things play out the way they are supposed to. Thank you Casual for continuing to be a positive force in my life year after year.

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  • And When We Give Back – It was such a surreal experience to be speaking with students that had been accepted to Seattle University as the class of 2020. Let that sink in a little bit. When I was a kid, I used to think that college was almost the end all be all. It was hard for me to imagine being a woman with a career – not because I didn’t want to have a career, but because it just seemed so far away. I’m fortunate that my friend who works at admissions asked me to do this panel because it put a lot into perspective. It was a very humbling experience to be giving advice to students as to why Seattle U was a great school for me even though I kind of do this in my real life job too. Additionally, it made me appreciate my parents in a way that I haven’t before. Seeing the parents of these accepted students was a little bit entertaining; they were SO nervous. I wondered how my parents were able to handle me going off to college with such ease and tranquility when that is very clearly not the case for most.

  • To Be a “Leftover” Woman in China – Never have I ever ugly-cried so hard over a YouTube video, but this struck a chord with me. It’s 2016 and the pressures of settling down or being in a committed relationship are still very much a priority for most. It’s overwhelming at times! I loved hearing the stories of these young women – young women that I can identify with and find to be so brave for doing something like this. I’m glad the video had a happy ending too, a newfound perspective for their parents.
  • A Girl and Her Bed – I never write pieces like this and I remembered being very on the fence about it because it seems abnormal for me to dispel some serious feelings about a part of my daily routine. In reading it over though, I think the post is kind of beautiful. I’m using words that I don’t normally use and I’m being vulnerable in a way that I haven’t with Yow Yow! before.

  • “The Panic in Central Park” – Is this my favorite TV moment in 2016? Yes. I must have watched this episode at least 25 times and at one point, once a day for a week. We had given up on Girls the season before this one, but after hearing about how much commotion this episode stirred, we hopped back into it. Luckily, for this episode, you didn’t need to know what was happening before it. It was like it’s own standalone episode and it was a beautiful piece. Marnie may be one of the most annoying characters in the series, but in “The Panic in Central Park” she was all of us. We’ve all had that scenario – some version of it, sometimes shorter or longer or more fun or less fun than what Marnie had, but we all got to the same theme at the very end of it.
  • Our Twenties: How We’re Doing – “Be good to yourself” – a friend once advised me. Too many times in a year, I find myself complaining about how I don’t have this or don’t have that. How annoying for those around me that have to listen to this! The truth is, your 20’s aren’t easy. They were never supposed to be so it’s important for us to cut ourselves some slack. Earlier in 2016, I wrote about my New Year’s resolutions. This post though was sort of like our midpoint review. Initially this started out as a mini-project with Casper, but I ended up actually enjoying this more than I thought I would and had a lot of fun with it.
  • Aging and Alone in Manhattan’s Chinatown – I have a thing for pieces that remind me of my sweet Grandma Ruby. This profile by Mantai Chow truly captured a look into the life of an elderly living in Chinatown. I remember watching this video and thinking back to how I never worried about those that lived there because they had what I believed to be a strong community. In reality though, it seems much more lonelier than I thought. These individuals are more brave than I could ever be especially this woman profiled. Hearing her story was one of the highlights in Yow Yow’s 2016.

  • Let’s Talk About New York! – We made it to 12 posts! With all the trips we took this year, how could we not include our favorite one? It took me 26 years to get to New York, but I couldn’t have asked for a better traveling partner and tour guide. Mandi and I took the next step in our friendship and explored New York City together. She was a pro – obviously having done grad school there and me? Well, I could barely have a successful run on the subway without having a mini freak out. There was never a moment for us to stop because we were constantly on the move. And even though we had made a very packed itinerary for our trip, we only ended up doing half the things we were supposed to. I guess that just means we have to go back.
26 Nov 2016

Tour Google’s Latest Pop Up in NYC

Google is and always will be just a fascinating company to me. Some of the things they work on and the different teams that they house sometimes overwhelm me because not only is it just a lot in volume and size, but Google has their hands on everything – apps, phones, home, maps, etc. Pretty soon, sometimes I worry that we won’t really need anything else because Google will just replace everything and make it better. I didn’t know that they opened a pop up recently in Soho until I read about it on Doobybrain, but definitely thought it was interesting enough to share. If you get a chance to view it in real life, you should!

14 Aug 2016

Kellogg’s NYC

Can you imagine anything better than going to a restaurant that serves your favorite cereals during any meal time? Kellogg’s is making childhood dreams come true with their new joint in New York in which you can truly have breakfast all day during their hours of 7:00 AM – 11:00 PM of course. I wish I could have seen this IRL when I was in New York, but now we’re just adding it to our list of to-do’s when we go back for a second time!

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10 Jan 2015

Polo Bar by Ralph Lauren

I wish I could be the type of person that adopted going to extremely cool restaurants around the world as a hobby. I have a friend that kind of does a similar thing and her cool factor is just out of this world. I just learned that the fashion brand is launching their third restaurant in New York City and the vibe of it is supposed to take you back. Waaaaay back to some serious fine dining and equestrian times. Located on East 55th Street, Polo Bar will serve up some of Ralph Lauren’s favorite dishes.

Just from looking at the menu, we wouldn’t be opposed to trying out the following:

  • Alaskan Black Cod
  • Chicken Paillard
  • Ralph’s Corned Beef Sandwich

Can you tell that I haven’t even had lunch yet?

To view their official website, click here.

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