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subscribe to style file blog via RSSTo Do This Weekend: Subterranean Shopping At Orchard Street’s Ale Et Ange
June 11, 2009 11:40 am
Shops may still be shuttering in other parts of Manhattan, but the tiny slice of the Lower East Side south of Delancey and east of Allen is defying the economic slump, as empty storefronts blink to life with some of the best new places to eat, party, shop, and gallery-hop. Everyone from Bill Murray to Hamish Bowles has been spotted at chicster subterranean boîte B.East since it opened last October. And Brown, the bustling eatery on Hester, still packs them in for baked eggs and café au lait. Tucker’s Gaby Basora opened a studio-cum-shop on Essex and newcomer boutique Bloodline carries immaculately curated objets for the home, vintage furniture, and gifts. A recent rumor has it that even Marc Jacobs wants in on the action, and was eyeing (and by “eyeing” we mean “making an offer on”) a storefront on the corner of Hester and Orchard streets. The space eventually went to Project No. 8 owners Brian Janusiak and Elizabeth Beer, who will open their annex later this month, stocking mostly menswear. Jacobs may have missed his chance at the space, but one of his former employees has managed to score a spot across the street, at 37C Orchard. The catch? You’ve got to find the floral-painted metal basement hatch door in the sidewalk and descend the stairs—hold onto the rail, they’re steep—to enter Ale et Ange. “We get a lot of confused neighborhood Chinese men peeking in, mistaking us for their secret gambling club. It happens at least once a day,” says owner Osore Oyagha. No illicit gaming here. It’s a gem of a shop dressed up as an elegantly ramshackle flat, complete with Turkish rugs, stacks of old books and jazz records, and a vintage kitchen setup, along with racks of the namesake label designed by Oyagha and his partner, Eloise Simonet. The clothes are slim, sixties-inspired, and work anywhere from a night at B.East to a day at the office.
Ale et Ange, 37C Orchard St., basement level, (212) 219-3670.
tags: Ale et Ange, Marc Jacobs
Love love love this place.
By nakanaka on 12/3/09 at 8:17 pmThey have moved to 40 rivington street!!!! I was so glad to find them again!!! Love the line and the new store!!!
By Leelahbelle on 07/19/10 at 2:55 pm