Chic Boutique Tour - Bachelorette Party!

Saturday's tour was the first Chic Boutique Tour that I've given in a while.  My Vintage Boutique and Teen Fashion and Fun Tours have been more popular, probably because of the state of the economy.  The Chic Boutique Tour definitely visits boutiques with higher overall price points than the other tours, but you can still find select items that don't cost a fortune, and window shopping is always welcome too.  

The group was a lot of fun.  There were two women from Reno, Nevada and then, of course, the bachelorette party, from Pittsburgh, PA.  Due to the size of the group, we took a limo, which always puts a smile on women's faces--especially when it's a surprise.  

First stop was in Greenwich Village at Make-up Forever.  The bride-to-be got some advice from the sales associates (who are all professional make-up artists) about how to do her makeup for the big day.  A couple other ladies in her party made some purchases too, while the ladies from Reno visited an art gallery across the street.  

Around the corner on University Place was Pia, where all of the ladies took a look at the beautiful handbags.  Bruce, the owner, was friendly, as always.  They all loved the store but the price range wasn't in their budget.  So I suggested, since it was a bachelorette party, that they head across the street to La Petit Coquette to take a look at the cute, feminine and funky lingerie selection.  The ladies from Reno showed a strong interest in gift shops and housewares stores so I pointed them in the direction of William Wayne & Company.  In the last 15 minutes of our stop in Greenwich Village, both groups ended up in Ibiza, which they all seemed to take a strong liking too.  They were all pretty amazed with their beautiful collection of jewelry, their cool hats and their funky handbags.

After Greenwich Village, it was back to the limo and off to Soho.  Since I had a good feel for the group by this point, I decided to take them to the west side of Soho rather than the east side, since the boutiques in that area are more unique than commercial but still reasonable in pricing.  They visited Laurel Canyon Vintage (one of the ladies in the bachelorette party wanted to see their cowboy boot collection after viewing the video), Chelsea Girl Couture (one of the ladies from Reno was interested in the Moon Bags after viewing the video), The Hat Shoppe, Lunessa and DKNY to name a few.  The ladies from Reno also visited Clio (a housewares store.)  This was a perfect area for the combination of groups since there is such a wide range of boutiques.  There was definitely something for everyone.  

After Soho, we got back in the limo and they each enjoyed a glass of champagne as we headed over to the West Village/Meatpacking District.  Next stop was Darling, which is one of my personal favorites.  Darling is awesome because they have a range of contemporary fashion, vintage fashion, vintage-inspired fashion and of course, a lovely dress collection on the lower level.  They also have some amazing accessories like broaches, earrings, necklaces, belts, and hats to name a few.  Darling carries some select handbags and shoes and some scented candles and oils for the home, which gives the entire store the most pleasant smell.  

Everyone enjoyed this store but since the bachelorette party was taking more time than the other women, I suggested they head over to the next block where they could visit Mxyplyzyk, which is one of the coolest gift shops in the city.  I also suggested that they visit Tea & Sympathy across the street where they could find some great gifts as well.  I would normally suggest The Bathroom too but it turns out that they're Greenwich Avenue store closed.  Times are definitely tough.

The West Village/Meatpacking was our last stop and after some successful purchases, the limo picked us up and dropped off each group at their requested location (another advantage of having a small group), which they really appreciated, considering it was raining like crazy all day.  

If you'd like to do something special in NYC for your bride-to-be, visit www.shop-nyctours.com and book one of our tours.  Both public and private groups tours are available.  Hope to shop with you soon!

Vintage Boutique Tour - Erin Go Bragh!

Friday’s Vintage Boutique Tour was really a lot of fun.  I knew the tourists were going to be from Ireland but I wasn’t quite sure what to expect.  It ended up being three ladies on a girlfriend getaway for the weekend.  One of them currently lives in Seattle, Washington, so she met the other two, who still reside in Ireland, “halfway” in NYC.

When I arrived at the pick-up location I was happy to see three ladies.  I don’t mind having men on my tours (especially the Vintage Boutique Tour since there’s a pretty big selection for men in most of the boutiques) but I knew that if my customers were ladies, they were more likely to be there by choice. 

I knew this was going to be a good tour because when I started the tour videos of the Soho stores, they were super-excited about what they saw and they couldn’t wait to shop. 

First stop was Flying A and they started shopping immediately when they walked in the door.  They were picking up items to try on in the dressing rooms, trying on accessories, etc.  I was glad to have them stay at their first stop for 30 minutes because I knew that they had a true interest in what I was showing them.  Sometimes when people aren’t shopping, I wonder if they aren’t liking the tour, if they were expecting something different, etc.  I think the case lately for non-shoppers is simply that they enjoy browsing and they want a unique experience of the city.  Also-with the suffering economy, it’s definitely understandable when people don’t want to buy.  If the economy were booming, I would expect pretty much all of my customers to spend money on my tours.  But in this difficult time, I (along with the boutique owners, sales associates) completely understand and expect it.

So after Flying A, we headed over to Chelsea Girl Couture where they tried on some truly amazing vintage dresses.  This store never ceases to amaze me with their absolutely stunning collection.  David, the store manager, is also a gem when it comes to selling vintage.  He has an amazing knowledge of the business and really enhances my vintage tours both in the videos and in person. The ladies had a ball trying on several dresses each.  One of the ladies made a purchase and despite a slight misunderstanding about the discount, left the store very pleased.

So following Chelsea Girl we, of course, visited their other store, Laurel Canyon Vintage.  Laurel Canyon is geared toward more of a college customer, but still, they have some really great 60s and 70s apparel that can appeal to appeal to all ages.  After a quick stop, the ladies decided they were ready to head to the East Village. 

Once again, on the way, watching the store videos got them excited about what was coming up next (especially AuH20.)  First stop was East 11^th Street, as usual.  They took a strong liking to Tokyo Joe’s, which is really well known for their amazing collection of designer consignment such as YSL, Prada, Fendi, Ferragamo, and Louis Vuitton, to name a few.  When I saw that they were loving these consignment items, I knew that they would absolutely love Tokio 7.  So I let them know in advance about it so they didn’t spend all their money in one place.  Again, that’s one great thing about a small group.  I can actually cater to their preferences. 

We made a quick stop at O Mistress Mine since they loved the video of it and I spoke so highly of the owner, Wanda.  They didn’t make any purchases here but were still highly impressed with the collection.  I knew they had their heart set on the designer consignment so I suggested we head to Tokio 7 next and they strongly agreed. 

We stopped along the way on East 9^th Street at Mudd Coffee for a bathroom break and a pick-me-up.  Mudd Coffee is amazing at giving a late afternoon boost.  The Irish ladies even said so themselves. 

When we arrived at Tokio 7, I waited outside with their coffees (it was a beautiful day) while they browsed around consignment “heaven.”  Almost 45 minutes later, they walked out with items like a beautiful Chloe handbag and an elegant pair of Chloe dress pants among several other items.

Last stop was AuH20.  After seeing the video of it, they were very excited to visit Kate’s unique boutique.  They tried on quite a few vintage and recycled items and made several purchases.  Kate, being her sweet self, was very happy to have them.  And it was great seeing her new space (she moved to the boutique next door from where she was originally.)  I also had the pleasure of meeting the owner of the new boutique next door who carries some amazing handbags that are made in New York.  I may end up working with her too! 

After the East Village, they asked if I could drop them off on 46^th Street at Bourbon Street, where their other friends were having drinks.  I was happy to do it since it was just the three of them.

I think they had a lovely time.  They gave me a lot of compliments and they were very curious as to how I started my business, when I came to NY, where in the city I lived, etc.  So it was another success, I hope.  As usual, I’ll patiently await the reviews! 

For more info about my shopping tours and my upcoming web series, visit www.shop-nyctours.com.  Hopefully I’ll be shopping with you soon!