Teen Fashion and Fun Tours Galore!

This past weekend was filled with Teen Fashion and Fun! It started on Friday with 6 women (2 teens and 4 adults) from Michigan. They were ready to shop, shop, shop. They had booked the photo shoot for after the tour and due to time constraints we only had 3 hours to find the teens their outfits. So we were definitely on a mission.

We began the tour at Makeup Forever in Greenwich Village, where Floriane (one of the amazing Makeup Forever sales reps) gave them mini-makeovers and they bought some really cool, brightly colored eye pencils. They didn't want to spend too much time there though. (We already had appointments for them at Mac scheduled for post-tour/pre-photo shoot). So we headed down the street to the first clothing and accessories boutique, Owl's Lab. The teens loved it, not only for the incredible fashion, but because of the fact that many of the pieces worn on Gossip Girl come from this fabulous boutique. They bought some awesome clothes and accessories that were (OMG) very Serena and Jenny.

Next stop was Rugby, which was actually requested by one of the teens. Rugby was her absolute favorite and she bought a few darling-with-an-edge outfits that were very UES prep. The other teen said she was more of a girly-girl so I walked her down the street to Ibiza where I knew she would find some sweet, feminine and bohemian dresses, skirts and blouses.

Following Greenwich Village, we headed to Soho. By this time I had a great feel for each of the teens' personal styles so I knew that we had to hit up TopShop. This was a gold mine for both of them! They found a great mix of edgy, funky fashion along with lacey, frilly and chic pieces. While one of the teens found shoes galore, the other found her perfect outfits for the photo shoot.

After TopShop, it was back in the limo and up to the Mac store on 22nd and Fifth Avenue for their makeovers. While they were getting made-up by the Mac professionals, I headed to Magnolia Bakery (usually a stop on the tour but we ran out of time) and grabbed their cupcakes. Once I got back to the Mac store and handed them their sweets they were ready to hop in a cab and head to the photo shoot on location in Chelsea with professional photographer, Caitlin Greer.



In addition to the above Teen Fashion and Fun experience, I also gave a tour on Saturday for a 16-year-old girl and her father. They opted for the Subway/Walking Tour instead of the Limo Tour. We began the tour on Upper Fifth Avenue, where we visited the usual including the Abercrombie & Fitch Flagship, Henri Bendel and Juicy Couture. Then it was into the subway and we headed downtown to Soho, where the teen wanted to find some back-to-school shoes and dresses. She found a cute pair of much-wanted gladiator sandals at David Z and as far as clothing, Joyce Leslie was definitely her favorite. She found several outfits that she really liked and she was pleased (along with her father) to see the amazingly reasonable prices too.

After the tour, her father sent me an e-mail with this message:

"Thank you very much for the help with shopping with my daughter yesterday! She was thrilled with the whole trip to NYC and the shopping was the highlight for her. We also did well back home - my wife was surprisingly impressed with my daughter's purchases..."

If you'd like to book a Teen Fashion and Fun Tour or Teen Fashion and Fun Tour with a Fashion Photo Shoot, please visit www.shop-nyctours.com/tours for more information. I look forward to shopping with you!

Teen Fashion and Fun Tour with Fashion Photo Shoot!

Last weekend’s Teen Fashion and Fun Tour didn’t just consist of shopping the hottest teen spots in NYC, but it also allowed the teen birthday girl to show off her new outfits in her very own photo shoot following the tour!

The day began at Bryant Park as usual, with the soon to be 13-year-old and her mother who were visiting from Louisiana.  Since it was just the two of them, they decided to take the subway/walking version of the tour which provided them with a budget-friendly option and also an opportunity to take the tour at a slightly slower pace.  It also gave the teen birthday girl more time to try on clothes, which was important since she would be going straight to the photo shoot after.  From Bryant Park, we headed up Fifth Avenue and the first stop was the Juicy Couture Flagship store.  The birthday teen was super-excited to visit this store and headed straight upstairs to find some dresses for her photo shoot.  She ended up opting for a very fashionable item—a black velour, tank with long pants jumpsuit.  It was adorable on her and also very now.  While her mom made the purchase, I took the teen over to the doggy corner where she looked at all the cute merchandise and told me about her two Chihuahuas! 

After Juicy, we headed up to Henri Bendel where I told the Louisiana ladies that they could actually see some unique, independent designer jewelry and they could also watch some fabulous 30-minute shoemakers as they cobble their designs.  The birthday teen even bought a pair of these beautifully made sandals.  The process began with the shoemaker choosing a sole that fit her foot, and then the birthday teen had to choose the color straps she wanted (there were about 25 colors to choose from), any gold, silver, or rhinestone ornaments she wanted (such as butterflies, starfish, hearts or stars) and the pattern she wanted the straps to follow.  After all of that was chosen (which took about 25 minutes), the ladies were told to come back in 30 minutes to pick up the shoes.   They still had a lot of shopping to do so the cobblers offered to hold the sandals for them to the end of day.

We continued one more block up Fifth Avenue and headed to the Abercrombie & Fitch flagship, which is ALWAYS a favorite of the teens.  We browsed for some dresses but didn’t have much luck so she decided to go the skirt route.  They had some really cute summer skirts and tees to match.  The only drawback of that store was that we had to spend more time in the check out line than we had spent shopping.  So I offered to wait in the line upstairs while they waited downstairs and that speeded things up a little at least.

After Abercrombie, we walked over to the subway and headed to Soho.  They were really hungry but we were running out of time to shop so I suggested they grab a slice of Two Boots Pizza, which is one of the best in the city.  Yum!

After a quick bite, the teen told me she wanted to look for shoes so I took them to several shoe stores.  She was hoping to find the Converse tennis shoes that lace up to the knee like boots so I took them to a store where they had over 200 styles of Converse.  Unfortunately we found out that they don’t carry those specific shoes anymore.  I also suggested they take a quick look at Joyce Leslie since they carry some shoes that are both stylish and inexpensive.  We stopped for a moment but since we were running out of time they marked it as a place to visit again the next day.  We didn’t have time to head to TopShop or to the Marc Jacobs Special Collection store in the West Village either, but I explained that the maps and addresses of these stores along with all the other stores we visited were in their ShopNYC Tours Printed Shopping Guides that they could refer to after the tour.

We headed back uptown and since I didn’t have time to serve the Teeny Cosmo on the tour, I gave her the glass and the drink in a separate container to use as a prop in her photo shoot.  The birthday teen found her photo shoot outfits while on the tour which is really all that mattered. She went straight to hair and make-up (the make-up artist met her at their hotel) and then hopped in a cab to Chelsea for the photo shoot that was going to be done on location. 

If you'd like to take a Teen Fashion and Fun Tour with your own Fashion Photo Shoot or if you'd like to give an extra special birthday gift to your teen, visit www.shop-nyctours.com for more information!

Teen Fashion and Fun Tour - Teen and Two Adults Had an Equally Awesome Time!

Saturday’s Teen Fashion and Fun Tour was great, not only for the teen, but for the adults too!  There were 3 ladies—one being a young lady of about thirteen.  I can honestly say that all three of them enjoyed the tour immensely.  From Fifth Avenue’s Abercrombie and Bendel’s to Noho’s and Soho’s Joyce Leslie and TopShop, they shopped, shopped, shopped!  They enjoyed the fashion videos I showed them along the way and seemed to gain a lot of knowledge from them.  (They were making comments about info from the videos when they visited some of the stores.) 

It was a rainy day but fortunately, with the spot-to-spot transportation provided, it didn’t really make a difference.  They barely even needed their umbrellas.

As usual, in the West Village, I picked up their cupcakes at Magnolia Bakery while they browsed the Marc Jacobs Special Items Store.  The ladies told me that they had been to the Georgetown Bakery outside of DC and were anxious to compare the cupcakes to Magnolia’s. 

When they finished their shopping, we dropped them off at their final destination, which was Chelsea Piers.  (Sometimes I can drop people off at a place of their choice as long as it’s in Manhattan and time permits.)  On the way to the Piers, they ate their cupcakes and came to the conclusion that Magnolia’s icing was much better but that if they combined it with Georgetown’s cake, you would have the perfect cupcake! 

As the tour came to an end, the ladies said they had a wonderful time and that they would have never found the stores I took them to on their own.  In fact, they were in Soho the day before the tour and said they had no idea about TopShop (which was one of their favorites) and passed it up.  They also absolutely loved having their own transportation around the city.  The commented on how nice it was to not have to walk everywhere.  They also said they would tell all their friends about ShopNYC Tours and that I should consider starting tours in San Francisco (which is where they were from.)  I think I’ll have to stick to NYC for now, but it’s definitely a possibility in the future!

If you’d like to have a ShopNYC Tours experience, visit www.shop-nyctours.com to book a tour.  

Teen Fashion and Fun Tour (with Pictures!)

Last Saturday's Teen Fashion and Fun Tour was aweseome!  There were two teens from Charlotte, NC with their moms and one teen from Texas with her mom.  They were such a sweet group.  They (teens and moms) were really excited to find out that since another group cancelled last minute they were all going in a limo!  Their faces just lit up.

We started at the usual first stop--the Abercrombie & Fitch Flagship which they LOVED!  They all took pictures with the hot male model in the front of the store (including the moms) and they shopped for quite a while.  They all came out with purchases so it was definitely a successful stop.

Next up was Henri Bendel.  The moms loved this store.  They got some mini-makeovers in Bendel's AMAZING beauty department where they have brands such as NARS, MAC and Chanel just to name a few.  

Juicy Couture was up next and we took some cute pictures!  Take a look:

After Juicy, it was back into the limo and time for the "Teeny" Cosmos.  Before they guzzled them down, I had a chance to take a quick pic:

They all kept their glasses as a souvenir :-)

Next we headed downtown to Noho to Joyce Leslie, which the teens ALWAYS love.  The price is definitely right!  

After they made their purchases it was time for Topshop in Soho.  The ladies from Charlotte had been in Soho the day before but said that they walked right past Topshop, not knowing what it was.  I showed them videos about Topshop in the limo on the way downtown and it got them really excited to see it.  It is the FIRST Topshop in the US afterall.  People love the fact that Kate Moss has a line there.  They also love the fact that you can find trendy, good quality clothing, shoes and accessories that won't break your budget!

Last stop for the Teen Tour was the West Village at Marc Jacobs Special Collections.  Again, both the teens and the moms loved the concept of Marc Jacobs for a fraction of the price.  Who wouldn't?  They also headed over to Olive & Bette's, which is a favorite of mine.  And they took a walk down to Magnolia Bakery to see the scrumptious cupcakes they would soon be eating!  

On the way back uptown the teens enjoyed their cupcakes while their moms enjoyed relaxing in the limo.  Anyone would enjoy it after all that power shopping!  

If you'd like to spend an afternoon shopping NYC with your teen (or your mom), visit www.shop-nyctours.com to book a tour.  I hope to shop with you soon!

Also, join ShopNYC Tours on June 25th for an amazing event to support Susan G. Komen for the Cure!  To buy tickets to the event or (if you're out of the NYC area) to make an online donation, visit: www.philanthropiceventssponsorspage.com/natasha

  

Teen Fashion and Fun Tour Birthday Party!

Last Saturday's Teen Fashion and Fun Tour was a really great time.  There were three teenage girls and one of them was the birthday girl!  She was visiting from Chicago and her uncle was treating her.  (He came along too!)  As for the other girls, one was from the city and the other was from Queens.  So they were a really cute, diverse and interesting group.

When the limo pulled up, they were super-excited.  I can't imagine being in NYC when I was 13-years-old and riding in a limo with friends.....  So though I never experienced it myself, I could kind of guess what they were feeling!

First stop, as usual, was the Abercrombie & Fitch Flagship.  They absolutely LOVED it!   From the male models, to the strong aroma of A&F cologne, they totally enjoyed the whole experience.  After they shopped, they took pictures with the model at the front of the store.  They were SO excited!  One of the girls even said, "Wait til I show my mom!"  

Next stop was Henri Bendel, but they weren't that crazy about it.  I mean, it's not exactly in the teen budget, but they had fun browsing for a minute.  

Following Bendel's they saw the Disney Store, which isn't normally a stop on the tour, but since we were ahead of schedule, I told them we had time to take a look. 

The last store we had time to stop in on the UES was the Juicy Couture Flagship, which is always a teen favorite!  They had fun browsing there for over 20 minutes (which is quite a long attention span for teens, of course!)  

Next it was back in the limo and time for the "teeny" cosmos which they enjoyed very much.  (They especially had fun taking pictures with them.)  We were headed to the West Village to the Marc Jacobs Special Collections Store, but I realized we had about 30 minutes before they opened.  So I suggested we stop at Joyce Leslie in Noho first.  All the girls loved it here because the prices are 100% absolutely "teeny."  I'm sure the uncle (who was treating the birthday girl) appreciated them too though.  Who wouldn't?  Cute t-shirts under $10 and cute dresses not more than $20.  Heck, I'm a HUGE fan!

Last destination was the West Village.  I knew they would LOVE the Marc Jacobs Special Collections Store.  There was also a street fair on the same block, which was fun to browse.  Although, as expected, they spent most of their time in MJ.  This store is raved about all around the world.  People don't understand how things are sold for a small fraction of the regular MJ price.  I don't really understand it either.  All I know is that it's awesome for people who like labels.  You can still get the MJ label without paying a fortune.  The birthday girl absolutely adored this store and she came out with quite a few gifts from her uncle.  The other girls made some small purchases too.

When we got back into the limo to return to the starting point of the tour, I pulled out their special treats.  Magnolia Bakery is on the same block as the MJ Special Collections store and what's a birthday party without a delicious cupcake?!?  So on the way back uptown, the teens took some cute cupcake pictures and left not one crumb behind.  All in all, the tour was a success!

If you'd like to plan a tour for a birthday party, a bachelorette party, or any other special occasion, visit the Contact page of www.shop-nyctours.com and inquire about our private group tours.  Hope to shop with you soon!