Teen Shopping Tours for the Birthday Girls!

Last weekend's Teen Shopping Tours, despite the weather, were fun, fun, fun! On Friday, the tour was for a 13-year-old birthday girl, her mom and her grandmother. I picked them up in a limo at 10am and we headed to our usual first stop on the Upper East Side. What made this tour extra special was that we had a stylist meet us at the first stop (the Abercrombie & Fitch Flagship). Kelly Mealia of Kreative Kouture and Ollie & Boo Jewelry had several outfits whipped out in no time and after a whirlwind in the dressing room, we were on our way to Henri Bendel while the mom purchased their favorites.

At Bendel's, we focused mostly on accessories since most of their women's clothing would be too large for the tiny teen. Kelly hand picked several headband options and again, it was a quick show for mom and grandma (who even bought some things for themselves--how could they not at the "Girl's Playground"???).

After the Bendel mini-spree, it was back in the limo and down Fifth Avenue to the Juicy Couture Flagship store where once again, Kelly put several cute pieces together to form some fabulous outfits. And the grandma picked out one of their signature terry-cloth track suits for HER daughter :-)

On the way to Noho/Soho, Kelly rode along with us and showed her beautiful jewelry collection, Ollie & Boo, which had just been seen on The Today Show the previous morning. The teen picked out her favorite earrings and Kelly left us at this point of the tour.

We continued on to Soho, where we stopped for a quick lunch break. While mom and grandma finished up eating, me and the teen headed over to the much-anticipated TopShop! This store was awesome because all 3 of the lovely ladies found clothing that worked for them here. The teen ended up getting an adorable jumper and a sweet bohemian top while the mom bought a stunning black cocktail dress and the grandma a beautiful floral blouse.

We were running out of time at this point so we had to head uptown to the MAC store where it was time for a teen makeover in preparation for her photo shoot. While the make-up artist applied some colorful and fresh eyeshadow and lip gloss, the grandma got a "smokey-eye" lesson.

At this point of the tour, it was time for me to leave them as they continued on to the photo shoot on location in the Meatpacking District with Caitlin Greer Photography.

These gals were super sweet and had a wonderful time, as did I! It made me want to take a shopping trip with my mom and grandma....so fun!

On Saturday, the tour was for a Sweet 16 Birthday and the group came into the city for the day from New Jersey. I met them at Penn Station where the limo picked them up. From here we headed uptown to Henri Bendel, where I assured them they would enjoy browsing the "Girl's Playground."

Since they wanted to focus more on unique, NYC shopping, we skipped Abercrombie & Fitch and Juicy Couture and headed downtown to Noho to Joyce Leslie and Necessary Clothing. On the way, they enjoyed their "teeny" cosmos. Since they're from New Jersey they were actually familiar with Joyce Leslie but they definitely loved shopping at Necessary Clothing. They found some amazing clothes, shoes and accessories at this stop but I assured them that they needed to save up some energy for TopShop--and they did!

TopShop was a super-successful stop as the sales going on were absolutely AMAZING! There was something for everyone and they made a lot of their purchases there.

After this stop, we headed to the West Village and they enjoyed their cupcakes along the way. There was a line at the Marc Jacobs Special Items store (as there often is) so I waited in line for them while they browsed Olive & Bettes and Juicy Couture Bleecker Street.

We were running out of time and I had mini-makeovers planned for the teens after the tour at Makeup Forever so we quickly finished up in the West Village. (Their mom told me these teens loved, loved, loved makeup so I knew this would be a nice addition to the tour for them!)

The limo dropped us off at Makeup Forever and while they waited for each teen to get their makeover, I mapped out a quick itinerary for them to eat dinner after, continue discount shopping and end up back at Penn Station. All in all, it was a fun birthday!

For more information about ShopNYC Tours OR to book a tour for YOUR teen's birthday, visit www.shop-nyctours.com!

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