True story: when I was little and my dad was a 27 year old single dad with no idea what to do with a two year old girl, he used to entertain me by taking me to jump on the beds at The Conran Shop on Beacon Street in Boston. Although some parents would have recommended the park (and to be fair, we did that too), this turned out to be an excellent way to occupy me. The Conran Shop was more than just an international furniture shop- it was one of Sir Terence Conran's fiefdom of leading boutiques selling cutting-edge furniture, a curated selection of books, and other lifestyle wares for selective consumers. Although a TGI Friday's has replaced Conran's on Newbury Street, the empire is flourishing in the UK and I have had the chance to confirm my memory of its awesomeness at the Marylebone branch in London several times.
A few years later, when I was a teenager, I remember reading a story in a fashion magazine about coolhunting, or the profession of basically having a nose for what's next. The idea that this was a career baffled me then, but as I've gotten older I've begun to notice that some people not only have a great eye and keep their ear to the trend ground- some people just seem to have a sixth sense about what's about to explode. Are they taste-makers or taste-sussers? Arguably, all magazine editors, store buyers, literary agents, and people in the advertising industry are to some extent coolhunters, but I'd say there are a few superlative arbitors lurking- Simon Doonan or Scott Schuman, for example (to be fair, I like Garance Dore much more). In a sort of ironic meta-michrochosm of this field, Malcom Gladwell, himself a sort of intellectual-pop culture coolhunter, wrote his breakout New Yorker article on this pseudo science, through the lens of sneaker culture and the footwear supernezes who find the most badass footwear around- and thus inform the preferences of the masses. For perhaps a more ubiquitous pop culture reference, I refer to the scene in The Devil Wears Prada in which Miranda Priestly schools Andie about the reasons for which her sweater is blue.
But I digress.
A few years ago, I was casually perusing some homewares blog and came across the first of what would be many references to Colette. This Parisian concept store has a mega cult following, and I was so excited when Laura came to visit that we had the opportunity to check out the hype. It was the sort of hybrid place I love- a tightly edited selection of merch, cool music, sick photography, awesome staff. We bought a pretty rad blue nail polish by new cult fave Uslu Airlines and promptly decked out our previously nude nails. While we were in Paris, we also checked out another amazing concept store Lex raved about over at dtangled, called Merci. I shared Lex's enthusiasm- it was the kind of place with which you can't help but fall in love. A multilevel emporium of impossibly chic Frenchness, Merci showcases an eclectic selection of clothing for the ladies and the gents (think mix-and-match bikinis for girls, updated workshirts for boys, etc), two floors of ubercool home goods, and various smaller areas dedicated to such goodies as neon Repetto flats, bespoke Annick Goutal fragrances, and a darling pick-your-own selection of Caran D'Ache colored pencils. On our visit, I fell head over heels for a long chain necklace with a small heart-shaped pendant proclaiming "Merci La Vie" and continued to long for it in the next several weeks. I had an unexpected chance to spend another night in Paris en route back to London from Istanbul last week (thank you, volcano Esfsofijgosifogidoifjgaoijweoria) and carped the diem to return and acquire it. I also enjoyed a lovely breakfast in Merci's enchanting book-lined cafe - baguette and apricot preserves, natch (I bootlegged the proffered Escrire butter and smuggled it back to London in my makeup bag). Merci also takes the idea of concept store to a new level, donating all its proceeds- once it breaks even- to a charitable organization in Madagascar. C'est tres chic et c'est tres bon. Or is it bien?
I have a smattering of other concept store faves scattered throughout my fave cities- Liberty in London, Takashimaya and Henry Bendel (to some extent) in New York, even Carly Simon's Midnight Farm on Martha's Vineyard. They are just the places you go when you need the perfect thing and you need to rely on someone else's critical eye. I'd argue Anthropologie, Barney's, and even J.Crew sister store Madewell are almost scaled up/mass retail concept stores, but I'm open to being challenged on that one. Regardless, I highly recommend checking out your local concept stores, or dropping into one of these finds when next you find yourself in New York, Paris, or London- they are well worth a visit, even if just to give you a little peek into what's looking hot- or maybe more accurately, cool.
