Shop of the Week: No. 8a
The Ace Hotel is so cool it hurts – and now it's just plain killing us with new retail outposts No. 8a and Opening Ceremony – two of the town's best-curated shops – within one hotel.
Facing north along 29th Street, No. 8a is the second offshoot of Lower East Side boutique Project No. 8, founded by partners Brian Janusiak and Elizabeth Beer. Like its downtown counterparts, 8a is stocked with a mélange of understated cool and cutting edge labels — but with a travel twist. Bucking typical shot glass and NYPD ski hat fare, the boutique's "mementos" collection reinterprets the concept of souvenir with Krink graffiti markers, Statue of Liberty nightlights, hard-candy soft pretzels by Papabubble, and city snow globes with plastic bags afloat.
No. 8a also has a great selection of travel supplies, though you're not likely to have forgotten any at home. The gift shop stocks San Fran's In Fiore skin-care line, indestructible sunglasses by L.G.R. of Rome, and a rotating selection of books by downtown's Dexter Sinister. You'll also find spiffy dead-stock Romika tennis shoes, a KIOSK corner of their themed mini-exhibitions, and special limited edition pieces by the company's in-house label Various Projects (their trench coats are springtime must-haves). New merch hits the website today (including Margiela shoes and accessories, Boudicca and Fabrics Interseason) and the Ace location just refreshed accessories and separates by Matt Singer and Slow and Steady Wins the Race, two of the shop's best sellers to date.
No. 8a at Ace Hotel
22 West 29th Street
New York, NY 10001
March 2010
Paper Magazine