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New York City has more stores than anyone could physically tackle, but somehow we always keep returning to the usual suspects. To break out of the rut, we've asked some local shopping and fashion gurus to provide their hidden retail gems—those unique stores around our fantastic city that we might not all know about. Cue the Beatles: We're about to get a little help from our friends.
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Image via edenpictures/Flickr
Jill Stuart launched her namesake line in 1993, but her road to designing clothes for women began during her childhood. Her parents owned a clothing line that catered to everyone from Lucille Ball to Natalie Wood. Once Stuart graduated from the Rhode Island School of Design, she set up shop, and instantly became the pioneer of the "fashion backpack". And if you don't believe us, you have Clueless to refer to, as Stuart's must-have 1990's iconic accessory was immortalized throughout the shenanigans of Cher and Di. But when Stuart takes a break from her rigorous design schedule, she heads way west, and spends time seeking inspiration at Printed Matter, the world's largest non-profit bookstore.
There's this amazing art book store on 10th Avenue that sells limited edition, out-of-print rare books, and artist periodicals called Printed Matter. It's the best place to browse because the books are like art objects themselves. It's this cool mixture of highbrow and lowbrow books and it's impossible not to discover something you love. The store is actually the world's largest non-profit organization that's devoted to the promotion of publications made by artists. It's completely inspiring and I always walk out of there with a huge stack.
· Printed Matter [Official Site]
· Jill Stuart [Official Site]