Small Department Stores Go Upscale
BOSTON (TheStreet) -- The last 20 years have been a period of consolidation for many of America's most-beloved department stores. Some of the country's most famous independent chains -- I. Magnin, Wanamaker's and Bullock's -- have been acquired by larger rivals, such as Saks (SKS) and Macy's (M) - Get Report. That brought the end to many hometown department stores.
The trend has given rise to the micro-department store. These small-scale retailers sell designer merchandise in chic locations usually in the epicenter of a city's most up-and-coming shopping areas. This new breed of department store has become essential for fashionistas.
The Webster in Miami offers style in spades. |
Widely considered the birthplace of the modern department store, New York is home to Barneys, Bloomingdales and Bergdorf Goodman. But if you don't live in New York or Atlanta,
may not be a familiar fashion name.
Jeffrey, owned by Jeffrey Kalinsky, is a trendy version of the old-fashion department store, just on a smaller scale. The Chelsea outpost of Jeffrey offers a warehouse-inspired space that features cosmetics and fashions by DSquared, Prada and Alexander McQueen. Merchandise at Jeffrey is hand selected for the New York and Atlanta stores by in-house buyer David Rubenstein as well as Kalinsky himself.
From the backstreet casualness of Jeffrey's, Boston's
has more of an Italian flair at its Newbury Street boutique. After more than 30 years in business, Riccardi has stayed on top of couture trends by introducing lines by renegade designers such as John Galliano, Comme des Garcons and Prada to its New England clientele.
Perhaps the newest and best micro-department store to settle in the U.S. during the past year is
in Miami. Inside a stylish deco storefront that was once a South Beach hotel, shoppers will find eccentrically furnished rooms and works by Tom Ford, Thom Browne and Rick Owens arranged like modern art displays.
The Webster is co-owned by one of the founders of Paris's swanky Colette, who wrote the book on Paris's micro-department store movement. The Webster's first-floor café, Caviar Kaspia, dishes up society lunches and fashionable Champagne happy hours that are reminiscent of the old grand cafes of old-fashioned department stores.
In Los Angeles, home to the posh Fred Segal and newer Opening Ceremony, there is one department store that's the city's most elite. From a its concrete flagship location on Melrose,
is a Mecca for catwalk watchers who stake out the store's fresh shipments of Dior, Lanvin and Gucci. Racks are arranged in an open-style shop that bridges the men's and women's departments with glass cases of vintage collectables and housewares that are even pricier than the clothes.
For anyone with an aversion to $700 shirts and $1,500 shoes, Maxfield also operates an outlet location in Beverly Hills called Maxfield Bleu. The shop stocks last season's merchandise, like that man-skirt that never sold, and newer items in larger sizes or less-desirable colors or cuts at prices discounted by up to 60%.
But don't look for an outlet from Dallas-based
. This three-floor store sells men's and women's clothing from premium labels. The family owned restaurant caters to local society mavens, who scope out the selection of Christian Louboutin shoes and Brioni blazers.
In a city famous for its original Neiman Marcus location and high-end malls, Stanley Korshak has managed to thrive as a specialty department store. It also offers a freestanding home store and women's micro-boutique called The Shak.
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Reported by Michael Martin of JetSetReport.com in Los Angeles.
Michael Martin is the managing editor of JetSetReport.com -- a luxury travel and lifestyle guide based in Los Angeles and London. His work has appeared in In Style, Blackbook, Elle, U.K.'s Red magazine, ITV and BBC.