The New York vintage shop Cheap Jack's has existed in many incarnations since its opening back in 1975. From the tiny First Avenue storefront it first called home to the gargantuan Union Square space it occupied for 25 years to its current location just south of Macy's, Cheap Jack's has remained a key fashion resource for scores of designers and fashion hounds. It-model Coco Rocha is a regular for vintage duds; Michael Kors has been spotted snapping up classic Fifties and Sixties dresses; and last summer, Thierry Mugler stopped by to pick up clothes that inspired his costumes for Beyonce's recent tour. Just recently—according to owners and married couple Mona and Jack Markus—Giorgio Armani and his team dropped in to shop. 
So designers are always stopping by?M: Yes, the designers come three times a year. They get "inspired."
So, is the influence from what you sold them to what's on the runways obvious to you?
M: I could tell you stories--and I won't. [Laughs] Sometimes they don't even change a stitch. Not one stitch. And a dress that they would buy for $175 will end up in the pages of Vogue for $6,000 and it's the exact same dress but with fabrics and workmanship that isn't as good, but it has their name on it.
Does that annoy you?
M: It does, but there really isn't anything I can do about it. So it's best just to be grateful for the business.
We hear that Jack had a hand in creating the technique behind stonewashed and acidwashed jeans?M: In the 70s, Jack literally invented stonewashed jeans. And in the 80s he invented acidwashed jeans.
J: Like all good things, it happened accidentally. There was a chemical reaction—I go, wow. Okay. We start to do it for clientele. Then there was a store owner in upstate New York named Tommy Hilfiger: we advertised what we were doing, and he must have read the papers. He started shipping boxes and boxes of damaged jeans [for us to wash them]. This was back in the days when it was only heavy dungarees, everything was so stiff.
But you didn't patent the process?
M: We were very young.
J: They're certain things you can't patent. It was an accidental chemical reaction that we used for something, and it just did it.
Tell us—what should customers look for in a vintage store, or be wary of? M: When you walk into the store, notice if there's a smell. If there's an odor of mothballs or mustiness, turn around and walk out.
So, everything in your store has been cleaned? How do you clean your clothes?
M: Jack has a degree in dry-cleaning. We're a perfectly green industry, and nothing goes out on the floor until it's absolutely perfect and clean.
Any favorite celebrity sightings?
M: Bruce Willis and his daughters are the nicest people. His kids are lovely—really down to earth.
You had a huge space in Union Square until about five years ago. Why did you leave?
M: Oh, the Batcave! It was 3 floors, 12,000 square feet. Max Brenner [the chocolate restaurant] is there now. The landlord wanted to raise our rent to a million dollars a year.
Cheap Jack's is located at 303 Fifth Avenue, near 31st Street.
Previously: Five minutes with collectible clothing guru Shannon Hoey of vintage shop New York Vintage.
Lisa Borgnes Giramonti, whose endlessly chic blog, 
This 1960's medallion necklace from V Vintage is all that's required to
turn any outfit into something spectacular. Made of Bakelite enamel
with a bamboo-style chain link, it's one of those rare pieces that
transcends trends. (And, FYI, it bears more than a passing resemblance
to Julia Robert's neckwear at the Golden Globes.) Wear it with anything
and let the accolades roll in. 
When I made a long-anticipated pilgrimage to Charleston House (home to
the Bloomsbury Group) last year and spotted this deckchair inspired by
an old Penguin book cover, I knew I wasn't leaving without one.
Purchase a cluster of them and tell your friends that Virginia Woolf,
Graham Greene and Raymond Chandler are waiting for them in the back
garden. It's—sorry, I have to say it—novel seating. 
I'm always on the hunt for a beautiful sachet and this
satin one featuring a portrait of Mrs. "Liberty of London" fulfills my
requirements for style with substance. Supremely silky and filled with
aromatic lavender, it imparts an invigorating kick to any closet or
drawer. Plus, lavender's calming properties make it a perfect
travelling companion: rest it on your eyelids when you're in seat 47J
and circling La Guardia airport. 
I'm a Nike Shox girl (I'm addicted to the extra bit of height they give
me) but am often left unmoved by the color combinations I see in
stores. Problem solved. Their website allows you to completely
customize your own shoe, from laces to lining to monogramming. It's a
couture freak's dream. Look for me hiking in the Hollywood Hills in my
new silvery Stella McCartney-inspired pair. 
This English game bag was designed for grouse-hunting on a country
estate, but I think it's even more stylish as a city hold-all. It has
that classic ancestral allure I love—very Brideshead Revisited, no?
Made of rubberized cotton and bridle leather trim, it's
weather-impermeable and will add some rugged grace to your urban
jungle. 
I've been reading a lot of D. H. Lawrence lately so these rustic
workers' smocks struck an immediate chord. Made from heavy unbleached
linen and dating from the middle to late 1800's, their Jane
Birkin-meets-Rupert Birkin sensibility would be perfect with jeans,
tousled hair and your favorite leather boots. Plus, it's not very often
you get a chance to buy an actual heirloom at high street prices. 
Leave it to Dame Vivienne Westwood to transform a symbol of Victorian
restraint into an anarchic wallcovering. Her "Cut-out Lace" wallpaper,
based on a piece of antique fabric, is both subtle and stunning and
would have any wall desperate to be draped with it. It has a prim-punk
sensibility, which makes sense—they don't call Viv the Queen Mother
of the Sex Pistols for nothing. 
I've been searching for interesting outdoor seating for ages, so when I
discovered these cast-stone garden poufs from Harbinger LA, I did a
double-take. Seriously, how genius are they? I adore the pleated sides
and witty tufted details and can envision scattering them around my
pool area to create trompe l'oeil seating that you don't have to cover
when it rains. Even better, they come in 25 colors. Calm yourself. 
There's no mincing words with this table lamp: its vintage modern
glamour has me at hello. The hand-rubbed brass design, meant to evoke a
derrick tower, is a triumph of machine age simplicity and reminds me of
a time when Hollywood was young and oil was king. Industrial, meet
sophistication. 
Who says dish towels can't whet your appetite as well as dry the
dishes? These ones from Julie Haslam do both. Inspired by her
grandmother's handwritten recipe book, she created a range of dish
towels featuring the actual cooking instructions from her Nan's
most-beloved meals. Hot cross buns, anyone? 
CHANEL: After creating 53 couture collections for Chanel, what could
Karl Lagerfeld possibly do that was completely new for the 54th? Well,
for starters, silver. "Not one gold button," he said before the show,
raising a finger for emphasis. Black-and-white combos? Gone as well.
Navy? Nada. Like the pastel fluorescent columns that flooded the show
space with an otherworldly glow, Lagerfeld let color and metallic
flashes bring energy and modernism to one of the most enduring status
symbols in the fashion universe: the Chanel suit... 
Some people are born with a mission. Talking with Guilhem de Castelbajac, the 30-year-old son of Parisian designer Jean-Charles de Castelbajac, one sees that he’s committed to shaking up people’s awareness about the way they buy their clothes. That’s why De Castelbajac, who studied interior architecture at Pasadena Art Center, near Los Angeles, has decided to launch a line of T-shirts called 
How long have you been thinking about the 
What’s your next travel plan?
From left: Matthew Ames; Carly Cushnie; Michelle Ochs; Prabal Gurung; Bibhu Mohapatra.
This gold necklace pen feels very Mad Men meets Nancy Mitford to me,
but more important than its soignée, old-school aesthetic is the fact that
it promises to eliminate the clumsy fumble through the dark recesses of your
purse for the pen you swear you tossed in this morning. (It's even
detachable, although if your brain cells are like mine, I don't recommend
it.) I’m itching for my next opportunity to sign on the dotted line. 
Speaking of purses, this copper leather transfer bag keeps all your
essentials (cell phone, credit cards, money, makeup) in apple-pie order so
that switching between purses becomes a five-second operation instead of a
chaotic scramble. I'm always forgetting to carry over something I tossed
into a side pocket and only realizing it when the officer asks to see my
driver's license. Hopefully, those days are now over. 
It takes a visionary to make household chores sexy...and thankfully one has.
Designer Celia Birtwell (muse to David Hockney and Ossie Clark) has turned
her keen eye onto the domestic front and I recommend we do so as well. Her
kitchen drawer kit holds a utility knife, a pair of scissors and a tape
measure, all festooned with a colorful, iconic print that will definitely
motivate you to measure curtains, trim wallpaper or clip coupons. 
Every morning, it's the same routine at my house: 1. Get dressed. 2. Eat
breakfast. 3. Embark on frantic search for keys. These crown hooks are a
regal solution to a commonplace problem. Mount them side-by-side on the
inside of a door near your entrance and you'll have five more minutes to
sleep in each morning. 
I'm honing in on my quest for the perfect urban bicycle (watch out, Electra
Amsterdam Royal 8i) but I've already chosen the perfect willow basket to
adorn the front. It's simple, sturdy and an example of classic design at its
best. Retire your back-breaking messenger's bag; this is the perfect
receptacle to securely corral all your Sunday farmers market goodies and
still maintain a ladylike posture. 
Running a close second to my love for England is my love for containers.
These Emma Bridgewater nesting tins bring a bit of the beloved sceptr'd isle
vibe stateside and are perfect for decluttering your pantry, your closet,
your office or anything else for that matter. 
For years, I've resisted buying a laptop case because they were all so,
well...boring-looking. As a result, my iBook has been bumped and banged and
hasn't always lived to tell. However, leave it to Paul Smith to come up with
the perfect cheeky solution. His screen-printed laptop case features vintage
speedometers and makes me want to Netflix Le Mans (1971) with Steve
McQueen immediately. 
My accountant makes me save my receipts, but the heap of crumpled credit
card slips gets to be so unmanageable that I end up losing half of them
anyway. NeatReceipts scans everything, converts them to instant digital files
and even organizes them for you into specific categories so taxes are a
snap. Now that’s sexy. 
I have a well-known India fixation, so this mango wood jewelry box solves my
tangled necklace situation and satisfies my urge for all things Hindi.
Handcrafted in Jodhpur using traditional techniques, each piece is highly
labor intensive (which makes the price all that much more remarkable). 
Despite the best intentions, it's folly to think that there won't still be
days when it's all you can do to get out of bed in the morning. Despair not.
These divine-smelling hair powders from Lulu Organics (tuberose, jasmine,
lavender and sage, patchouli and amber) refresh your tresses on those
mornings when shampoo is not in the realm of possibility. 
Finally, this Rick Owens jersey tunic makes getting dressed a no-brainer.
It's elegant, looks seriously comfortable and I can see myself wearing it in
any situation, from school carpool to afternoon pitch meeting to dinner at
the Chateau Marmont. 
We went gaga for the latest collection from Gilian, the Turkish jewelry house that's become a favorite in Hollywood. Here, three of their extra large cocktail rings incorporating both ancient and modern techniques of jewelry making.
Cartier's snake cuff—284 brilliant cut diamonds weighing a total of 33.98 carats, plus a 26.82 carat cabochon opal—was a total show stopper (above). And it even tells time. The cuff has a hidden watch face beneath the snake's sparkling crown.
Limelight Jazz Party is the name of Piaget's new jewelry and watch collection, a mostly black and white assortment based on the theme of jazz instruments. Here, a keyboard watch made of brilliant baguette-cut diamonds and black spinel. Very Deco in feeling.
And from the Swiss watch company Jean Dunand, which produces extremely limited pieces each year and is best known for their untraditional watch dial materials, we were riveted by the new Tourbillion Orbital featuring a glowing, fiery opal face. 
Miuccia Prada's favorite opera is Puccini's Tosca (she's been known to sing the most famous arias for her closest friends when she's in the mood). But she had never designed costumes for an opera—until now. On February 23, La Miuccia will premiere her designs for Verdi's Attila at the Metropolitan Opera. (It will mark the first performance of Attila at the Met, as well as maestro Riccardo Muti's own Met debut). Making the design cognoscenti even giddier, the sets will be designed by Herzog and de Meuron. 
Last March, when Emanuel Ungaro was invited to design costumes for a production of Berlioz's Faust in Naples (above), he first had to reassure the public, "Non sono abiti sfuggiti ad una sfilata!" ("There won't be dresses that escaped from a runway show!")
Look for regular dispatches from our favorite (and anonymous) opera blogger, the Milan-based
Love and horology go hand in hand. No where is that more in evidence than at the SIHH watch show in Geneva this week, where every watch as a poetic story to tell. The most memorable, of course, are the one-of-a-kind and limited-edition pieces, often the result of months or even years of work. At their simplest, such watches tell time while looking extraordinary (Think lots of diamonds.). At best, they marry form and function, celebrating the craftsmanship of both a skilled watchmaker and an artisan who specializes in age-old art forms like enamel, lacquer and marquetry.
