Nab this Michael Kors gown for $800, or these Manolo Blahniks for $150, at the Posh Sale.

When Benoit Jamin and Isabelle Puech (above right) decided to upgrade their New York retail digs, they didn't comb the island, weighing the relative hipness factors of different neighborhoods. They just packed up their little Nolita Jamin Puech shop and moved around the corner to a new outpost on Prince Street that's triple the size. "We pulled this together in 20 days," says Puech, gesturing at the 1,400-square-foot space. "It's now the biggest of our eight stores, and we can show everything here. We couldn't do that before." Not that the shop is filled floor to ceiling with the culty, super-embellished handbags. In fact, the outsize furnishings play a starring role. Puech and Jamin went to great lengths to gussy up the place, making many trips to Paris's Marché Paul Bert in search of festive decorations. They also enlisted the help of interior designers Michel Perraches and Eric Miele to source industrial antique furniture and other beyond-the-fringe objets, including a waist-high stack of early 20th century leather gymnasium mats, WWII airport lamps used to land war planes and 19th century Venetian chairs accented with gold and silver leaf. Sourced in Europe and shipped Stateside, it's all for sale. So what happens if the store is stripped bare of its covetable décor? "We'll just rush back to the flea market as fast as we can," says Puech.

I'm not usually one to stray from my same few pairs of tried and true blue jeans, even with—especially with —the rapid frequency of denim launches these days. But after recently checking out the new designs of Allureblues, I've decided to move on and change my ways.

Created by a team of young female designers, the collection delivers just what women like myself want in a pair of jeans: minimal details and great washes without the all the bells and whistles. (No crazy embellishment! No over-the-top whiskers!)

The raw indigo washes actually feel soft and the waxed black denim is chic with a polished edge. The line also comes in various shades of grays, navy, and a style with buttons at the ankles. Arriving in New York this July at stores like TG-170 and Blush, the jeans will surely make getting dressed more difficult. Something else to love—the cuts are meant the flatter a woman's curves. Basically, why wouldn't you want a pair...or four?

I've recently returned from my first visit to Harbour Island in the Bahamas, and I have the tan—and, more importantly, the caftan—to prove it. Famous for its white sand beaches and billionaire homeowners (think Ron Perelman, Barry Diller, Arki Busson and Robert Miller), the island is also home to The Sugar Mill, the cultishly revered store owned by model-turned-designer India Hicks.  In fact, one of the first things my friends and I did upon arrival was get on a golf cart (the preferred mode of transportation of the Brilanders, as the locals are called) and zip over to the shop.

The irony was not lost on us that we were coming from New York, a city with thousands of boutiques, and we were spending hours shopping at one store on a tiny island. But we couldn't resist the floaty caftans and cute bikinis—not to mention the decent exchange rate.

Unfortunately India herself was in Los Angeles filming Top Design—she's the show's new host—but we still had fun perusing the clothes from Allegra Hicks (India's sister-in-law), Anya Hindmarch Beach, Taka and the Danish line Day (my favorite). I ended up walking away with a pink-and-white scarf from Kenya, Spider Lily body polish (part of a bath collection India created with Crabtree & Evelyn) and a gorgeous cotton tunic that India had made, well, in India. I wore mine the very next day to Sip Sip, the restaurant where all the Brilanders, it seems, stop for lunch.

The Sugar Mill
(242) 333-3558
thesugarmill@coralwave.com

Until recently, the quaint market town of Tetbury in England's Cotswolds district was best known for the antique shops lining its narrow, cobble-stone streets. Now there's another reason for visitors to flock to the Gloucestershire town. Last month, the area's starriest resident, Prince Charles—whose rambling country pad Highgrove is just outside Tetbury—set up shop there.

The store—Highgrove Shop—stocks a cornucopia of organic fruit and vegetables sourced from Highgrove's own Home Farm. There's also china decorated with images of hens, designed by Samantha Buckley, an alumna of Charles's Traditional Arts School in London, and soaps infused with hypericum plucked from his gardens.

So far, the store's royal connections have been drawing in the tourist crowds. "We've even had people from America signing the vistors' book," says Sally Jarrett, the shop's manager. But it's not only those eager to experience a slice of royal life who are turning up. Local residents are regulars too, snapping up chutneys, honey and leeks. The store's Champagne and red and white wines have also proved popular, perhaps because they're the very same as those served at official functions in the Orchard Room at Highgrove.

Even the usually cynical British press has nodded approvingly at the store, both for its relatively competitive pricing and the fact that all the store's profits go towards the Prince's various charities and projects. And for those who can't make the trip across the pond to visit the royal corner shop, not to worry. Later this year, the store will launch its own Web site, and the goods will ship worldwide.

For its first-ever use of semi-precious stones, Lalique has selected a posse of slithering creatures to play messenger. Its new "Serpent" pendant range for fall, a sub-group within its vast China Mood collection of gorge crystal bric-a-brac, was unveiled at the house's Madison Avenue flagship on Wednesday. Featuring a wide array of rocks (amber, onyx, quartz and carnelian, to name a few), the necklaces are chunky and drape-y - just the thing to toss over a few layers of cozy knits. But supplies won't last; in a nod to Asian numerology, only 188 pieces were created.

Vintage fabrics galore, a grand pair of old brownstone doors flanked by pressed-tin mirrors

"Apparently, we're in desperate need of a flea market." So said one Fort Greene denizen as he pushed his way through the mobs of hipsters at the neighborhood's latest hot spot: the front lot of Bishop Loughlin Memorial High School. Indeed, the grand opening of Brooklyn Flea was the place to be on Sunday, despite the un-spring-like chilly temps and blustery winds. Curated by the real estate Web site, Brownstoner.com, the merch was a far cry from the cassette tapes and cheap sunglasses that infiltrate many a flea market. (Even the food was curated: Belgian waffles, mini quiches, couscous.) While the requisite reworked vintage T-shirts and onesies were aplenty, there were also some terrific curios to be had, ranging from retro textiles to an old oak door salvaged from a brownstone. While I really wanted to walk away with a gorgeous pair of lacquered wood and black glass night tables, circa 1955 ($1,600), or a Halston tie-dye-esque gown from the Seventies ($350), I instead settled for a very on-trend pleated blouse (sans label) with a rhinestone-dotted neckline, $15; a couple of pretty vintage books (Conrad Richter's The Trees, $8, and Philip Truex's The City Gardener, $15); a leather clutch with a metal "M" monogram, $20, and a kitschy plastic spoon holder in the shape of a peacock, $5. Watch your back, Clignancourt.

Judging books by their covers

Brookyn Flea
Bishop Loughlin Memorial High School
Lafayette Ave. between Clermont and Vanderbilt Ave.
Fort Greene, Brooklyn, NY