Nana Banana

The Chain Gang: Eryn Brinie (and reflections on TopShop)

So, I went to TopShop this weekend. I'm going to wait to level my final judgment, but you know when you meet up with an ex-crush from high school? You're walking into the restaurant all giddy and excited and 16 again...then a receding hairline in khakis and those Steve Madden man shoes comes your way? Ok, ok it wasn't that bad, but I did leave feeling a little, well, deflated. 

There were lots of pieces that reminded me why I loved the store in the first place (the shoes, the Preen dresses), but the general shopping experience doesn't match the awesomeness that is their London flagship (and occasionally the quality doesn't match the price tag). However, it is a great place to pick up the occasional romper or sundress. And the basic knit pieces hit the sweet spot of great fit for a great price. I love that the store asserts its own style instead of knocking off runway looks (thus avoiding tragedies like last summer's ubiquitous Dior gladiator sandal rip-off), and it's brought great British designers to the States. Lots and lots of pluses for our cross-pond neighbor, but don't go expecting retail transcendence.

Anywho, while I was in the neighborhood, I hit up some of my other favorite sartorial emigres. New York has welcomed a host of foreign chains to the island in the past few years, and I thought that in the wake of TopShop it might be fun to stop into some of them. So this week, I give you Eryn Brinie. 

Eryn Brinie
Country of Origin: South Korea
Specialties: Great jackets, vests and skirts that playfully mix textures (think silk-lapelled tuxedo jackets made of light sweatshirt material...it works, I swear). Ideal for layering.
Currently coveting: A gray buttery leather motorcycle vest.
Lost in translation: Be aware that the cuts didn't expand much on their trip from Asialand. Nana Banana often finds her trunk junk to be too much for their more fitted dresses. But the more slender among you should do just fine.
Currency conversion:On par with Zara. Blazers will run you about $150, skirts $75ish.

Here is a crappy shot that I took inside the store (hard to take undercover photos when you're still learning how to use a new camera).

And here are some less crappy photos lifted from their website.  Enjoy! 

White and studly: Three days till TopShop!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hey kids,
TopShop mania is reaching a fever pitch ahead of the NY store opening on Thursday. There are back-to-back parties tonight and tomorrow at Balthazar (tonight's conflicts with Nylon's 10 year anniversary party). Anywho, the hoopla is all a bit overwhelming, and I feel like I might not be able to actually get inside for the next five months. So perhaps I'll have to just order the following online!

Pretty pretty princess: 7 days till TopShop

Dear friends,

Much TopShop news on the web! The Heartschallenger vans are roaming the city giving away free shit (locations updated daily here)! The opening ceremonies will be presided over by Her Holy Mossness and her merry band of Buzzy McHiptards: Mark Ronson, Lady Gaga, and Santogold (I kid because I love). Guest DJs will be spinning throughout the opening week (James Murphy, The Whip), providing a happy soundtrack for the roiling mobs mauling each other for liberty print rompers and leather jodhpurs. Oh and you can win a trip to London or sign up for a free personal style consultation. I'll be giving it a whirl on April 13th. Will be sure to give a full report.

WHHHHHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!
NanaBanana

UPDATE: Wow, they really haven't missed a single name. This lineup reads like the 2009 Nylon social register: Lissy Trullie, DJ Lindsey, Kid Sister, with lifetime achievement award winners The Misshapes. Now all we need is some spoken word by Diablo Cody, an army of lifesize Cory Kennedy cutouts, and a Cobrasnake photo Twitter feed, and we've got the party of the century. ICK.

  

First concert tickets of summer have arrived: Eight days till TopShop

Hey kiddies,
The sky is flooded with sunshine today, my first set of summer concert tickets arrived in the mail, and there is just over a week till the opening of TopShop.  Here are a few more of the things to help us moon for the warmer days ahead.
Smooches,
Nana Banana

The slow reveal: Nine days till TopShop

Look!  TopShop loves lace too! How bad ass are these leggings?
And what about this tee!?

Gray skies are gonna clear up: 13 days till TopShop

It's unlucky Friday-the-13-days-till-TopShop.  I guess that explains why I awoke on the first day of spring to find a blizzard out my window. But TopShop has the power to turn gray skies to blue. Or to produce gray skirts that shake me from my blue (I'm sleepy kids, give me a break). 

Anywho, here's your pretty pretty for today...

 

 

Are zippers the new feathers?

I'm feeling feather fatigue these days. Don't get me wrong, I'm a texture nut, and I love--at least in theory--the idea of such a whimsical embellishment. But in practice, you get about two wears out of a dress trimmed in 'em before you look like a tired old boa after a Staten Island bachelorette party. Anywho, the new trim of choice seems to be zippers, which, while more sturdy, seem equally impractical, at least from a comfort standpoint. Thoughts?

I think the concept works with these pumps because the contrast that the pale pink color and structural ruffles make with the harsh material. Alas, this Emma Rose for TopShop hotness sold out in about ten seconds. Other, less successful zipper offerings from TopShop include:

 
I don't know.  For me, this just look first-year design-student-y. 

I think the farthest I'll go with this trend is maybe an exposed zipper dress or a classic simple necklace like this (apparently selling for $1.00 on some website called Bonanzle).  My oh-so-effortlessly stylish friend Bianca has been rocking one like this since the day I met her. Such a cute, subtle statement piece.

Don't go chasin' waterfalls: 14 days till TopShop

Greetings friends, it's that time again. I'm counting down the days till the grand TopShop descends from on high to singlehandedly resurrect New York retail. Today I present some pretty pretty in the form of asymmetrical folds and waterfall draping. 

    

Digital get-down: 15 days till TopShop

Greetings friends,

It's time for your daily installment of TopShop good-day, sunshine, happytime. I think they do great work with prints. The pieces below remind me of that badass Hayden-Hartnett Katya dress as well as that Aztec trend that was getting me all hot and bothered a few weeks ago.  Anywho, check out, enjoy, mark your calendars. April 2nd bitches!

Smooches,

Nana Banana

 

The spending of the green: 16 days till TopShop

Welcome to today's TopShop pretty pretty style porn countdown. Today's edition I shall entitle, "Do my hips look big in this?"
TopShop carries the kind of architectural statement pieces that you rarely find from chain retailers. I love the breezy drape of the first dress, the pagoda-like shape of the skirt, the playful nautical feel of the second dress, and the understated cool of the last piece.

PS - My country-hopping friend Babs just posted a hilarious piece about the odd quirks of our cross-pond neighboUrs (must not forget the U). Click here for big tits, knife fights, and cajun squirrel flavored potato chips.