By Patrick Michael Hughes
Special to DNAinfo.com
DOWNTOWN — Street Chic took an early September stroll past the stylish shop windows of lower Manhattan's independent boutiques and studios ahead of Fashion's Night Out and Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week.
Some of the most prominent items on display were made close to home — in some cases, as nearby as Manhattan's Garment District.
"Design studios are located on the premises. Everything is made in NY with the exception of one designer from Israel," said Gregory Reeves, proprietor of boutique clothier Christopher 19.
The head designer at Annalore added that everything in the boutique is made in Manhattan's Garment District, saying "It is still possible to do this, people just have to want to pay for it."
At casually elegant Save Khaki on Greenwich Ave, founded by David Mullen, goods are stamped "origin: made in the USA."
Amber Doyle’s bespoken menswear, Against Nature on Chrystie Street, Lower East Side, is all made in NY. For Fashion's Night Out they are hosting a gentlemen’s drink and an "evening measure" for their clients.
Womenswear boutique Otte-New York is officially launching Otte Signature at their TriBeCa location on Fashion's Night Out, and the entire collection is manufactured in the Garment District.
A global fashion trend was also visible downtown at fashion-forward Hotoveli on W 4th Street. The owner, Michael Adjiashvili, admitted "we can't keep these in stock, they are almost all gone," referring to a pair of unisex, narrow-knit, dhoti style pants from an Asian design house.
Merge urban edge with rebel varsity looks and you arrive at the fresh peacock style of Graham G. Fowler on West 10th street.
And London's still calling with retro early '80s rock-influenced, sexy Flashdance styled shirts with safety pins and distressed denim at Religion in SoHo.
Concept stores Misha-Nicole and International Playground on the Lower Eastside feature clothes and accessories by emerging designers from Europe and Scandinavia to produce standout originals only available in NYC.
Korean designers have a home at Charmzoa on Mulberry Street, whose store entrance intrigued Street Chic with jackets recalling the 1930s-style details of Elsa Schiaparelli.
For a full list of Fashion's Night Out events, visit www.fashionsnightout.com
