Pookie & Sebastian
Where? Pookie & Sebastian's headquarters are on New York City's Upper West Side, but its brightly coloured wares beckon shoppers to two other locations: in the Upper East Side and Murray Hill.
Who? The shop name pays tribute to two Yorkshire terriers, but the owner is the fashionable Caroline Roberts. 'I have always adored dressing people and helping them to look fabulous,' says Roberts. 'Opening a shop was just the natural course of things.'
Fashion finds: Pookie & Sebastian boutiques constantly rotate their stock, so sales are frequent and customers stay up to date with trends. They're known for carrying flirty dresses and tops, premium denim such as Rock & Republic and tissue-thin jumpers for winter. Necessities such as Cosabella thongs and Havaianas flip-flops are staples. Many of the pieces (including those from the in-house brand) resemble what is found at Scoop or Intermix, but are more modestly priced. In other words, a college girl's dream.
The vibe: flirty and fun, with an emphasis on curlicue fonts and pink awnings. It's a boutique for young women and is designed accordingly.
The crowd: the clientele includes New York teenagers with some spending money and women in their twenties and thirties who want to dress well but not overexert the plastic.
Extras: the boutique has received a good deal of press, with makeover shows such as TLC's Makeover Story and Fox's Ambush Makeover bringing their candidates to comb Pookie's closets.
