Last of The Famous International Playgrounds

Hanging out in front of the store's awesome living wall of plants! Mary Katrantzou perfume bottle dress, camel coat custom made by my Mom, vintage turban, Gryson x Target bag, Triskaidekaphobia leather ruff collar, and Iosselliani ring.

Last night, I had the pleasure of attending the Block Magazine party, which also celebrated the opening of one of my new favorite boutiques, International Playground. With the spate of recent new store openings, I have my fingers crossed that it's an indication that those lean recession days are behind us. International Playground is certainly a much needed treat for us fashion geeks. After last year's closure of many beloved independent boutiques (I Heart, Dernier Cri, Woodley and Bunny amongst them---I'm tearing up just thinking about it :( ), New York was left with only a small selection of stores who were willing to take risks and support young and emerging talent. The lovely owners, John and Virginia, do exactly that, focusing on new labels from Scandinavia and New York.

In fact, the selection of designers is so unique, and so special, that most of them aren't sold anywhere else in New York, or the rest of the U.S. I certainly never dreamed of seeing any of these pieces in real life, complacently believing that they were beyond my reach in the fantastical world of ethereal editorial images on the internet. Hard-to-find favorites like Daniel Palillo, Vibe Johansson and Ravishing Mad represent Scandinavia, while hometown heroes like Mary Meyer and Cut-It-Out show off what New York has to offer.

The best part of the night? Having a customized tee made by Mary Meyer, who was camped out in the backyard painting her designs on black shirts with a special kind of paint called Discharge (I know, gross sounding, but the results are cool). It was also great just hanging out with Waseem, Jimmy, Diane and Jacob, especially since the latter two are almost permanently on tour with their respective bands. I loved the store so much, I stopped by again today to do some real shopping (and to hang out with all the super-sweet store staffers)--I promise I'll show you my finds later!

A canary yellow jacket from Finnish designer Sulkawa

One of several super-sick elastic cage corsets by Chromat

A lovely selection of Vibe Johansson goodies

It was awesome seeing Jacob and Diane, while they both happened to be home from touring

A whole rack of Daniel Palillo and Mary Meyer!

Mary Meyer customizing a tee for me in the backyard! I asked for geometric shapes--a signature MM design.

I wore my custom-made Mary Meyers tee today with my Ostwald Helgason x ASOS leggings, VPL bra, Slow and Steady Wins the Race sunglasses, and a necklace my friend Joseph Altuzarra gave to me

I think this sign says it all...

-Tiffany