Tom and Charlotte Spice Up the Neighborhood

Last week, Diva visited the uber-high-end store Tom Ford just opened in New York City at Madison and 70th Street. [You remember Tom Ford--he used to design for Gucci.] From the snooty doormen to the roped-off, private upper floor--gained by ascending a spiral staircase in a closet-size enclosure--it is the epitome of male ostentation. Move over Brioni and Zegna and Ralph; there is a serious new competitor in town [actually, some of these clothes are by Zegna]. Tom brings a stylized residential quality into the store interior, with luxury materials--the designer must have thought he won the store design budget lottery. The best Italian marble--the classic, black-and-white small-grained type one usually sees in Italian castles--and highly polished, exotic wood paneling dominate the interior throughout. In the formal entry, a metal desk is draped with a metal crocodile hide--very eye-catching, and a good conversation piece. In one room, elegant side chairs and a cushy sofa sit in front of a fireplace, which holds a single, large rock crystal, instead of a fire. Another room, with floor-to-ceiling shelving, is stacked with men’s shirts--but the adjacent fitting rooms, though luxuriously appointed, are the size of water closets on a European train. In the rear is Diva’s favorite redoubt, the fragrance salon, all marble and mirrors and sexy smells. Rumor is that Tom tried to incorporate the feeling of his private homes [yes, plural] into the store. If you are into male hyper-indulgence, check this one out. But expect to be snubbed by that doorman if you don’t leave with a shopping bag filled with one of those $4,000 silk bathrobes [well they are gorgeous prints].

Also near Madison, in the '70s, is the new retail effort of Charlotte Moss, a multi-story townhouse, filled with furniture and home accessory treasures. This feels like entering a private home--or perhaps like visiting the Kips Bay designer showhouse, also nearby this May. Every room has its own theme, including a library, filled with books and called the “Cabinet of Curiosities”--filled with antique natural history exhibits. There is enough silk and print fabrics and tassels and framed art to please any high-end decorator. Diva thought it harkened back to the interior design glory days of Billy Baldwin and his likes in the '70s. Upper East-Siders will coo over this one, and they can drop in to shop, while on their way to the nearby, neighborhood Dean & Deluca. This Moss [not to be confused with the Moss in SoHo--that one is a Murray] is well worth a detour the next time you are in New York.

--Diva