It’s not really a surprise that Vivienne Tam wants to shop in Chinatown.
All of the fashion designer’s collections are Asian-influenced; she was born in China and raised in Hong Kong.
“I always come to Chinatown for inspiration,” says Tam, who has decided – rather optimistically – to shop for a hot-weather outfit. “Summer is coming and I want an outfit to lift the spirits, something you can wear to the beach and have a lot of fun in.”
After graduating from Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Tam moved to New York and developed her signature East-meets-West clothing line in 1994.
Tam – whose ethnic, yet cosmopolitan designs range from $200-$1,000 and are sold at Macy’s, Bendels and her own boutique in SoHo – shot to fashion superstardom with her “Mao” and “Buddha” collections. Last year, she showed a collection at the Great Wall of China.
Today, Tam has scaled back her ambitions considerably – all she needs to do is come up with a chic, sexy summer ensemble for, or under, $100.
And while we begin in Chinatown, Tam doesn’t rely on Pearl River Mart – a shopaholic staple.
Golden Rule: “Go with what you really want to wear first, then find the accessories to go with it.”
KD Inc.
(238 Canal St.; [646] 613-1305)
Colorful, rayon silk Chinese dresses line the walls in this tiny shop, where you can also find sequined tops decorated with butterflies (like the one Mariah Carey wore in her “Butterfly” video) and Roberto Cavalli knockoff satin pants.
Tam buys a stunning turquoise dress.
“This is my favorite place for Chinese stuff,” she says, yelling above the salesman, who is screaming to customers on Canal Street.
Next, it’s off to find some Chinese jewelry. We stroll over to a tiny mall around the corner.
Luo’s
(234-238 Canal St. #110; [212] 625-0725)
This place specializes in jade (but not exclusively). Tam heads straight toward a brown basket filled with bangles. She picks two (“for health and protection”), then walks outside to see what they look like with the dress in the sunlight.
Satisfied, she ducks back inside and stumbles upon a pair of jade earrings and an intricately designed silver hairpiece. The owner of the store is a fan of Tam’s and insists that she take the pieces for free, but the designer dutifully explains that she would be cheating.
“I need a great bag and shoes to complete this outfit,” she says. “Let’s go to Screaming Mimi’s. I get a lot of my inspiration there too.”
Screaming Mimi’s
(382 Lafayette St.; [212] 677-6464)
Tam takes a look around this legendary vintage shop and spies a funky straw bag sitting behind the cash register.
Though it’s in a bit of disrepair (some of its appliquéd flowers have fallen off) Tam – like Charlie Brown seeing the beauty in a skinny, dying Christmas tree – thinks it’s perfect.
“This bag makes the dress!” she exclaims. “It is so interesting-looking and special.”
Finally, we go to Ricky’s to look for shoes.
Ricky’s
(267 W. 23rd St.; [212] 206-0234)
Tons of colorful flip-flops hang on the wall (just like the kind Holly Dunlap purchased at Joyce Leslie two weeks ago), but Tam rifles through the shoe boxes sitting on the floor. She plucks out a pair of wedge slides with the Playboy icon on them.
“These are so casual,” she says. “They make the outfit more fun. The wedge on the heel tones [the dress] down.”
“I would wear this outfit on weekends,” she says. “It’s fun, funky and young. And you can mix it up with tons of other accessories too.”
And guess what? She’s only got a penny left.
Dress at KD Inc., $25
Bangles and hairpiece at Luo’s, $5 each
Handbag at Screaming Mimi’s, $30
Wedges at Ricky’s, $29.99
Total: $99.99
