nyc holiday post #7: mermaid shirts, french mousse and russian tea

Dear fairies,
I am continuing my accounts of my stay in New York City. This is my final post on New York City and I will then proceed to post as usual.

I decided to go to a famous vintage clothing store called Cheap Jack's to see what sort of things I could find. I was short on money at this point, so I bought one item which I think was the best I could find for fairy kei here!

I talked to some of the staff and the owners of Cheap Jack's while I was there and they said that this shop is one of the go-to places for vintage costumes for TV shows and films. They have vintage clothing from the 20s through the 80s. It is also a very navigable place, with labelled racks of what period each group of clothing is from. They even had a few sale racks at the front full of wonderful and inexpensive pieces. Again, like the other vintage shops I mentioned in my previous post, prices seem to range from about maybe $25 and up, depending on the year, the article, and design.

I was very excited to find a The Little Mermaid shirt from the 80s marked from $35 to only $10! The item has a few spots on it, but are not easy to detect because of the print. I have to say that I've searched the Internet for The Little Mermaid clothing from the 80s. I really couldn't find anything! So, of course, I would have bought it even if it was $35. The employees there probably thought I was weird trying on and buying a little girls' shirt, but it pretty much fits.

Basically, great place to check out for some vintage pieces for fairy kei and fairly inexpensive sale racks.

Afterward, Andrew and I had tickets to go see the Broadway play, Golden Boy. It's a play about a boy, in the 1930s, who becomes a boxing champion and the trials he faces with himself, his family, his friends, and his co-workers. Unfortunately the show will not be running for much longer, but it was definitely worth attending. Something about a classic play like this one onstage is just so much more intimate, possibly because it wasn't as showy as, say, Peter and the Starcatcher or a musical. It was a simply done show in which the actors carried the show practically by themselves with wonderful performances.

When the show was over, we tried to make a decision as to where to eat for dinner. Finally, after much walking around aimlessly in the cold in Hell's Kitchen, we decided to eat at a little French restaurant called Tout Va Bien. 

It is the oldest French bistro in the theatre district, open since 1948! The restaurant has won many awards and is, of course, delicious. For French cuisine in New York City, this restaurant is relatively inexpensive. 

I ordered a three course meal, which was about $44. I started off with yummy mussels, then my entree was coq au vin, followed by a yummy chocolate mousse topped with whipped cream and wafer. Tout Va Bien is a quaint and cozy restaurant complete with checkered table cloths and French art and signed portraits of celebrities on the walls. If you are on your way to a show or coming back from one, I'd suggest Tout Va Bien if you're looking for a good meal.

                                         

                                             

What I Wore

Bow: Hot Topic

Dress: Hello Kitty/ Sanrio

Cardigan: Old Navy

Lace Tights: Betsey Johnson

Legwarmers: Offbrand

Shoes:Charlotte Russe

The last day I spent in New York City was spent with my lolita friend, Alia. I tried to think of a place where we could hang out. One place came to mind called The Stone Flower, which was supposedly a lolita shopping hot spot in New York City. Unfortunately, the only Japanese fashion store in New York City, Tokyo Rebel, was temporarily closed.

The Stone Flower is located in a little shopping center on Pier 17. There are actually two parts of The Stone Flower in the center. One is located on the first floor, which sells clothing, and the other is located on the second floor, which sells jewelry and accessories. While The Stone Flower doesn't sell any Japanese brands, the clothing and accessories are still very kawaii. The prices are also much lower than brands, with simple JSKs at $50 with cute prints like macarons and strawberries.

Accessories consist of things like cute bows and headbands, little cameo earrings, and panda earmuffs. I'd recommend going here if you're looking for cute basic, and relatively inexpensive, Japanese fashion pieces. A word of caution is that the clothing comes in one size only. I wouldn't recommend you go shopping for clothes here if you're not a size small (or maybe medium). I tried on a few of the JSKs there and considered bu Also, if not to go to The Stone Flower, Pier 17 is lovely to just walk along and see the ocean and ships nearby.

After The Stone Flower, Alia and I said our goodbyes and Andrew surprised me by taking me to The Russian Tea Room. This was by far the priciest place we went to dine on my NYC trip, but it was definitely worth it. The restaurant is very nice and played classical music like Mozart and Tchaikovsky. Also, if you're sitting in a booth, the waiter will literally pull the entire table out for you to take your seat so you don't have to slide all the way into the booth!

We shared a delicious chicken kiev dish followed by lovely hot tea. There was a list of different teas to choose from. I chose the Russian Country tea, which had a hint of smokiness to it while Andrew had a delightful spiced chai. Along with our own pots of tea, we were given brown and white sugar cubes, sweetened cherries, and little Russian cookies. When I saw the cherries, I asked the waiter what they were for. Apparently, in some parts of Russia, they like to sweeten their tea with cherries! So, I went ahead and put two cherries in each cup of tea along with a brown sugar cube ^_^ This was a lovely ending to a wonderful trip to New York City.

What I Wore

Bow: H&M

Skirt: Offbrand

Green Skirt Overlay: Offbrand

Sweater: Disney

Tights: Offbrand

Legwarners: Offbrand

Lace Tights: Betsey Johnson

Legwarmers: Offbrand

I had a wonderful time in NYC and I really hope you fairies enjoyed reading! Maybe these posts could be helpful to decide what you might be doing on your trip to NYC? And I will be back again soon~

~Sparkling Ga Eul

Faith, Trust, and Fairy Kei Dust