
BOUTIQUE AND PLACE YOU WANT TO HANG OUT AT OPENS IN LOWER EAST SIDE
LOVE, ROCK & HOODIES
March 20th, 2012 — The Hoodie Shop, the collaboration between Aleah Speranza and Peter Shapiro, will open tomorrow at 181 Orchard Street in the lower east side of Manhattan. As it’s name describes, The Hoodie Shop will specialize in clothing with hoods, but the atmosphere is more fantasy hang out than traditional boutique. The entranceway is covered in a time bending swirl of plant-like feathers that engulf the space. The floor is spotted with big comfy low slung couches, and when there’s not a live DJ the projection screen at the back is playing classic concert footage. Sometimes the Stones, sometimes Michael.
Shapiro is the entrepreneur behind Wetlands, U23D, Brooklyn Bowl and the re-opening of the legendary Capitol Theatre. He used his nightlife expertise to soup up The Hoodie Shop. The store will boast a state of the art video projection and surround sound system, and an elevated picture window DJ booth outfitted with top of the line equipment. The space is filled with Ligne Roset Togo couches, vintage Charles Hollis Jones bar stools, a Verner Panton Living Tower and vintage Dansk lighting. Combined with the transportive atmosphere of the interior design, the AV allows the space to morph from boutique to movie theatre to living room to full scale event space.
Speranza’s aesthetic and her concept for the store is heavily influenced by the energy and innovation that inspired the art, music, and design of the retro decades. Her vision for the store grew from a desire to pay homage to a generation of young people who created careers and lifestyles based on what inspired them. This imaginative energy has been channeled into every aspect of the design.
Speranza and Shapiro first talked about the store while catching up at an LCD Sound System show. Speranza excitedly told Shapiro about her clothing addiction, and her idea for a shopping experience that was half retail half hang out. When the clothing addiction turned out to be hoodies, a concept that had never been done before, Shapiro was sold. A year later the inaugural brick and mortar arm of the brand opens on Orchard Street.
The Hoodie Shop will carry basics, breakout designers, vintage, outerwear, blazers, swimsuits, scarves and one of a kind pieces. Not everything is a hoodie, but everything has a hood. Brands carried by the shop include Aviator Nation, Evenagamba, B. Scott, Kings of Cole, Nicholas K., and the revered eyewear house of Oliver Goldsmith.
THE HOODIE SHOP
181 Orchard Street New York NY
http://thehoodieshop.com/