Searching for ‘Hip’ on Fifth Avenue

Fashionable shopping areas here spring up so suddenly that New Yorkers who have made an art form out of being hip have to scramble to keep track.

And for travelers who find shopping one of the best reasons to visit New York, the latest news is this: Forget SoHo, the popular shopping district of the 1970s and early ‘80s. The darling of the style conscious now is a place and an attitude called “Downtown.”

Geographically, Downtown is a nine-block corridor along Lower Fifth Avenue from 14th to 23rd Street.

During the past 10 years this area, also known as the “Flatiron” district, became a fashionable office address when creative businesses (publishers, photographers, ad agencies and architects) migrated north from SoHo in search of lower rent and south from uptown in search of a more hip environment.

Chic restaurants such as Sofi, 102 Fifth Ave. ($35 to $40 for lunch for one) opened. Next came shops that attract New York City’s most style-conscious shoppers, from Wall Street jocks to would-be Madonnas.

Lower Fifth Avenue shops feature unusual cutting-edge merchandise displayed in architecturally interesting boutiques.

Few understand this better than Parisian designer Alain Mikli, the optometrist who transformed eyeglasses into eyewear. Mikli selected 100 Fifth Ave. as the site for his U.S. boutique because he loved the area.

“It has the same feeling as the Marais (one of Paris’ trendiest areas), with so many vital people moving in and making an exciting community,” Mikli said.

Boutique Alain Mikli, designed with columns, beechwood covered display islands, leather armchairs and theatrical lighting, offers the entire Mikli eyewear line of more than 700 frame styles including those designed by Mikli. Glasses begin at $85.

Most unusual are the Mikli-designed frames that sell exclusively in the New York City boutique. One set of frames looks like sawed-off binoculars and is available in brown or white plastic ($115) or by special order in black plastic with rhinestones set around the lenses ($300) or covering the entire band ($355).

Optically, the glasses create a sort of cross-eyed effect and flatten perspective. While some may wonder why anyone would want to wear them, the answer is that Mikli was experimenting with creating a new way of seeing, as well as looking.

But for those who prefer glasses for more standard reasons, such as improving vision or blocking sun, there is an extraordinary selection.

Some glasses have gold-tinted lenses set in 24-karat wire frames that wrap around the face and cost $612. Other frames are made of marbleized plastic and fake tortoise shell.

Frames can be outfitted with tinted or corrective lenses--or with clear glass for those who like the fashion look of the glassware but have good vision.

Nearby, English men’s wear designer Paul Smith chose 108 Fifth Ave. for his only U.S. boutique. Smith’s comfortable environment is that of a traditional Englishman’s haberdashery. But the several rooms with wood-paneled walls and recessed shelves are filled with fashion of an unusual kind.

Smith’s fashion conservatism is traditional enough to be worn on Wall Street, but full of eye-catching detail and the kind of humor that appeals to individualistic and slightly rebellious dressers.

His tailored suits of Irish or Italian linen (from $400) are shown with button-down shirts (from $60) in shadowy prints of coffee beans or vegetables. Cuff links are made from old typewriter keys ($100) and baseball caps are made of brocade ($150).

At 156 Fifth Ave., shoppers will find the most complete collection of Japanese designer Matsuda. A recent emigre from uptown, the boutique is filled with inventive postmodern fashions for men and women.

Among them: over-sized jackets designed with boldly textured fabrics and asymmetrical lines (from $600), men’s brocade shirts with octagonal buttons ($590), women’s knit separates with jeweled buttons (from $400), scarfs made of strings ($200) and fringed lamp shade hats ($660).

Emporio Armani, 110 Fifth Ave., offers the complete Emporio line of casual outfits for men (about $850) and women (about $700), including popular red suede baseball jackets ($685) and floral parkas ($600).

WilliWear, 119 Fifth Ave., is designed as an urban jungle boutique featuring crumbling concrete columns wrapped in massive vines of gray fake ivy. The men’s and women’s clothing and accessories are creative, too.

For women there are stretchable sheath dresses ($200) and short-cropped jackets ($150). The men’s line offers suits ($300) in textured cottons and linens with oversize jackets and pleated trousers.

Accessories include the Messalina agenda ($45), which is covered with Italian textured paper and contains undated, color-coded months, so users can begin their year when the mood suits them.

Tootsie Plohound, a famous SoHo shoe store, opened a branch at 137 Fifth Ave. with a collection of inventive footwear by Kelian, Gaultier, Pollini and Patrick Cox. Shoes, which begin at $180, include wedge sandals with lace insets and flats with flattened toes.

New York City’s own Kenneth Cole, however, walks away with the most acclaim at his flagship boutique, 95 Fifth Ave. Cole offers several lines, from nautical motif grosgrain flats ($70) to suede pumps with Louis XIV-inspired heels ($100); from traditional riding boots to silver-studded biker boots. Cole also has shoes for children, including miniature joggers ($38).

Daffy’s, 111 Fifth Ave., outfits trendy dressers who can’t afford the nearby designer shops. This multidepartment discount store has racks filled with buys in men’s, women’s and children’s clothes and accessories. Among them: Emporio Armani shearling jackets ($500), Christian Dior white wool suits ($90), Gaultier overcoats ($225) and Oscar de la Renta cashmere sweaters ($65).

For the budget-minded, The Gap, 120 Fifth Ave., is to fashion what Burger King is to food. Yet the casual clothing chain has picked up the downtown theme and peppered New York City with hip black and white photo posters.

Ads feature downtown types--artists, dancers, actors, photographers, philosophers--wearing Gap turtlenecks, jeans and jackets. Although clothes are utilitarian, attitudes entice the “hip,” and the price--about $15 for turtlenecks--is right.

While shopping Lower Fifth Avenue for fashion, don’t miss other outstanding outlets: Folklorica, 89 Fifth Ave., offers ethnic art and clothing including silver Ethiopian crosses (from $90), Brazilian wooden boat sculptures ($450 to $800), leather and woven straw handbags ($135), patterned raffia kuba clothes ($42), fuzzy raffia bracelets from Zaire ($45) and Benin ceremonial sculptures ($550).

B. Shackman & Co., 85 Fifth Ave. (since 1898), has toys, stuffed animals, porcelain dolls and books for children. Famous bookseller Barnes & Noble has its enormous and well-stocked flagship store at 128 Fifth Ave.