All stories about "Shopping"

Vintage has been hot fashion property for some time now. This ubiquity has left some cold -- especially regarding items which claim to be "vintage" but are actually "vintage inspired." True vintage, however, can be a wonderful, many-splendored thing. In an increasingly samey, saturated womenswear market, a vintage item can make you stand out. No one will be wearing the same dress as you, or a dress which looks really similar but actually came from another (ahem) well known High Street retailer. Vintage accessories are a goldmine, especially when a particular era comes back into fashion. However, vintage clothing can range from thousands of pounds to just a few. The following guide provides a range of vintage shopping options, from the mind-blowingly expensive to the cheap and everywhere in between.

Everyday on Gridskipper we give you a new map. Some are new, some are fetched from our archive, newly updated. Happy Gridskipping. Once upon a time, sexy lingerie in Britain was a somewhat er, specialized business selling torturous polyester and scratchy lace garments to be worn perhaps once on Valentine's Day or more regularly if you were a stripper. Most women never strayed from plain, sensible pants, which had once been white and were now gray and fraying. It was a sad state of affairs. And then Agent Provocateur came along and saved the nation's knicker drawers. Where they led the way, many others followed and now we're spoiled for choice. Mapped here are just some of London's finest purveyors of lingerie.

Last Friday, Gridskipper espied the latest additions to the Hamptons fashion shopping firmament. Today, a newcomer in the design space.

Bridgehampton: The Moment has the reveal on Maison 24, a quirky new design storefront on Main Street in Bridgehampton opened by two veterans of Jonathan Adler's home design empire. Color: "Mixing craftsmanship, kitsch and drop-dead glamour, the store boasts a cherry-picked selection of their favorite things including furniture, fashion, objets d’art, jewelry, handbags, luggage and hand-made candies." Click through for a shot of some of the merch. 2424 Main Street, Bridgehampton; (631) 537-2488; website.
· Sandra's Sources: Maison 24 [The Moment]
· East End Shopping Preview '08 [Gridskipper]

Spring is in the air, which means drab winter wear ought to be properly stored away. Pretty pastels in breathable fabrics are the essence of this time of year, as are sweet berries, crisp greens, and a fabulous pair of Romanesque sandals. And so, to help you shed the old and bring in the new, I've scoured east and west for the snazziest shops in Berlin. Whether you've a penchant for Tokyo's youth culture or for Sex in the City, there's something here for everyone. Happy spring shopping.

You don't have to cross the channel to dress like a Parisienne. If you're in London and pining for some Parisian style, no need to trouble yourself with an aller-retour on the Eurostar. Just hop on the Tube and head over to W11. Westbourne Grove and Ledbury Road in the heart of Notting Hill is a quiet, walkable, boutique-lined little oasis where you can stroll around, window shop, and spend your cash at top Gallic boutiques that congregate in the area. Even if you're just in the mood for a window-shop and a coffee, Westbourne Grove is a nice place to meander on a sunny afternoon. Make that a beer, and you just may be able to almost convince yourself you're in the Marais. Except that the English-speaking French girls mining these fashion houses are smiling and friendly in a way they'd never think to be on native soil.

A wise man once sang Don't do the crime if you can't do the time, a warning simple enough for even me to grasp. This threat of long-term incarceration, a staple of justice and correctional systems for centuries, is still the essential deterrent to criminal behavior. Unfortunately in Berlin, with its twelve years of Nazi dictatorship followed by four more decades of communist authoritarianism, one might end up doing the time -- or worse -- while never having actually "done the crime." Politically and racially motivated confinement, torture, and murder stain the histories of Berlin's prisons, and the process of Vergangenheitsbewaeltigung ("coming to terms with the past") has also involved examining the injustices and atrocities which have occurred within the walls of the big house. While the city now has a normal correctional system for the punishment and rehabilitation of its criminal population, several of Berlin's prisons have been converted into memorials -- remembering those innocents who suffered without cause and warning those who would forget how justice can be perverted by politics.

We've already sent you to some of London's best design shops for the home. Here's a list of top design destinations and events for the design junkie in search of modern inspiration and historical perspective. After the jump: 400 years of English interiors at the Geffrye Museum in Shoreditch, the newest work of international design stars at the Design Museum along the Thames, and London's only antiques, vintage, and retro department store.

Back in college I thought I was allergic to wine; a few glasses and I'd have a two-day hangover. But then I graduated, got a job, and was able to afford wine out of a bottle. Good bye Franzia, hello muse! But as much as I enjoy wine now, I hate the pretense that goes with it at some stores and restaurants. It's been a while since I gnawed on bark, so saying a wine has a "slightly oaky tint" doesn't tell me whether or not I'll like it. And the prices can be even more off putting. When I'm in your store at noon on a Tuesday reeking of last night, wearing a t-shirt that says "Dykes against Bush," with a cigarette butt in my hair, do I look like I'm in the market for a $30 "special occasion" wine? Here are some DC area wine stores that offer good selections at reasonable prices with minimal affectation. (photo)

France is the largest cosmetics-producing country in the world. The market for organic cosmetics is estimated at around €150 million, and just about everybody is trying to get in on the action. You can find organic and all-natural cosmetics from around the world scattered all over town. We've told you where to go for organic salon treatments, but for all your at-home beauty needs, why not make it easy on yourself and check out the following list of top addresses for beauty buys that are 100% naturel.

The plummeting American dollar continues to encourage Europeans to swarm to the states for the sole purpose of shopping. "The British are the new Japanese, and New York is the new Italy -- the place to come to stock up on designer clothes." So what brands are they buying up? Yankee ones like Abercrombie & Fitch, Levi's, Gap, Ralph Lauren and Diane Von Furstenberg. [via]

Of the more foolhardy and dangerous things that a New Yorker can do, riding a motor scooter down a busy Manhattan street is near the top of the list. Wind gusts on the Manhattan Bridge, hyper-aggressive cab drivers, and oil-slick rainy streets are but a few of the hazards that confront such drivers. However, the benefits can be amazing. Scooters are often the fastest way to get around the city (most of the year), cost substantially less than a car (usually between one and four grand), make parking a snap, and cost only three bucks a week in gas -- all compelling reasons to take the risk. Sure, scooters don't have the same cachet as motorcycles, but just think of that Fine Young Cannibals music video and embrace your inner mod. New York City is home to scores of young and hip (in a nerdy way) scooter clubs. What follows are our favorite places to buy rides and meet up with other enthusiasts. (photo)

When you're on the road, worrying about reading maps, the horrible exchange rate, and not getting caught in an unforeseen tourist trap can cause you to leave your progressive habits at home. If you are one of those people who likes to eat, shop, and otherwise consume in an organic-when-possible manner, there's no reason to throw your conviction to the wind in London, where organic options abound. Here is a sampling of London's best, from a delicious dinner spot to a new eco lifestyle store from actor Colin Firth to a beauty treatment that involves the application of organic bull sperm to your very own scalp. For more information on how to stay organic in London, go here.

The Parisian in-crowd has decided it's glamorous to be earth-friendly. Notorious for their crusade against generically modified food, the French have increasingly lent their inimitable style and panache to the pursuit of an organic lifestyle. Over here this sort of thing is called bio, and it's pronounced bee-oh, like what happens when you don't wear enough organic deodorant.

This week, Paris will host its first exposition entirely dedicated to sustainable consumption and all that that entails: Planète Durable runs from April 10-13 at the Porte de Versaille (Hall 4). 1€ of each entrance fee will be donated to the NGP Planete Urgence, an initiative based in Indonesia, where a tree will be planted for each euro they receive, in order to reduce global warming. The Salon will feature a "green dance floor" -- where dancers stomp on the floor to create energy which will then be transformed into electricity to provide music and light.

The dollar may have hit 1.58 to the euro in recent days, but it's spring and we're feeling like fashion. Until the dollar strengthens or we get a raise, what's a materialist in Paris to do? Skip the old standbys and pricey boutiques and check out this list of places to shop on the cheap. (If you're specifically interested in vintage and consignment shopping, go here.)

Want a big fruity drink with a little umbrella in it while in Honolulu? No problem (just don't show any pictures of yourself imbibing them to your friends; what gets consumed in Hawaii stays in Hawaii). Beer's not much of a problem, either : most bars in Honolulu offer a good selection, including excellent local brews from the Kona Brewing Company. But what about wine? Hawaii's climate isn't suitable for winemaking, but it's ripe for wine drinking. That being the case, it's surprisingly difficult to find restaurants with quality wine lists and wine stores with knowledgeable staff and an excellent selection. Some picks after the jump. (photo)

Berlin's fashion scene is full of indie mavericks. These rebels against uniformity have a growing prominence throughout the world. On a given day, you might see busloads of Japanese tourists admiring Konk's playful opulence, or visiting Europeans enduring the dismal walk on Invalidenstrasse in order to shop at Penkov. I myself was rather shocked at just how many designers are not slouching towards the fashion empires in other major cities, but instead are staying put and selling their works at boutiques here in Berlin.