NEW YORK ESSENTIALS: T. ANTHONY
A friend gave me the idea to write about T. Anthony, one of my favorite New York stores--and indeed, what I consider to be a ‘staple’ of my New York life--when I mentioned I had to duck in yesterday.
If you ask me about how I define myself in the context of the New York I grew up in, several Upper East Side establishments would dominate the walking tour I might give you, but T. Anthony would easily make a smaller midtown sampling. There’s a rooted sense of sophistication and understated elegance that few places ‘get’ in the way that T. Anthony (and it’s markedly British, old-world ambience) always seems to ‘hit’ as soon as you push through those heavy glass Park Avenue doors. New York Magazine’s Chris Rovzar recently described the apartment I grew up in (and only recently moved out of) as “a warren of mid-century Wasp decor.” Confession: I adore my apartment (see, I still call it ‘home’…) and I’ve even asked our long-time family decorator to help me feel more at home in my new apartment, even though it’s a rental (which makes me an idiot, officially). My point: Trend goes out the window for me when it comes to certain parts of who I am in this city. And you’re going to start to see that side of me on this blog.
Specializing in luggage and leather accessories, there’s nothing particularly extravagant about this store with respect to price (the leather-bound monogrammed journal I bought yesterday, for example, was $75, and the exquisite photo albums my family has been archiving memories in for over two decades are all under $200).
Here are some anecdotes about some of my favorite T. Anthony pieces (well, at least, those which happen to live in my apartment...the rest are back at 5th...):
1) SHOPPING TOTE aka my ‘NBC BAG’
I bought this bag last fall with what I fondly refer to as my ‘NBC money’ when I started my job at 30 Rock (yes, I’m going to tell you more about that soon...). My hours were unorthodox, to say the least, and I needed a decent-sized bag to carry a LOT of shit to and from work. Ironically, this bag still performs that function because I have no office and, well, everything goes: laptop, camera, blackberry, phone, notes, files, journal, pens, Fiji, Kashi cereal in a zip lock (yes, I do that...good trick), everything. I love this bag. There are pictures of my parents’ honeymoon featuring my mother’s first-ever green and black T. Anthony tote...the extent to which I draw stylistic inspiration from my mother is alarming sometimes. Her taste is flawless. I am and always will be a ‘T. Anthony’ girl. This bag isn’t about fashion, although I think it should be. I think they’re exquisite pieces, frankly, and I’ve wound up with my ‘tote’ at parties (admittedly, by accident because I ran out of time to ditch my stuff at home) on more than one occasion now. But I don’t mind representing. If people want to call me a dork, so be it:). Misfit? Even better:)
2) Next we have my overnight duffle:
The fun story behind my red T. Anthony luggage is that they were 15th birthday presents and intended, by my parents, to ‘get the wheels rolling’ (good pun!) on the “so, do you think you might want to go to boarding school?” decision-making process. I laugh now...
3) The wheeled suitcase...
Hmm, realizing now that this needs to be cleaned (another great thing about T. Anthony, by the way, is unparalleled customer service. They will repair and maintain products for life and cleaning fees are nominal). The only luggage I’ve every traveled with and will ever travel with is from this store. And my children? Oh yes, TA.
4) my cosmetic case...have had it since I was 12. It’s been everywhere with me: all over the world, boarding school, college. These make fabulous ‘kid’ gifts, by the way.
And now, for the big ‘show and tell’ item:
How much do you love it? I bought it yesterday. Nothing inside yet because it’s new, but those pages are going to be hot items. Sorry guys, hands off...
T. ANTHONY is located at 56th and Park and no, this Misfit (sadly) received no financial incentives and/or freebies...journalistic integrity runs deep. And here’s a link:
Okay, another day has dawned...so...let’s blog shall we?
E
ESSENTIALLY EMILY
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
