Retail Is Detail

Annie O’s carefully curated NYC store

February 3, 2006—Forgetting to pack your toothbrush has never presented such a fashion opportunity. Annie O, a new store in New York’s Hotel on Rivington, has more in common with Colette in Paris than the gift shop at your local Hilton. Founded by Moroccan-born Annie Ohayon, a retail newbie who once handled publicity for the Smashing Pumpkins and Philip Glass, the sleek, shoebox-sized space stocks a range of offbeat wares. Alongside the cigarettes, Tylenol, and nail clippers, you’ll find camo blankets by Ruby Fay, one-of-a-kind rock T-shirts from Claude, and dopp kits from Naples-based Tramontano. While the decreasingly gritty Lower East Side was hardly begging for another glossy addition, Ohayon claims her store will serve the locals as well as the hotel’s visiting glitterati. “I love the neighborhood,” she says, “I used to come here all the time because of the music venues.” Fittingly, Annie O will be keeping what in retail terms can be classified as rock ’n’ roll hours. It’s open till midnight, so you can shop late while sipping a cocktail from the THOR bar next door.
Annie O, inside the Hotel on Rivington,105 Rivington St., (212) 475-3490. Open 11 a.m. to midnight.