Opening Ceremony, New York

Epitome of all that is hip about New York City fashion, the avant-garde Opening Ceremony features a house label along with lesser-known high-end designers from around the world. The shop’s owners spend months abroad each year hunting for cutting-edge finds to stock this downtown-cool boutique. Truly a pioneer venture, some have crediting Opening Ceremony with the rise of the high-waisted pants. The boutique is approachable, with an rustic décor that comes complete with scattered racks and dinky stairs. That said, the retailer caters to a fashion-savvy clientele—the same buyers that flocked to their launch party for Proenza Schouler’s discount line at Target, and scaled the stairs to visit the second-floor Topshop boutique. Recently, Opening Ceremony collaborated with Chloë Sevigny for a much-hyped about (though critically-panned) collection.