-WEEKEND WINDOWS-

Animated windows @LouisVuitton Fifth Ave. NYC

Morphing mannequins rock animated runways in the windows of Louis Vuitton Fifth Avenue this week. Set against moving motifs of the world's fashion capitals, the ladies of Louis V. cleverly flaunt spring styles. Do you prefer Paris to Milan? or Beijing to Hong Kong? Los Angelos or New York? Keep reading to see more.... 

-WEDNESDAY WINDOWS-

 Subway windows at Coach, Fifthe Ave.

Full disclosure, I've again arrived at the annual aging ritual. In isolation, I can't say much is different today than the same day one year ago. Absent significant standouts, two lessons learned have surreptitiously surfaced: the overarching importance of surveying the "big picture" ahead of impulsive indignation and accepting accountability for decisions. Looking at Coach's Fifth Ave. windows this Wednesday, note the adapted changes of this recreated Subway scene. While each milestone in life may be fleeting, enjoy each occaisonal pause and accept the onward movement. Keep reading to see the remaining shots of Coach's windows... 

-WEDNESDAY WINDOWS-

 Polo Ralph Lauren, Fifth Avenue

Dedicating a day to detox from a frantic first quarter, I head uptown to the Met Museum (Manus x Machina post forthcoming). Though feeling genuinely guilty for initiating an interim interlude, a day away gives me the chance to think and thank. In waiting for public transit (allowing time to write this Wednesday Window post), I weigh whether the overtime investment is worthwhile. Opportunity cost outlines the year I spent working, wincing and writing, showing the grass isn't greener on the other side--just a different shade. My conclusion? I work for the 'smartest guy in the room' and despite sidebars and 'special projects,' I am surrounded by a tight team, whose faults and flaws aside, present abounding elements of aspiration. A lifestyle of lackadaisical latitude isn't fully satisfying, nor an accumulation of constant chaos. My goal within the next quarter is to secure self-sustainability, somehow. Keep reading to see the laid-back looks at Polo, Ralph Lauren this week...

-WEDNESDAY WINDOWS-

Louis Vuitton Fifth Ave.  

With age comes an affluent appreciation of time and increasingly affordable indulgences. Experience starts setting standards of 'success' and fancy food becomes one of many flavors of 'fun.' The course towards 'content' creates a caution to consciously curb catastrophe; life laments laziness. This week, revisit the bucket list--what have you crossed off so far? While contemplating, take a look at this week's windows at Louis Vuitton...

-WEDNESDAY WINDOWS-

Newspaper bug #Anthrowindows at Anthropologie 5th Ave.

School is out as summer gushes in! Late night learning (to de-bunk after long days at the office), while waiting on the subway platform keeps me entertained. Young concepts Knyttan,Shopbox, airpnp and the like excite with new applications of current concepts. This week's windows at Anthropologie Fifth Ave. showcase a floral forest made from re-purposed paper products. Keep reading to see the scenes...

-WEDNESDAY WINDOWS-

Louis Vuitton on 57th St. and 5th Ave.; CL = Christian Louboutin, one of LV's Iconoclasts

Both presents and "presence" steal the spotlight in Louis Vuitton's Fifth Ave. windows. A play on signatures and signature designers, LV features 6 iconoclasts in its 160th anniversary celebrating monogram campaign. Alongside their initials, Christian Louboutin, Cindy Sherman, Frank Gehry, Karl Lagerfeld, Marc Newson and Rei Kawakubo each redefine the concept of 'signature' by injecting their unique personalities into an LV monogrammed piece. Keep reading for a peek at the products...

-WEDNESDAY WINDOWS-

The windows at Bergdorf Goodman on 5th Ave (between 57th and 58th) take on an equestrian theme

Illusion is powerful, leaving just enough room to supplement the framework of suggestion. Where would I be if…? What is the best way to…? When should I…?  All the 'what if' wonderings countered by 'what is' happenings displace dire certainty. This week, Bergdorf's life-like mannequins entertain the imagination with heroines and horses. When troubles abound, take the time to tame tousled thoughts and forge forward with fantastic fervor!   

-WEDNESDAY WINDOWS-

 Club Monaco on 5th Ave at 20th St. in the Flatiron district

"Art" substitutes practical utilitarianism for subjective beauty. In fashion, art reincarnates as couture, taking the form of billowy ballgowns, exquisite elegance and unlimited luxury.There's been a strong showing of artistic style in fast fashion lately; I'm buying into the hand-stitched embellishments, textured prints and non-traditional colors. This week, Club Monaco's Fifth Ave. store pairs sun-friendly summer wear with rope art, converting functional materials into reprioritized aesthetic masterpieces.

-WEDNESDAY WINDOWS-

Chinese New  Year, Year of the Horse windows at Bergdorf Goodman, 58th St. [photo credit: Bergdorf Goodman]

I'm seeing red at the moment, as the dreaded seasonal flu has hit a home run in my household. UPDATE (2/2/2014): Since being barricaded in my apartment for the last 3 days, I'm finally doing a bit better and have updated the window shots of Bergdorfs. Gong Xi Fa Chai! Welcome to year 4712! 

-WEDNESDAY WINDOWS-

Bergdorf Goodman, Fifth Ave. mixes style with rare books from the Cary Collection

Originally designed to be a repository of bibliographic information, card catalogues have gone the way of the abacus--repurposed into functional modules of furniture or prominently displayed as decorative art. This week, Bergdorf's Fifth Ave. windows give a vivacious nod to the old style bibliothèque, showcasing stacks and shelves-ful of vintage volumes. Ditching digital for a hoarier sense of sophistication, David Hoey and team pair classic style with an outpouring of good old fashioned manuscripts. What were some of your favorite childhood books?

-WEDNESDAY WINDOWS-

Enchanted forest at  Bergdorf Goodman, Fifth Ave.

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow! Powder coated sidewalks accent the snow dusted scenery inside the 58th street windows of Bergdorf Goodman. An enchanted forest wearing winter on its limbs awaits the arrival of a bearded man on a sleigh. Will you be wishing for a white Christmas?!

-WEDNESDAY WINDOWS-

Yeti Story feature in the windows of Saks Fifth Avenue, 49th St. at 5th Ave.

Reportedly first sighted in the 50's, an amicable white Yeti was long rumored to live in the high haunches of Saks Fifth Avenue. At the hands of Michael Beirut, the rumors took shape in 2011 when Saks commissioned a plush likeness of the famed fantasy. This holiday season, Saks' winter windows narrate a heartwarming tale of strength and snowflakes, featuring Yattoy the Yeti and his friends and family. [More photos after the jump!]

-WEDNESDAY WINDOWS-

Louis Vuitton at 58th St. and Fifth Ave.

Surfacing first on paintings inside Egyptian tombs, doors traditionally symbolize new beginnings, transitions and gateways... and serve as an entryway leading in, out or in between two spaces. This week, mysterious doors and endless opportunities fill the windows at Louis Vuitton on Fifth Avenue. As the saying goes "When one door shuts, another one opens." Take a minute to regroup and consider the possibilities. Enter into majesty by exiting adversity and love every minute of the impending journey. 

-WEDNESDAY WINDOWS-

You Can Always Rely on Black for Instant Polish. Pair it with White When it's Warmer Out. Style advice at Saks Fifth Ave.

Plaid with stripes? Flats or heels? Leather or Tweed? What's your go-to source for head to toe style-spiration? Over at Saks, the mannequins exemplify clever style excerpts bonded on the windows. 'You can always rely on black for instant polish. Pair it with white when it's warmer out'--How have you modeled monochrome this summer?

-WEDNESDAY WINDOWS-

Bergdorf Goodman, 58th St. and Fifth Ave

We are taught to read between the lines, color inside the lines and think outside the box. Style sense sharpens our use of shapes and stripes to add dimension to an otherwise humdrum world of solids. Following the rules, yet using the exceptions, fashion designers once again attempt to defy expectations for Fall. This week, Bergdorf Goodman features summer sales in-store and its windows feature a matrix-meets-design-studio medley of luxury goodness. 

-WEDNESDAY WINDOWS-

This lucky Spinosaurus takes her pick of the Alma bags in the windows of Louis Vuitton, 5th Ave. at 57th St.

The sun, sweat and sounds of summer in NYC bring back memories of June 1993 when Steven Spielberg's surreal safari struck home on the silver screen. Walking past Louis Vuitton this week, I can't help but chuckle at the devious dinos in the windows. Not quite as perilous as Jurassic Park, the sparkling 'saurs playfully torment the mannequins, all the while porting lustworthy looks from the Fall 2013 collection. 

-WEDNESDAY WINDOWS-

Massimo Dutti, 5th Ave. 

Like flint on steel, fashion catches heat when an infectious idea strikes a single brave trendsetter. In the 50's, Mary Quant popularized short skirts and named them after her car, the Mini. Aviator sunglasses have been around since 1936, but after Tom Cruise wore them in Top Gun, sales of Ray-Ban Aviators increased 40%! Like MC Hammer and Harem Pants in the 80s, going out on a limb can spark an overnight worldwide style sensation. With a rise in new technology, manufacturing methods and up and coming designers, what kind of calibrated couture will be en vogue next?

-WEDNESDAY WINDOWS-

 Louis Vuitton on 57th St and 5th Ave.

Growing up, hot air balloons symbolized wealth, adventure and freedom. Each year, the Festival of Ballooning in my hometown unleashed hundreds of ballons into the air, some of which landed in my parent's backyard. I'd watch the balloons with awe, dreaming of the places I'd go and and the opulence and romanticism that would follow. Be it a billowing hillside or a cabin at the edge of a lake, ballon rides always ended with a prince, a champagne toast and a picnic--in my mind. This week, Louis Vuitton's Fifth Ave. windows bring to life the dream of magnificent air-travel with velvet-lined gondolas, gold trimmed mechanisms and fashionable garb.

-WEDNESDAY WINDOWS-

Tiffany's Fifth Ave Great Gatsby Windows

The belles have long left Tiffany's Blue Book Ball and Baz Luhrmann's Great Gatsby awaits its upcoming debut. In the interim, Tiffany's Fifth Ave. presents a set of jazz age windows created in cohorts with Catherine Martin, Academy Award-winning costume and production designer. Set against a backdrop of bubbles, bubbly, crystal curtains and chandeliers, countless carats and intricate artistry dazzle in debauchery for passersby. Some of the pieces on display are used in the upcoming film!

-WEDNESDAY WINDOWS-

Bergdorf Goodman 5th Ave. windows

Near thoughtless simplicity fills Bergdorf's Fifth Avenue windows in the form of... feathers! Accustomed to the grandeur and intricacies commonly composed by Bergdorf's visual design team, I'm initially underwhelmed by the basic design--and then it clicks. Sometimes, simplistic lightness adds weight to harmony...and essentially removes all conditions from the achievement of absolute freedom.