First, Mancakes and I stopped in a store called the Crystal Cage located at 1116 Pine Street in Philadelphia. The inside is a shopaholics' dream. Some of the items, such as shiney purses, were downtown chic, while other items such as cashmere wraps and cute belts (one of which I ultimately bought!) leaned toward the preppy genre. The owner Kelly was incredibly nice and fashionable and added to the total shopping experience. She even had a leather "man chair" in the store which Mancakes was all too happy to take advantage of while I oogled my way around the store.
Now, I must tell you about the belt I bought. I had never heard of the designer before, but after being introduced, I immediately became hooked! The designer is Terry Stack. http://www.terrystack.com/ Instead of having holes, all the belts, which are made of Italian leather, have velcro. This is perfect for me, because my waist size always seems to be inbetween the holes. The velcro will be perfect to help me get the belt around my waist "just so," and I can gain a few pounds or lose a few pounds without worrying that I'll lose my precious belt in the process. Next, Terry Stack also creates various separate buckles, which are sold separately, that you can mix and match to change up your look. You just slide the buckles over the section where you velcroed and, voila!, you have a beautiful and unique brooch-style buckle. Among the buckles that Kelly had in her store were a gold owl, silver ships, and a silver horse. I ended up choosing a white leather belt with a silver horse buckle. I am already deciding how I can incorporate it into an outfit and am so excited to wear it soon. You can see more options for belts and buckles on the Terry Stack website here: http://www.terrystack.com/cart/. Kelly told me that the stores is having a cashmere event soon with beer and brats. She said the beer and brats are for the men, but I don't know . . . I think this woman has secretly discovered the way to my heart - beautiful fabric and wonderful food to boot? Done and done!
The next store that Mancakes and I went in is a store that I've heard about before, but never realized where it was: Halloween. And after seeing the storefront, I think you'll realize why I was confused as to its whereabouts. Here it is:
Halloween, a concept costume jewelry boutique, is located at 1329 Pine Street. The store is unassumingly located away from other stores and nestled inbetween residences. No sign adorns the store from the outside. Mancakes and I almost passed it up, but noticed a couple in front of us ring the doorbell and enter, the door cracking open just a sliver to reveal a magical parallel world inside. We were intrigued and had to follow.
The inside of Halloween is decorated in a romantic gothic style, with dark wood, seemingly hundreds of jewelry displays and various gargoyle or whimsical garden statues placed around the store. Halloween does not remind one of Hot Topic, but instead of Harry Potter. The darkness is not foreboding or in any type of defiance, but magical. I myself love Harry Potter and have always wished, not so secretly, that I could attend Hogwarts. Halloween may not be Hogwarts, but in my opinion is as close as you can get in Philadelphia.
The jewelry collection itself in Halloween is massive. They have every type of upscale, antique costume jewelry you can imagine. My favorite part of the store was the "pearl corner," with multitudes of pearl earrings, necklaces, bracelets and brooches displayed on rope nets and around mermaids busts, evoking a mystical "Pirates of the Carribean" effect. None of the jewelry was "junk jewelry," with prices hovering around $300 and up. However, the jewelry was all unique and most of it contained real gemstones, so the pricing is reasonable in my opinion. Philadelphia magazine, as well as other Philly blogs and publications, have featured articles about the owner Henri David. David seems to be a real character and hosts an elaborate Halloween ball every year. I can only imagine how incredible it is.
I will leave you with pictures of the inside of Halloween. Take care, loves.
Until next time . . .
XOXO,
Ladycakes
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