(Click on links to view images)
Footloose and Fancy Feet
Now that men are into casual Fridays, can whimsical weekends be far behind? That’s the thinking of the folks at Jandreani – the Italian men’s-shoe store – who carry these silly socks with 3-D ears to add some fun to a guy’s most boring accessory. The socks are made in France of cotton, polyester, and spandex, and even the nerdiest, when he crosses his legs, will glom attention ($21.85).
JANDREANI/958 Third Avenue, near 57th Street/212-753-4666
Base Instincts
Interior designers always preach that you must start with the floor, so what better way to transform your summery-looking abode into something a tad more fall-ish than with a richly dark, checked rug? It’s by Madeline Weinrib, a painter and carpet designer, who brings an earthy palette to her line of reversible woven flat weaves handmade in India. (From $199 for a four-by-six-foot rug to $799 for a nine-by-twelve-foot one.)
ABC CARPET & HOME/881 Broadway, at 19th Street/212-473-3000
Through the Woofing Glass
The droopy-eared puppy with the inquisitive eyes does more than just sit around looking sad: The “eyes” are actually the lenses of ABS-plastic binoculars installed in its plushy innards. They offer 4X magnification, and there’s a tiny knob on the pooch’s head for adjusting the focus ($15).
E.A.T. GIFTS/1062 Madison Avenue, near 80th Street/212-861-2544
Wide Angle
Sure, there are other panoramic frames around, but few are quite this elegant. Nuala (a.k.a. Nuni) and Anne Boylan, the chic sisters behind B & B Gallery, carry these pewter knockouts (designed by Nuala); artisans in Colombia hand-make them. Now your fabulous shot of the Pont du Gard can have a proper home ($68).
B & B GALLERY/601 West 26th Street, fourteenth floor/212-243-0840
Photograph by Richard Berenholtz/The Stock Market
Back to the Grind
When we hear the name Peugeot, we think cars and bikes, but a century ago it was pepper mills and coffee grinders that accounted for the company’s fame. Brothers Jean-Pierre II and Jean-Frederic founded Peugeot in 1810 in a tiny French village: Thirty-two years later, they had branched out from producing steel blades to turning out grinding mechanisms, which soon morphed into pepper mills. Until recently, those mills were made of pale-ish woods, but the company has just introduced ultrasleek stainless-steel models. Some have faucetlike tops, others levers, but even the classic now comes in black satinwood and brushed stainless steel (from $40 to $110).
BROADWAY PANHANDLER/477 Broome Street/212-966-3434
GRACIOUS HOME/1220 Third Avenue, at 70th Street/212-517-6300;
and 1992 Broadway, at 67th Street/212-231-7800
ZABAR’S/2245 Broadway, at 80th Street/212-787-2000
Click here for Best Bets Online at Yahoo!
Check out New York Shops, our comprehensive guide to the city’s best stores, including a year’s worth of “Best Bets.” On sale at newsstands now. To order a copy, call 800-496-7833 ($4.99 plus $2 shipping and handling).