New York - January 08, 2002

Do Re Klee

Klee boutique

The other day, sick of watching pushy carb addicts squabble over the last sourdough baguette, we fled the Sullivan Street Bakery, seeking the calmer precincts of… a laundromat? A Chinese restaurant? Hardly. So we ducked into Klee, a jewel box of a store. Our pulse was soon racing.

How could we have overlooked this trove of quirky style, situated right next door to one of New York’s best bakeries (not to mention John Masters Organics spa)? For all these years, had focaccia trumped matte jersey?

No. Klee is new. Kyung Lee, the birdlike salesgirl, opened the boutique with Doo Ri, formerly a top designer at Geoffrey Beene. So far, we like: leather fringe belts, sequined berets, and the sweetest little camis and boy shorts from Japan. Ri puts her Beene training to good use and does all the draping herself. We skeptically tried on the shirred top and sexy low-slung denim skirt with fishtail back. Total score!

Groovy couture techniques, decent prices, and sweet, welcoming shopgirls? Clearly they didn’t get the memo that they’ve landed in SoHo. And we’re not going to tell them.

Klee, 79 Sullivan Street, between Broome and Spring Streets (212-334-9169).