New York - October 21, 2005

Drop Dead Gorgeous

Douglas Little’s Halloween Shop

We say: Goth.

You say: weird junior-high phase not worth revisiting.

Therein lies the problem.

Because, you see, we need to find humor in the darkness. We need to see splendor in the ghastly. We need not be such tight-asses.

We need to befriend Douglas Little: dandy, sybarite, modern alchemist, and purveyor of curious goods intent on redefining the macabre. One visit to his temporary Halloween shop will have you considering the unlikely.

Like hanging spider web pressings on your wall. Eating off skull plates. Investing in a Ouija board table, whimsical handcrafted marionettes, eerily beautiful Victorian shadowboxes.

Little constantly stocks the shelves with his latest creations and found curiosities: Chinese foot-binding slippers, hand-blown glass apothecary jars (with formaldehyde cobras), crystal balls, and an authentic human skeleton that can be yours for $26,000 (the morose can be beautiful).

D.L. & Co.’s famed hatbox candles, exceptional fragrances, and magnificent taxidermic sculptures (peacocks with trailing feathers, costumed mice, chicken bone sculptures) will be on hand as well.

You say: hauntingly exquisite.

We say: Welcome to the dark side.

D.L. & Co. Halloween Shop, Barneys New York, Chelsea Passage, 660 Madison Avenue, between 60th and 61st Streets (212-826-8900 or barneys.com). To see styles, go to dlcompany.com. Through October 31.