beauty

When you walk into Diane Von Furstenberg, you know you're going to find beautiful silhouettes: smocked, cropped jackets over full skirts, and filmy dresses under swingy trapeze coats.

Along Bleecker Street is a series of boutiques for superstar designer Marc Jacobs' secondary line. One sells clothing and accessories; the other, offbeat seasonal MJ-branded tchotchkes.

McCartney excels at creating cleverly tailored garments with a modern look and feel. The devoted vegetarian never uses any animal fibers or leather in her clothing or bags.

Kittenish, retro-tinged feminine clothing is Lepore's forte. Right now, things have an opulent post-Summer-of-Love feel: ruffle-sleeved wallpaper-print dresses, bell-sleeved swirl-pattern tops, and brocade coats fastened with oversize buttons.

One of the formidable forces in shaping NYC's boutique culture, Steven Alan's Tribeca emporium has fast-tracked many a major trend. Though shops that exclusively carry his collection of intentionally rumpled button-downs and shirtdresses now populate the city, the Franklin Street flagship, with its deep apothecary-like shelving and rolling-ladder-adorned, library-ish walls, is the best. Here, vintage Rolexes, Mara Hoffman dresses, and A.P.C. trenches happily coexist.