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Takashimaya, your moment of zen
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Photo courtesy Keiko S.
Along a certain stretch of Fifth Avenue, a casual visitor out for a stroll may find her senses buffeted by devices designed to drive spending, such as row upon row of garish window displays. There is one store on this avenue, however, that stands stately, proud, unobtrusive among all that visual noise. Often overlooked due to its quietude and lack of pretention when compared to its neighbors, Takashimaya is not really a store or even a mini-mall, but an emporium, a place that makes this reporter grateful she lives in New York.
An export of Kyoto, Takashimaya opened the doors to its current location on Fifth Avenue in 1993, and has provided visitors ever since with a finely-curated selection of products that range from suitcases to teapots to orchids. Some of the products are Japanese, and some aren't, but all carry with them that Eastern sensibilty of flawless design and unerring good taste. Each of its six floors (and basement) are organized according to a theme; one level is dedicated solely to travel items (wrinkle-resistant sportswear, the aforementioned suitcases), another to products for bed and bath (silk robes, Diptyque candles). The basement is blessedly set aside as a tea house, where visitors can take a load off and rejuvenate with over forty different varieties of tea (served in little pots), as well as bento boxes, tea sandwiches, and delicate pastries.
A recent visit revealed a multitude of luxuries worth taking home. On the floor dedicated to women's fashion, this reporter admired a cocktail ring that to the untrained eye appeared to be citrine, but is probably something far more precious ($4,800). On the floor for sophisticated travelers was a cowl-neck little black dress from Yeohlee ($725); one floor above (homewares) housed gleaming half-shells, designed for serving caviar and other amuse bouches ($38). The floor set aside for bedroom and bathroom accoutrements is dreamy. Beautifully packaged bars of soap are $14 (this reporter is a sucker for packaging); while ethereal drinking glasses, etched with no-two-are-alike rococo patterns, are $58 each. Use them for drinking wine, or storing toothbrushes or eyeliner pencils. And if, lately, you just don't feel clean enough, try a natural sea sponge, plucked from the ocean floor ($38).
NB: If you like your stores poppy and bright, this may not be the place for you. The color palette is post-modernist Zen, ranging from gray and black for ready-to-wear, to seashell pink and thistle blue for women's lingerie. Furthermore, if you like your sales associates poppy and bright, you might also want to steer clear. The serene staff at Takashimaya float by like jellyfish, content in knowing that you know they're there, ready to help and highly knowledgable when needed.
A final thought: when selecting a present at Takashimaya, be sure to always have it gift-wrapped. In Japanese culture, how a gift is wrapped is often more important than the present itself, and the staff at Takashimaya reinforce this credo. You will not be disappointed by their work.
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