Every once and a while, we come across a single store with so much great merch, such incredibly fabulous taste, and an amazing array of style staples that we are reminded as to why we use our ovens for sweater storage. Thistle and Clover is one of those stores. Serving the Forte Greene fashionistas (and all of greater Manhattan- let’s face it, we will take the Q nine subway stops for T&C) isn’t an easy, so we don’t know how the shop found the time to invite all of us Store Adore Shoppers to this fantastic trunk show!

The girls of T & C cordially invite you to join them Saturday, November 22nd from 7-9PM for a pre-holiday trunk show. Co-hosted by Showroom NY, which fosters the work of talented local designers whose production is also based out of NYC) & Wunderbloc, the show will feature the collections of Chulette and 2fer, as well as Corrente handbags. Cocktails and light bites will be provided, as will a 15 percent discount on every purchase! RSVP at 718.855.5577 or info@thistleclover.com.

Flea market lovers zip up your booties—the newest flea market in town is just a subway ride away. The Bedford Avenue Flea Market will open this Saturday, November 22, 2008 at 999 Bedford Avenue in Brooklyn, NY. Extraordinary vendors such as artist Anjelika Rijvers, textile designer Sheila Palmer, and fashion designer Minkie English of Jeans and a Tee LLC will be joined by an assortment of designers offering handmade silk pillows, pillow cases, and throws.

Check out Anjelika Rijvers‘ festive Krackers; they’re fun and festive gift wraps that when torn open sound off a loud crack to reveal a surprise gift.

The indoor flea market will be housed in an old collision shop hosting 30 plus vendors offering vintage furniture, designer jewelery, art, original fashion designers, as well as high-end, new, and used clothing.

With the opening of the Bedford Avenue Flea Market (open Friday through Sunday 10am to 6pm), creator Christine Pettway hopes to add a cultural flare to Brooklyn’s ever-changing neighborhood.

The the location is 999 Bedford Avenue and the cross street is Lafayette. It’s 3 doors over from the G train and the subway stop is Bedford/Nostrand.

OMG. Perhaps the cutest website ever, Fred Flare is opening a store in Brooklyn! Join them for the opening party on October 24th. Look out for more deets once we make a visit.

Fall always reawakens my nerdish love of school supplies—I’m a sucker for a new bouquet of freshly-sharpened pencils and the crisp folds of a new notebook (yeah, yeah, I know kids today are all taking e-notes and texting in class and don’t care about twee things like pencils, but let me have my little fantasy, okay?). So when I stumbled on these shower curtains at Park Slope, Brooklyn’s 3R Living, I was in heaven. Not only are they educational, depicting the table of elements, the ecosystem or the solar system, they’re also made of good-for-the-environment EVA vinyl (and don’t have that chemical new-shower-curtain smell, either). Cute and just $32 in-store or online.

Bad economy be damned! The news is not all about bail outs, shut downs, credit crunches, and contractions. Sir, the home base for designer Joanna Baum’s exquisite collection, is actually expanding. Sir is adding to its Nolita and Boerum Hill outposts with a third in Williamsburg on 129 Bedford Avenue between North 9th and North 10th Streets.

The shop will officially open on October 4th, and will feature more of Baum’s hand-dyed and expertly tailored tops and dresses (many of which update silhouettes of yore—we especially like the frocks built on long, flapper-style lines) that are all rich jewel tones, raw hems and drapey bias-cut gorgeousness, constructed with the kind of meticulous detailing that distinguished men’s tailoring of yore—hence, the shop’s irreverent name.

Pictured: Hayden Tunic, $325

Quirky boutiques, hard to-find-indie designers and haute fashion are all at home in Brooklyn’s Park Slope. (Our favorites include Bird, Otto and Oak, but there are so many to choose from!) The neighborhood’s tree-lined streets and gracious old brownstones make it worth the train trip; the prime shopping is just icing on the cake! Get the full Park Slope shopping tour here!

Above: Flirt , Park Slope

Tucked away since 2007 in the leafy streets of Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn is a tiny trip back in time at Go Fish!, purveyor of all things kitschy and cool from the 1950s to the 1970s. Expect the works, from clothing to housewares to music (on vinyl, natch). Dani Linnetz and Erik Courson curate the very best in Truman-to-Carter-era fare, making Go Fish! a dependable drive-by to locate that cute housewarming gift for your retro-nostalgic friend. Dishes, assorted home goods and ephemera dot the boutique’s front room, but duck into the back for color-clustered ceramics, the odd spare piece of mid-century furniture and a small but excellent selection of clothing (gingham is popular).

Be sure to check out the Agapantha Semi-Precious Jewelry, created by Dani herself. Jade, Coral, Citrine and other candy-colored rocks adorn necklaces (like this Quinn single stone draped style, $92), bracelets and rings that are suprisingly reasonably priced. Can’t make it to Brooklyn? Agapantha’s website has a comprehensive stock of the brilliant baubles.

SA: What unexpected item has been flying off the shelves in your store?

GF: It’s hard to name an unexpected item since we only bring in things we expect people to love and usually they are at least somewhat “one-of-a-kind…” But, we can’t keep our Dog & Pony Show cards in stock (We adore the Thank You Sweetie Pie card, $3.75). We think they are amazing and our customers agree. And if I had to pick something else? Vintage drinking glasses. So cute, so fun, so quirky. They make awesome gifts and can really spruce up the kitchen table!

SA: What is the craziest customer experience you’ve had?

GF: Well, let’s just say there’s a women who comes in occasionally and I get ready to call 911 just in case. She always starts off very nice asking tons of questions and then “turns” somewhere during the browsing. She once looked at me very intensely and said in a scary voice “I hope you don’t
burn yourself!” I was freaked out for a few days… Thankfully she hasn’t been in for quite a while. Whew! And thankfully that’s countered by the other
99% of amazing people that walk through our door.

SA: What trends are you happy to see go?

GF: That’s tough to say. We have a business based on past trends… Good and bad. Even the worst trends can come back at least as comedic relief and we love to laugh. (One item of years gone by that caught our eye? This Blue Mod Swivel Chair, $100)

SA: I you could only chose one word to embody your store, what would it be?

GF: Fun!

SA: If you could recommend one item from your store to our users this season, what would it be?

GF: Vintage pitchers. What a fabulous way to serve your specialty lemonade, iced tea or…mojitos! Your guests will be thrilled and charmed.

SA: If you could decorate a house for any celebrity, who would it be?

GF: We would love to decorate Kate Pierson’s house (B52’s). (See Kate’s Lazy Meadow in Mt. Tremper, NY.) Based on the design of her upstate motel we think she’d love the mid-century furniture, art work and housewares that we find! Come on Kate…call us!

I have three weddings this month (how is that possible?), and I’m looking for a dress that’s not quite summery but not quite full-on autumnal, and is versatile enough to dress up and down. (One wedding’s almost black tie, while another is on a beach—I’m sensing a barefoot bride). I love the drapey silhouettes from French outfit Maje, and this Cabourg dress from the Fall ‘08 line is no exception. I love the ruched sleeves, the length and slight bubble effect of the skirt, and I’m a sucker for the showy white-rose corsage. Grab it for $290 at one of my favorite Williamsburg, Brooklyn haunts, Noisette, also available online.

Announcing the latest Store Adore deal: 20% off any online purchase at Otte.

When the search for a perfect garment is in full swing, the term “shopping” is interchangeable with the term “hunting.” A great shopper is on the prowl in a department store or eclectic boutique. And while a woman on a quest for the perfect outfit can resemble leftover footage from Animal Planet, the shoppers at Otte (online, in Williamsburg, in the West Village and newly opened on the Upper East Side) appear much calmer than the average wardrobe-ravishing huntress. Perhaps this disposition disparity rests on the fact that unlike most stores, every single item of clothing in Otte is flawless. Striking the perfect balance between natural and glam, edgy and sophisticated, spectacular and comfortable, Otte is a gem of a shop, where you’ll find brands like 3.1 Phillip Lim, 12th Street by Cynthia Vincent, Chan Luu, Mason and T-Bag, as well as local designers that the store makes a point of supporting. Sometimes a bit of yank on the purse strings, Otte’s magnificent style is now more attainable than ever with Store Adore’s exclusive online discount!

We Adore: We’re obsessed with statement skirts for fall. The length of this La Rok Sequin Mini Skirt (regularly $248, Store Adore price $198.40) is perfect for showing off a little leg without seeming unclothed—not to mention the fact that the geometric shapes filled with contrasting blocks of shimmering color will stop anybody within a 5 mile radius in their tracks.

We Adore: We’re also coveting the Rebecca Minkoff Market Tote (regularly $675, Store Adore price $540). It’s big enough but not too bulky, and the greyish shade goes with everything.

Click here to get your 20% discount at Otte online

Is Frock Park Slope’s priciest boutique? Perhaps, but then its goods aren’t exactly run of the mill. This high-end vintage emporium is the new little sister to the LES Orchard Street staple, which has long been in stylists’ little black books as a go-to for perfectly preserved vintage items from the last 40 or so years with big-name labels (think Chanel, Yves Saint-Laurent, Azzedine Alaia). Prices can start in the $200 range and climb fast. Patricia Field apparently swung by recently to grab some 1980s threads for characters on Ugly Betty. 274 5th Ave. between Garfield Pl. and 1st St., Park Slope; (718) 499-2950; www.frocknyc.com (Photo courtesy of Krieger via Racked)

Vibing with these recessionary times, Kill Devil Hill co-owner “Cowboy” Mark Straiton has called his new Greenpoint shop on Franklin St.’s fast-growing boutique row an “Industrial-Boom-to-Industrial-Decline general store.” General, nothing: whatever isn’t one of a kind at KDH certainly feels one of a kind, in a rescued-from-the-American-frontier sort of way. You’ll find clothing for men and women (think button-sided tricot stockings), jewelry (think silver pendants encrusted with elk ivory) and miscellaneous coolness (gas lamps, taxidermy and a heavy antler motif throughout). 170 Franklin St. between Kent and Java Sts., Greenpoint; no phone; www.myspace.com/killdevilhillny (Photo courtesy of Kill Devil Hill)

We’ve gushed about Cobble Hill’s Epaulet before, but the great finds and good vibes just keep on coming at this men’s and women’s apparel storefront on retail-punchy Smith St. What started earlier this summer as a pop-up shop spotlighting one designer at a time (the latest was Christopher Deane) is now easing into a regular rhythm, with just-arrived batches of Melissa shoes and Modern Amusement summer-to-fall pieces. Go there now. 231 Smith St., Cobble Hill; (718) 522-3800; http://epauletshop.com (Photo courtesy of Epaulet)

You know your plastic’s in trouble when a shop is opened by 1) a husband and wife power-couple who 2) are Swiss and 3) named their boutique after their two tots. At Greenpoint’s Jan & Äya, Carolyn and Kai Krienke curate wonderful handmade things for your wardrobe, body and home from all over the world (like Tessa clogs, Soul Shine candles and Loyalty & Blood shirts and jewelry). It’s all sweet yet strangely sexy, in that excellent Swiss way. Also? They host cool cultural events. Your plastic is sunk. 99 Franklin St., between Greenpoint Ave. and Milton St., Greenpoint; (718) 609-1404; www.janandaya.com (Photo courtesy of Jan & Äya)

True story: I once found a $28 Marc Jacobs hobo bag at Angel Street Thrift in Chelsea. Manhattanites all seem to have their own score story about Angel Street, where vintage designer everything can be had for cheap (and benefit charity, in a doubly-excellent deal), and now Brooklynites can do the same, sans Metrocard swipe. The shop’s Angel Street’s recent landing in Greenpoint (and not a shabby landing, either: the space is hee-uge — 10,000 square feet, to be exact–and loft-sexy) has the borough’s stylish hordes frothing at their perfectly-glossed mouths. 67 Guernsey St. between Nassau and Norman Aves., Greenpoint; no phone; www.angelthriftshop.org (Photo courtesy of Femia via Racked)