Rubin Chapelle

10/26/06

Subtle, modern haute couture for the big spender in the Meatpacking District.

by Contributor at Citysearch

The Scene
This minimalist boutique has hardly been changed from the raw loft space it once was. Concrete floors, lights made from rods of glass and a few racks of clothing, each with its own step-up stage for browsing, are the only affectations present. The staff, however, is chic and friendly.

The Goods
The simple, mod, exquisitely cut clothes for the urban fashion plate are the collaboration of Austrian designer Sonja Rubin and American design partner Kip Chapelle. Signature items include back-seam trousers, knotted knit sweater tops and buttery leather jackets. The truly devoted fashionista can pay up to nearly $3,000 for an anomalous leather moccasin-boots lined with fur, which take four to six weeks to craft and involve making a cast of the buyer's foot.