All stories about "Miguelina"

It's been a big year for New York City retail (and not just because Racked was born in March). This week, we'll relive the glorious highlights and gruesome lowlights. We've recapped the year's most ridiculous lines, saddest goodbyes, most menacing retail presences and the most notable Street Scenes. Now, we're tackling the year's most turbulent retail stretches.

Opening day at the Apple Store on 14th Street and Ninth Avenue

While stores come and go all over this town, this year there were a few neighborhoods that really evolved (or devolved, depending on your perspective). The following four ‘hoods were hotbeds of retail activity…

4) 14th Street in MePa: A ginormous new Apple Store had us christen the entire neighborhood the "iPacking District," but it wasn't the only arrival MePa weathered this year. Diane von Furstenberg's spectacular flagship opened in May, bringing chic wrap dresses to 14th and Washington. In September, word leaked that Hugo Boss would be taking space on 14th right next door to Apple (the store is still under construction). Meanwhile, we awaited new flagships for Poleci and Ports nearby. Though the 'hood welcomed many newcomers this year, it also lost delicious pastry purveyor Little Pie Company and housewares shop Bodum, which may or may not be relocating to Soho.

WEST VILLAGE—A Racked correspondent sends a scan of an article in WestView, a local West Village newspaper that's sadly not online, about rents going up and the American Dream dying on Bleecker Street. Some numbers: Miguelina's paying $25,000/month, the 400-square-foot old Condomania/future Sunglass Hut space is going for $18,000/month and the Afghani jewelry store at 10th/Bleecker which is closing at the end of the year is going from $7,500 to $44,000 a month. No word on what it's costing Marc Jacobs to throw the neighborhood under a bus. [WestView; .pdf, .pdf]

SOHO—We're slightly confused by Chic Report's post on the Marni sale currently taking place at the company's Soho store. It reads: "The Marni sample sale is by no means an ordinary run-of-the-mill free-for-all. Invited guests are required to make an appointment with Linda in the SoHo store, after which they come up to the space and shop in quiet." So you have to go all the way down to the store to track down some staffer named Linda to make an appointment—after being invited? That sounds incredibly laborious. [Chic Report]