Planet Blue Lands in Soho

by Ashley Baker

Another mainstay of the West Coast retail scene has landed in lower Manhattan: Today, Planet Blue opens its first East Coast location at 191 Lafayette Street in Soho. The boutique will offer styles from a curated group of brands alongside pieces from its private labels such as Blue Life, Body by Blue Life, and Blue Life Swim. Founder and creative director Ling Su Chinn explains the move. 

Last summer, you opened a pop-up in East Hampton. What kind of feedback did you get from customers?
New York has always been one of our top markets on www.shopplanetblue.com behind Los Angeles. Our summer pop-up in the Hamptons last year exceeded our expectations and just validated the demand for the brand in the city.

How did you find the location in Soho? What appealed to you about the space?
A New York City store has long been in the works. One of our employees who used to live in the city actually stumbled across the space and then we all fell in love with the location between Lafayette and Broome streets. We knew we had to be in Soho, the shopping mecca of the Big Apple, so we jumped on the opportunity.

What product categories will be included in the product assortment?
The SoHo store will carry everything from our casual collection of cool—everyday basics, sexy swimwear, summer vacation essentials, bohemian lacey lingerie and much more. We will also offer home essentials like candles, throw blankets and towels.

Which brands do you expect to be best sellers in New York?
We are expecting our private label Blue Life, as well as the other brands like For Love & Lemons, The Jetset Diaries and Faithfull The Brand.

What kinds of client services will you offer?
Planet Blue has always been known for our customer service. In NYC, we offer up our personal stylists, as well as our Box Sales service of carefully curated boxes of styles for an at home try on experience. We will also be planning private VIP shopping parties for top customers.

What are the boutique’s aesthetic signatures?
We really embraced the raw nature of the space and made it our own with brand signatures like a tie-dye wall done by Santa Monica based non-profit artist, Ruben Rojas of Beautify Earth. A set of dressing rooms made of a massive dream catcher on the lower level, created by Crystal Oak, is one of the store’s most interesting design elements. Other special touches include cowhide rugs and leather poofs arranged around the store to embody a laid-back, lounge type feel.

 

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