Brooklyn-based designers Raúl Arévalo and Bradley Schmidt, who create military-academy-inspired menswear for their Cadet brand, are closing up shop on Ninth Street between First Avenue and Second Avenue.
A for rent sign has been hanging above the shop, which opened in the spring of 2013, for several months now.
The Cadet sidewalk sign notes sales of up to 90-percent off... along with a few fucking laments...
This is the second high-end menswear store to close in the East Village this month. After 12 years in business, Odin shut down its location on 11th Street between First Avenue and Second Avenue.
Are they giving the finger to the LES?
ReplyDeleteNot surprising. Who in the EV wears "military-academy-inspired menswear"? One doesn't see many "statements", fashion-wise, on the street these days. The village's male residents seem to prefer an untucked dress shirt, worn with a pair of ironed jeans, as the uniform for their weekend mayhem. I often wonder how Trash and Vaudeville, of which I am a fan, survives. Especially now that Hot Topic has co-opted that look and sells it at shopping malls around the country. People don't come to the village to be "outsiders" anymore and that reflects in their dress. The only businesses that seem to be opening are restaurants and bars. And even those come and go within a few years. We've probably seen the last of "Angelica's Kitchen" type places that lasted for decades. As for fashion, again, the days of "experimenting" are over.
ReplyDeleteWTF? Is this a joke or are they for real? Why say fuck off? Not exactly a graceful exit.
ReplyDeleteAs a man I prefer to wear yoga pants, like everywhere, everyday. I realize that my "comfort" is more important than what people think of my outfit. Besides they stretch when I go on bespoken ice cream binges.
ReplyDeleteKinda pointless to run fashion boutiques in the East Village where the street style seems to be dead these days. It is uninspiring to see kids in sweat pants all over the hood every day...
ReplyDeleteAlthough shops for frat bros and sorority girls might prosper? Oh wait. We have enough bars here.
Well, gee, I was interested in giving them some farewell business until I saw the sign. Way to burn your bridges.
ReplyDeleteHow rude. Couldn't they have just put up a sign that says "Peelin' Potatoes?" Actually, peeling potatoes probably describes their next career move to a tee.
ReplyDeleteIs this a prop from a Martin Scorsese movie?
ReplyDeleteCome on, the sign is tongue in cheek. I do agree, however, that the hypergentrification of this neighborhood into Murray hill south probably killed any business based in foot traffic. Way too fashion forward for fratbros.
ReplyDeleteVarvatos knockoffs for spindly young men who wistfully stare out the window, hoping that one day soon their grownup male bodies will arrive and sherpa the peg-legged Cadetes over the bridge into adulthood. Pioneers! O pioneers!
ReplyDeleteI will miss this store. I loved their crisp and modern style. However, I do think the price point is a bit much for many. The winter coats began at $800 and above. A simple tee shirt ranged from $60 and above. I happened to walk in there last week and spoke to a salesman. He said that with the hike in rent and the lack of sales, it wasn't beneficial to remain open. They will continue to sell their items online though.
ReplyDeleteI don't think the outdoor sign was meant to antagonize others, but it is a little tasteless and crude. Oh well. This is just another signification that all good things end.
The only ones I see wearing these types of clothes are the crusties. Maybe at 90% off, they can afford some stuff after a few days of begging...
ReplyDeleteThe range of comments veers between just plain clueless, and sadly bland. Cadet is/was a locally-owned and operated business - the kind of business everyone has been griping about leaving the East Village in droves! While pricey, they made everything locally (from what I was told). So alas, there goes more tailoring/manufacturing jobs (albeit on a very small scale). There goodbye sign is tacky, but whatever. That stretch of 9th is/was one of the LAST bastions of small, independently-owned businesses once thriving side by side, in the E.V., if not Manhattan.
ReplyDeleteYeah it was locally owned and operated...and catered to 0% to 0.1% of the neighborhood.
ReplyDeleteTailoring and manufacturing jobs...really? Worked by who?
Enlighten us clueless folk, and tell us how a $800 winter coat is a service or benefit to the local economy or artistic community, I need a laugh.