Hamptons Shopping Down the Bunny Trail

Phew! I think I can safely say we’ve made it through the month of St. Patrick’s Day festivities out east. Hampton Bays concluded nicely this past weekend with their parade. It was chilly, but in the bright sunshine outside of Buckley’s the merriment continued long after the last fire truck drove by. There were Irish dancers in their traditional costumes and curly wigs, teenagers weaving through the crowd, men in uniform, older folks in their white woolen sweaters and younger ones in green spandex, green top hats, green sunglasses, you get the idea. Ducking into an outdoor tent to grab myself a Guinness, I suddenly found myself in a cave of kilted men. I quickly felt out of place and scurried to the indoor bar, where I felt more at home pushing my way up to the bar. It dawned on me: when worn by men and not Catholic schoolgirls, the kilt transforms itself.

A friend who had attended a very formal Scottish wedding recently posted pictures on Facebook where the men were in customary attire, i.e. kilts. This of course reminded me that Tartan Week is coming up. Many of the designers featured in Water Mill’s own Prince of Scots, one of my all-time favorite luxury boutiques, will be participating in Tartan Week’s prestigious fashion show, Dressed to Kilt on April 8. The event highlights Scottish design and influence, including the Viviennes, Tam and Westwood, Hilary Grant, Harris Tweed Hebrides, Iona Crawford (currently at Prince of Scots) and many others. If you’re not familiar with Iona Crawford, you simply must go to Prince of Scots, or at the very least go to princeofscots.com, and fall in love with her bespoke print silk dresses. This unusual store creates an uplifting shopping experience where one-of-a-kind clothes, shoes, home décor, gifts, and even fine art will inspire you to put on a Scottish cape and run through the moors (or dunes). Prince of Scots is located at 700 Montauk Highway in Water Mill, 631-604-1392 or visit princeofscots.com.

On the ever-fun topic of luxurious shopping experiences, Stitch in Southampton has teamed up with Saks Fifth Avenue Off 5th at Tanger Outlets. For the past two weekends, the custom clothing and tailoring experts at Stitch have brought their services to Off Fifth, even showing their staff how to do fittings. I can’t think of a more perfect idea. Moving a waistline or hemline even as little as a quarter of an inch can make an enormous difference. Now all of your fabulous finds at Saks will fit fabulously too! If you haven’t been to Stitch, now is a great time to stop in. They have great new designs in for spring and a whole showroom of fabrics. From now until April 15 they’re having a Hats Off To Spring sale, offering 25% off all clothing and hats! Stitch is located at 22 Nugent Street, Southampton, 631-377-3933 stitch-southampton.myshopify.com. OFF 5th Saks Fifth Avenue is located at 701 Tanger Mall Drive, Riverhead, 631-369-5883 saksfifthavenue.com, tangeroutlet.com.

While you’re in Riverhead, check out Worth. If you’re like me, you’re looking at a closet full of clothes that have been worn on heavy rotation for the past five months, if not more. Something must be done! Worth has tons of new arrivals for spring and summer, all perfect for that work-to-drinks look in clean, mod styles. Right now all collections are 60% off original prices. Worth New York, Tanger Outlet Center, 200 Tanger Mall Drive, Riverhead, 631-369-8400 worthnewyork.com

Now that March is over, bring on the April showers. Nothing like a rainy day to inspire a little local shopping!

Send sales and special events to shoptil@danspapers.com.