The window’s his. There would be no US Open title for Rafael Nadal, but he did reign as king of Niketown on 57th Street in Midtown Manhattan for most of the Open. We love the picture-framed outfits which you can see better after the jump. Below: Maria’s Cole Haan collection advertises on an 8th Street subway stop downtown.
One more Rafa meets Niketown after the cut.
Not one, two: We first noticed that Japanese brand Uniqlo was moving uptown in New York while riding a crosstown train back home from the US Open a couple of weeks ago. Forbes reported in late August that the store will open it’s second and third New York City stores — the only in the States — come October. The first is to be 5th Avenue’s biggest retails space (89,000 square feet) and the second is set for tourist-happy 34th St. Uniqlo currently has just one store in NYC in SoHo on the ever-busy retail strip of Broadway between Houston and Canal Streets.
The company eventually plans to open 200 US stores, generating some $10 billion in sales.
TSF Vault: Uniqlo in SoHo | Kei Nishikori in Uniqlo
(tsf photos)
Slurp and step. Do you guys remember the Honey Deuce Grey Goose specialty drinks from a couple of years ago? Well, we do (so thirsty!) and they’re still serving up the delicious gems at the GG outposts around the ground. Too bad this just-outside-the-fence giant cup wasn’t full of vodka. We would have gladly parked there for the day and stuck to the practice courts. And: How much do we love these New Balance shoes? They’ve been done in collaboration with Polo Ralph Lauren for the officials at the Open, and though some of us at TSF are so-so on the many bright colors on site this year, we LOVE this option. What’s that? You want our sizes? Gladly…
Shop: Both the men’s and women’s shoes are available online for $99.99 on New Balance’s site.
(TSF photos)
High riding: There is no question that the High Line park in NYC is the best thing to happen to the city since … well, Shake Shack? Anyway. The park that stretches from the Meatpacking District up into the heart of Chelsea expanded this year, growing from 20th to 30th street. There are new ways to enjoy being among taller people, third-floor buildings and the level that busses drive out of the Port Authority at. Ahhh. City life!
But what caught my eye on a recent visit was the skating rink that Uniqlo has teamed up with the park to put up for the summer. Admission is only $10, includes a pair of vintage, orange-wheeled skates and gets you a night of skate skating to the likes of Lady Gaga and Jay-Z. The rink is open through Sept. 26. Any player spottings yet?! | TSF Vault: Spotted in the city
(TSF photos)
Pardon the glare: One of NYC’s premiere sports shops, Paragon, is all decked out for the Open — Union Square style. In their maze of a store, the tennis sway is right when you walk in the front door off of Broadway. What they still have? There’s a couple of those oh-so-beautiful HEAD racquet bags from Murray’s Wimbledon (sans the fan notes) ready for pick up. And from what we’ve heard, they’ve been a hot item and will be virtually impossible to find once they sell out.
TSF Vault: Head More: Another (!) Djoko does Maria vid
(TSF photos)
Plastic makes perfect (and colorful) poles: A nice diversion on my way to yoga today were these incredibly colorful poles, wrapped for the second of three Saturday’s of New York City’s “Summer Streets.” The health and wellness program is being put on by the City of NYC with partnerships — today’s including Women’s Health magazine. The initiative gets New Yorkers out on the streets for running, walking and biking the first three August Saturdays this summer. For specific routes and schedules, check here.
Urban wellness? We dig it.
TSF Vault: Spotted in the city
For the program’s equally impressive (and colorful) logo, check it out after the jump. (more…)
Summer sightings: A couple weeks ago I happened through Union Square in Manhattan and loved the sight of this: an NYC Water trough of sorts. The multi-faucet fountain is part of the city’s Water-On-the-Go program, which offers any NYC public event that lasts over four hours and has an estimated attendance of 500 people. Hydrated urban folks during a summer of sweltering heat? We dig that.
Below: We were also digging these two ball girls at a recent WTT event that must have been on a break cycle. The two gals were smacking the ball with quite oomph, and there were a couple rather savvy net plays that had us thinking: Are these the next Venus and Serena?
(TSF photos)
Summer in the city: Walking down 9th Avenue one day in Hell’s Kitchen, I noticed this construction site plastered in newspaper articles. Two of them caught my eye: pieces on Novak Djokovic. A hearty fan (construction worker??) had taken the time and energy to post them in their entirety among the other random clippings smacked on the wall. He wasn’t so lucky at the French, but redeemed himself at Wimbledon. Below: Brand bunnies, can anyone spot the maker of this bag? How about you, TSF West? This hexagon-inspired ditty belongs to Monica Seles — the white Yonex zip-up and barely-visible BlackBerry, too. We snapped this shot the day that TSF chatted with Monica at the HSBC Wimbledon event in Rockefeller Plaza. | TSF Vault: Monica Seles
(Images by TSF)
So… Apparently Rafael Nadal is on the cover of the current WebMD magazine, on newsstands now. TSF contributor and screenwriter/director Tobin Addington (who also alerted us to Slate‘s amazing grunt quiz) sent this picture with the commentary, “…WebMD magazine?!” Our thoughts, exactly, Tob.
The article, Rafael Nadal’s Secrets for Success, dives into how Rafa balances his health and his game and all the goings-on that the WebMD crowd would want to know about. Check out a crisp cover shot here.
TSF Vault: More city spottings here | Have a sighting of something tennis-esque? Send it to us!
(TSF image by Tobin Addington)
City spottings: A couple of months ago I noticed this gem of a signed Ilie Nastase poster in David Thorpe‘s office, he of podcast fame. I’ll have him tell the back story next time we’re on air (soon!). More: TSF podcasts
Below, a little gift from the folks at Chance, who put up a pop-up shop on Elizabeth Street in Noho. The shop is up for the month of June, and thanks to this little morsel — a peppermint taffy was inside — I got the chance to enjoy my Sunday that much more. But as StyleBeat blog notes, Chance has much more than taffy to offer: former Kate Spade creative director Julia Leach is behind the scenes at Chance, and Marisa Marcantonio notes the collection is designed with “a yen for all things French and penchant for travel.” We can dig it.
(TSF images)
Feeling colorful: It’s nice to see some color in Midtown Manhattan every once and a while — away from Times Square, that is. The Desigual store on 35th and 6th Avenue, just below Bryant Park, gives spring a new feeling in the city. The Spanish clothing co. gets pretty good reviews for their store in SoHo, but as one Yelper notes: the store “isn’t friendly for budget shoppers.”
Summertime signage: We know you were curious about what the adidas store would launch off its blank canvas from earlier this week. Looks like they’re set for summertime, and if you can’t quite make out those faces, don’t worry — none of them are major athletes. Just models making the store look pretty.
After the jump: Uniqlo gets in the tennis swing, and not just for Kei. (more…)
We’re pretty good at keeping you updated on what’s going on at the adidas store in SoHo. But for TSF East, it’s part of our almost-daily route to and from the gym (might have to make that daily before summer hits… ), so we’ve always got our eye on what the folks at the German co. are putting out on the corner for fans to take in. Blank canvas: For now, it looks as though the folks at adidas are switching things up on Houston St. Above, a shot from later in the night and below, earlier. Two fun looks at the calm between storms. More: Missed Katy Perry for adidas? Photo shoot here
(tsf images)
White washed: I was pleasantly surprised on my first trip out to play tennis this spring when I opened the can of Wilson balls I had just bought at Paragon Sports in Union Square to find the balls were white. Oh! So this is how these babies used to look?My playing partner and I noticed no real difference in the sight of the ball as we hit, but it was certainly fun to feel a little throwback on day one of “spring training.”
Buy: On the Tennis Hall of Fame website for a true throw-back feel, $6/can
September comes in April: Paragon also had U.S. Open merch out for perusal. Of this kit, nothing caught our eye (are these leftovers from last year?). But the Open Shop is up and running, and we’re kind of digging the $59.99 ball boy shorts, marked down from $125. This might be the perfect time to get 2010 stuff marked way down.
(images by TSF)
Window treatment: The window spot has been up and down for Caroline Wozniacki — the face (and bod) for the Stella McCartney line — at the adidas store in SoHo. But she’s “all in” currently, sporting a big smile as spring brings about the French Open.
It’s not for hibernating: We’re digging Major League Baseball‘s MLB Fan Cave, just a few blocks up from Caro’s corner spot on Broadway in Greenwich Village. The spot just opened below the new Blink Fitness and offers a “a first-of-its-kind immersive fan experience,” says MLB.com. Of course they’re watching games all day, but big-time players are dropping in on occasion and there is plenty of up-close-and-personal interactive activities for fans to experience. Two, no three, snaps to whoever thought of this gem.
City spottings don’t just happen in NYC. Have one? Send it to us. We love “fan” mail.
(images by tsf)
Two recent run-ins in the city: On Manhattan’s Upper East Side, Kiehl’s is keeping its new store under classy wraps with a branded display from ground up. Though we’re not sure when the store is supposed to open, we love the way they’ve chosen to make the unsightly part of the re-build process somewhat … sexy. Meanwhile, in SoHo, H&M is doing much the same with a three-story high coverage of its construction on Broadway. Kudos, folks.
(Images by TSF)
Because there were no trophies to be handed out on Sunday, we’re throwing out a couple of our recent city sightings. Have something you’ve spotted that you’d like to share? Send it to us. -NM
We’re digging this stringing of shoes in the display window at the Newton Running store in Boulder, CO. Peruse their colorful collection here.
Though we’re loving Caro in Stella, it has been Ana that has continued to get street-level billing at SoHo’s adidas store. (TSF photos)
Above: an advertisement in Soho. This isn’t last year’s cover. This isn’t this year’s cover. We may have no interest in the swimsuit edition, but we understand that much. (TSF photo)
OK, we’ll admit it: Brooklyn Decker is gorgeous. But what is the deal with straight guys and blondes with big breasts? We don’t try to understand, but we do understand that this is Brooklyn’s career. And she’s pretty good at her job. That would mean she’s a model, not an actress. If you would like to fight such a claim, just read the reviews (of her debut in Just Go With It).
Brooklyn graced the cover of Sports Illustrated for last year’s swimsuit edition. This year, Irina Shayk (Cristiano Ronaldo‘s GF) got the nod.
We’re wondering: What’s the deal with Brooklyn’s Conan outfit?! | Brooklyn on TSF
Remember those ridiculous Oreo ads that Venus – along with other athletes – are apart of? Well looks like they get picked up to go to the studio in this ride, Nutrition Facts and all. And the glove box is stuffed… with Double Stufed Oreos.
(photo by janae jones)
Quiet please, just kidding: Walking up Lafayette Street yesterday in NoHo, I spotted this Heineken billboard still clinging to behind-the-scaffolding life from this year’s USO. This spot is just blocks away from the 40 Great Jones, which hosted the Boast party earlier this fall, and the adidas store where I became besties with Justine. Bestines.
(tsf photo)
tennis served fresh 
