The Hour Shop offers sparkling vintage glassware in 24-karat gold. Photo by Shirley Ruhe.
Cover yourself with glitter from head to toe. Take a walk down King Street during the holiday season, and the glitter jumps out at you from the store windows as you pass by.
Walk in the door at The Hour Shop. The table that greets you is arrayed with sparkling barware from gold abstract roly poly glasses, Collins glasses in textured gold, 24-karat gold coupe glasses and 24-karat gold-plated cocktail sticks. And the glass matters. Because of their cup shape, the coupe glasses are the preferred choice for cocktails by many bartenders. Everything in the store is vintage from the 1920s-1970s, with many designer one-of-a-kind offerings. During the holidays, the shop's selection emphasizes specialty items, but there are many other choices including pitcher caddy sets, ice buckets and cocktail shakers. Check out their upstairs showroom.
A few blocks away is Warby Parker, a trendy new eyeglasses shop. Several of the frames are glistening (if not glittery.) Its Percey Evergreen Tortoise Fade frame features gold rippling through the dark accents while the Harris and Felix Basil Tortoise Fade both feature gold woven through with unusual designs. The salesperson explains that Warby Parker designs their own frames. "You can find stuff here that you can't get anywhere else. And the price point is reasonable." They offer a service, which allows a person to try on and buy eyeglasses online which they declare is "the perfect present for anyone with eyeballs delivered right to their inbox.”
Just a few steps away is Bishop Boutique. All that glitters is not gold. A display of silver shoes and purses catches your eye as you look around the shop. It includes a pair of Schutz tina slides in metallic silver, a sequined hard case Dutch silver clutch from the store's own brand and a pair of Leopard Lik Bennett Style fern high heels with large sparkling glass bows. They describe themselves as "a chic and intimate sanctuary for the fashion savvy with the avant-garde to the classic."