Party Pics! Be The First Inside The UES’ Epically Luxe Boutique

Yesterday evening, we braved the 6 p.m. traffic and cabbed it past our comfort zone to East 69th Street. But, promise, we had good reason for the steep fare. Two words: retail therapy. No one does luxury browsing quite like the Upper East Side, so it's only natural that new boutique FiveStory just landed right in the heart of the tony hood. And, of course, this well-curated concept townhouse —the brainchild of father-daughter team Fred and Claire Distenfeld — drew quite the deep-pocketed shoppers last night at a launch party that served up champagne and ginger cocktails (handed out by white-gloved butlers) as sweet and sophisticated as the $$$ merch. Indeed, the big-time designer clothing looked right at home in the marble multi-storied building designed by Ryan Korban (the dude responsible for Alex Wang's fur hammock), adorned with chandeliers, shagreen everything, an Italian black-and white marble checkered floor in the foyer, and a spiral staircase perfect for Le Bal Crillon. Olympia Le Tan clutches act as art and product sitting upon shelves in narrow hallways, while Illesteva sunglasses on the ground floor rest in a light-box that could double as a gigantic jewel cache. Plus, we have it on good word from Korban that there's much more to come: Uh, a fountain is still to be installed on the mezzanine. And really, what's a shopping experience without a good fountain?

Water element aside, the luxe eve continued at Mr. Chow, where we scared the waiters by housing the famous chicken satay (that peanut sauce just doesn't quit), and rocked the (Chinese) casbah — with style connoisseurs like Natalie Joos, Poppy de Villeneuve, Timo Weiland, and Nicole Vitagliano — thanks to some excellent tunage by Cleo Le Tan. Five or six Fivestory green fortune cookies and lychee martinis later, and we were almost ready to head back to do some damage on that shoe garden. Yes, that exists.