Cynthia Rowley

The local designer expands her lifestyle brand with a second NYC spot (the first is in the West Village), housed inside a four-story townhouse. The store offers trendy threads such as printed leggings ($235), graphic tees ($45) and metallic floral dresses ($625), as well as accessories including colorful sunglasses ($125) and leather wallets ($55). In 2010, Rowley started Pretty Penny, an organization that allows the designer to support the creative ideas of former employees by helping them launch collections under her brand. You’ll find some of those projects here, such as CuRious Candy by Cynthia Rowley ($6–$50) pecan caramels, peanut-butter cookies and chocolate roosters, which fill an entire floor. Rowley and her husband, gallerist Bill Powers, helped a previous staffer launch affordable art website Exhibition A (exhibitiona.com) in 2011, and you’ll find a by-appointment-only gallery of limited-edition modern prints ($100–$1,000) from artists such as New Yorker Wes Lang.