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Ciao hounds
Sniff out fun and funky buys in Boston’s Little Italy
BY RUTH TOBIAS

SALAMI? . Mozzarella? Ma certo. When Italian ingredients fill your shopping list, naturally you come to the North End. But clothes, accessories, housewares, your basic bric-a-brac? What room could there possibly be for boutiques and galleries among the neighborhood’s bakeries and butchers?

Plenty, as it turns out. Just ask Judy Catuogno, who with her twin sister, Joy, runs Karma, a brand-new designer-consignment shop right off Hanover Street. She draws an analogy between New York’s Little Italy and Boston’s own: "When the fancy shops moved into SoHo, the funky boutiques started popping up all over Nolita," just as they are in the North End. Wares at Karma include everything from Fendi furs and evening gowns to Seven jeans and vintage beaded handbags. "We get items from about 10 boutiques as well as from individuals, and take half off the original price," explains Joy. Black-suede thigh-high boots from John Fluevog ($150) beckon by the door; white-leather Prada loafers ($125) sit demurely nearby. Along the racks you’ll find Versace, Gucci, Dolce & Gabbana, and more. Now that’s Italian.

Do your legwork before visiting Cadia Vintage — on the far end of Salem Street, it’s open weekends only. Still, the real trip is inside, as owner Carole Springhetti fills her cubbyhole of a store with tchotchkes galore. There are lunch pails and hobby planes, antique Kodaks and FireKing custard cups, board games from the ’60s and Victorian postcards. Then there are the pre-PC-era goodies: on the highest shelves perch bookends shaped like little Dutch girls ($45) and geishas ($12); in a crate on the floor sits a stack of old Playboys. But mid-century costume jewelry takes center stage, from elaborate brooches and clip-on earrings to triple-strand neck candy — all rhinestone and pearl, cameo and coral, enamel and filigree.

You’ll find the new version of same down the street at Marian Klausner’s Shake the Tree Gallery, where vivid colors, whimsical designs, and inspired materials abound. Amid spoons, loaf pans, skewers, and jar lids, Marc Brown’s found-object collage clocks ($78) make eyes at you. Studio Vertu’s Italian-marble coasters ($42/set of four) and trivets ($46) wink-wink as well, embossed with reproductions of botanical plates, medieval texts, and the like, then distressed for an aged look. Victorian-shoe-shaped soaps ($18) come in their own mini shoebox from Gianna Rose Atelier, while Demeter’s equally quirky candles ($15), in scents such as chocolate-chip cookie and gin-and-tonic, are scattered about. The geometric patterns of Angela Adams’s leather-and-canvas clutches ($76–$110) become instantly recognizable, as do the sunflowers splashed across Thomas Paul’s crayon-bright plastic dinner plates ($10). There’s an eclectic selection of clothing too — much of it breezy, flowery, and ruched, awaiting spring.

By contrast, the private-label garments of Christina Defalco beckon the staunch city slicker. Check out her glossy polyurethane parkas in pearl-pink, silver, or cream ($80), and her signature T-shirts ($55), printed with black-and-white photos of Audrey, Frank, or Mike’s Pastry (that’s right) and sprinkled with Swarovski crystals. Don’t step on sweet Waldo — the store’s resident Lhasa apso — as you browse the jewelry cases. Laminated cuffs ($28) and matching drop earrings ($22) boast old cartoon images, while très cool French cocktail rings ($20) burst with crystal-and-glass-beaded flowers. And though the stunning felt coats whose sleeves bear embroidered dragons are on their way out, a slew of sexy bikinis and neon flip-flops is slipping in. Better skip the cannoli on your way home.

Where to find it:

• Cadia Vintage, 148 Salem Street, Boston, (617) 742-1203.

• Christina Defalco, 383 Hanover Street, Boston, (617) 523-8870; www.christinadefalco.com

• Karma, 26 Prince Street, Boston, (617) 723-8338.

• Shake the Tree Gallery, 95 Salem Street, Boston, (617) 742-0484.


Issue Date: March 25 - 31, 2005
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