The green doors that welcomed guests on Spring Street, the first C. Wonder location, resembled the familiar orange doors of Tory Burch a few streets away in Soho

Preppy, bold, and priced to move, C. Wonder, started by billionaire Chris Burch, burst on the scene in 2011 with an energetic, exciting presence in fashion and home. Filled with colorful well-designed monogrammable goods, it became a shop that style watchers liked for inexpensive, cute finds. The first Soho store, with its giant green lacquer doors (that resembled ex-wife Tory Burch's first tore not that far away on Elizabeth Street) was a constant party, with a DJ on hand and cheery salespeople in green aprons making sales off ipads, one of the first retailers to sell that way. Everything from shiny branded store bags to store experience was executed on brand message. 32 stores later, positioned in places that would hopefully gravitate towards the luxury-for-less vibe, the store had a major retail presence. Part of the fast fashion movement with a stake in home decor, the shops boasted a plethora of on-trend goods that were brought out in a quick succession. Sometimes, however, the designs were a little too closely inspired by things that came before, which I found to be unoriginal and a little too close for comfort, blurring the line between, "how can they do that" and "did that really just happen?". Their bold website, a creative vision unto itself, was fresh and cheeky,embodied the colorful nature of the products shown there, and pushed the boundaries of what e-commerce could be, with fun, ever-changing campaigns and easy to love trend stories.  When a new, colorful, accessible brand launches, you want to see it succeed. Perhaps being over-saturated at retail was their downfall, or, legal battles with exes hampered things in the end, but a lot of terrifically talented people helped launch a brand that will be missed for its creative expression and cheery finds. 

Monogrammable nylon bags came in a wide range of colors

There was no denying the vibe was fun and engaging, from the floor to the ceiling

Displays and built in cabinets had a distinctly residential feel

Leather covered benches around a round center hall table made for plenty of display surface area

Fresh Tulips and a ton of color created a buzz with cheery songs played by the on-site DJ

The home decor section, with walls covered in Osborne and Little blue and white Chinoiserie paper

Little giftable items like glass trays and boxes filled surfaces

Blue and white with a hit of green was a commonly used color combo-

Throws and pillows became a go-to category; I could always find an on-trend mix of newness