where the F IS FAO SCHWARZ?

– How Doutzen saved May-Britt –

Look it all fun and games here during New York Fashion Week but it’s really only all about one thing. Getting three perfect gifts at FAO Schwarz. FAO Schwarz is a New York institution. A toy heaven where you can get anything and everything your imagination can come up with.

Remember that shoot with Doutzen and her family in New York? The one with the big giraffe and other wild animals in the apartment? They’re all from the FAO.

I had received appropriate instructions prior to my leaving. The first mantra delivered by my middle daughter was: clothes are not gifts, the other thing being: you won’t get back in this house without three little packages in FAO Schwarz bags. And while I was there I might as well go and say hi to Alex the Lion (FAO Schwarz is very close to Central Park and therefore the New York City Zoo), the very inspiration for the same named character in Disney’s Madagascar.

Being the good girl that I am, I decided to do some window-shopping on my first run through Central Park. Preparation is of the essence. There it was, in the crisp early morning air, bathing in sunshine… it was our little moment…right up until I saw the cardboard in the windows. Was that really cardboard? And were that pipes sticking out of the ceiling? What the F*** was going on here? What was I going to do?

I decided I had to remain calm and ran back, using the time to come up with a plan-B. Who lives in New York, knows all about children’s toys and has good taste? Right. Doutzen. I quickly sent a mail to Sarah Keller, her agent. I asked if she had time for a coffee aux deux so I could discus my gift problem with her without which I could not reenter my house.

Sarah had six models running around this fashion week, I guess you could say she was busy, but she immediately recognized the importance of my problem and took action. Doutzen tipped me on the Toys’R’us on Times Square and gave me an address for a little shop in Soho, which I’ll check out this afternoon. Clothes may not be considered gifts by my girls but if they come from ‘Phyllon’s mom’ They’ll be ecstatic. I’ll keep you posted.