Feature

Now that Smith Street, Cobble Hill's bistro-and-boutique corridor, has made Vogue, locals have to venture slightly farther afield for authentic outer-borough fashion (minus the stroller gridlock). Park Slope's southern fringe may be the next stylist's haven, as embodied by eight-month-old Bird. This bright, spacious shop, sparsely furnished with stoop-sale antiques and galvanized lamps, manages to straddle this spring's the-lady-or-the-rock-star schizophrenia with edited, on-the-money selections. Perforated leather skirts hang next to Liberty-print shirts; red Ultrasuede pants (sewn by neighbor Alison Ivers) cohabit with Bird's own A-line skirts, made ten at a time out of remnants from the corner fabric store. For spring, co-owners Belle Bensen and Marla Walker are doing shirtdresses in yellow, red, and blue. The only thing not selling are the Indian-print tees -- remember them from your undergrad years? Sighs Bensen, "Nobody's psyched about wearing a monster T-shirt."