• Madame Paulette

  1255 Second Avenue, Near 65th Street, 212-838-6827 www.madamepaulette.com

  How’s this for a fashion emergency: a flood in the Valentino boutique last month that damaged fourteen gowns—$140,000 of silk and sequins literally down the drain? Within 48 hours, Madame Paulette had removed the water rings and restitched beads and hemlines, and the merchandise was back in the windows. Evening dresses are the specialty—Anna Wintour sent her Christian Dior frock here to be readied for the recent Met Costume Institute ball. But the store isn’t above cleaning everyday trousers and shirts. Prices start at $5 for washing shirts, $16 for dry cleaning. Evening gowns are from $75.

From the 2003 Best of New York issue of New York Magazine