I'm not usually a fan of big fashion chains: Abercrombie and American Eagle lose points for their over-the-top Americana kitsch, Gap and Banana Republic because they're often boring. The only nationwide chain's clothing I actually own (besides H&M, of course) is J. Crew. The brand does simple, sophisticated clothes quite well without ignoring or jumping too readily on the latest trends.

Enter Madewell. J. Crew's foray into a more youthful demographic has been a huge success. The Soho pop-up store was always packed, so expectations were high for the first permanent New York shop.

Well, it's finally here. The Soho space's two huge stories are filled with sunny pop music and 20-something shoppers. The clothing is younger, brighter, trendier and cheaper than J. Crew's. Pink skinny jeans, graphic tank tops and shrunken leather blazers all cater to the text-messaging, blog-reading generation.

Not that anything is too edgy: Madewell is on trend, not ahead of the trends. Plus, you better like color because Madewell doesn't much care for gray. Still, for young trendy girls with sunny dispositions, this spacious store should suit them just fine.

Get the 411 on the new Madewell store, plus take a look at all of New York's newest openings.