Supima, the organization that supports increased consumption of Pima cotton, wants you to release your inner Jackson Pollock, or at least your inner third grader. Today from 12pm-7pm at Supima's Soho pop-up shop (72 Greene Street, Between Broome Street and Spring Street) guests will receive free cocktails and refreshments to go along with their free cotton T-shirt, which they can customize at the art bar. I'm going to paint a pony!

The Tim Hamilton collaboration with Uniqlo premiered today at Uniqlo's Soho store. The scene? Madness! If by madness you mean the opposite. There were a few people perusing the offerings, which were stationed near the entrance to the left, not upstairs in the men's section where a few confused guys were looking for it (including myself).

I bought a cardigan and pair of gray jeans. I really liked the washed-out color palette, elongated proportions and, of course, the prices. Make sure to get there soon! Or later, or whenever, it doesn't seem like they are running out soon. I guess as fashionable as New York men are, they just don't go ga-ga over big designer collaborations. Now, the release of the Alexander Wang collection will probably be a completely different story, so don't take today as a sign you don't have to show up early when the Wang line is released.   

Today the New York Times gave Soho store Opening Ceremony some love, basically crediting the store with being the Alpha and the Omega of the fashion world. Which isn't far from the truth. I've long believed that Humberto Leon and Carol Lim's boutique was by far the best in New York. I'm just pleased to see them get such great press.

Be a Fashion Insider or Just Look Like One [NYT]

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. 

Having cool glasses used to be easy. Just slip on a pair of black Buddy Holly frames, and poof--insta-hipster! Oh, how times have changed. Now guys like Terry Richardson are raising the bar when it comes to unique specs. What are beautiful, vision-impaired downtown kids to do?

Luckily, Silver Lining Opticians has just opened in Soho. All the frames are handmade by independent labels like Anglo American and Hamburg, plus there are lots of vintage frames from Balenciaga, Persol and much more. The glasses all have a masculine edge, meaning no rimless or super-modern styles, just old-school aesthetics with modern shapes, like The Strokes of the eyeglass world.   

This is the biggest week for holiday parties, both at work and with friends, and ladies across the city are all wondering "What the heck am I going to wear?" With New York's diverse retail shops, you would think that dress shopping would be easy, but I'm sure wading through racks of ugly sequinned numbers or animal prints can be a bit overwhelming. My suggestion: Stay simple, pick something you can wear again, and accessorize your outfit with shimmery tights, belts and vintage jewelry.

This American Apparel Pencil Dress can be styled to your liking, and for a mere $34 it leaves you with enough money for some sexy shoes. Urban Outfitters has some great party dresses this season, but this $54 Lux Baby Doll Dress can be worn casual without the belt or with jeans, or more formal with a belt and tights.

I can't say more about how essential the little black dress is. This sequined number from Bebe will cost you $98 but you won't need much else besides some simple jewelry. Happy shopping and good luck out there!

Name: Ajiri
Lives: Brooklyn Heights (Soon leaving for Paris)
Occupation: Freelance fashion editor/Grad student

What fashion magazines have you written for? I just wrote a piece on skirts for New York Look magazine.

Only a few people can pull off shorts in the winter. Tell me about your outfit? The shorts are Alberta Ferritti, the sweater is from Givenchy, the tights are from American Apparel, and the shoes are Dolce Vita.

What are some of your favorite shops? Anywhere that carries Thakoon, Dries Van Noten, Balenciaga and Lanvin, but for vintage jewerly j'adore the vintage shop Legacy in Soho.

Do you have any favorite NYC restaurants? The French restaurant, Le Bilboquet, is wonderful!

MUJI madness!!! I waited outside in the cold for exactly 34 minutes to be let into the store. Inside I discovered there was another huge line to check out. Fun! Also, they kept playing Irish jig music, just in case shopping for minimalist Japanese products made you want to burst into a jaunty dance.

Inside was a variety of useful objects in MUJI's clean, modern style: Dishes, cookware, stationery, bedding, clothing and so much more. They even had a make-your-own-pen section, where you could assemble your own customized pen from a variety of different parts. Y'know, because who just wants to buy a plain old pre-made pen? Not me!

The clothing wasn't too exciting (or cheap) but there were some stand-out items. Pairs of cool Converse-like shoes were selling for $21, but alas, the largest men's size was 9 1/2. I eventually settled on a large slouchy beanie and a pack of 20 chopsticks.

And the extra super-special gift at the end? A blank MUJI canvas bag with a gift inside. I got a notebook while my friend got colored pencils, as if the MUJI gods themselves picked out gifts that complemented each other. Thanks MUJI!

You'll want to take a long lunch break tomorrow for the opening of MUJI in Soho. The much-anticipated Japanese store opens at noon and the first 500 customers get free MUJI bags with a gift inside. This is the most exciting store opening since ... CB2, which is right next door.

Fashion Geek has a rather unhealthy obsession with Crocs. Occasionally there's love, but mostly it's hate. Either way, it seems that New York will get its own Crocs stores. Racked is reporting that the Soho one will open in December, while the Upper West Side location is scheduled to open in November.