American Eagle 77Kids NYC Style Lab just made Times Square 18% cooler

Today is the official launch of American Eagle's 77Kids Style Lab shop in Times Square, and while that's not a sentence I ever thought I'd utter with any level of excitement, after getting a sneak press preview yesterday I gotta say...I'm excited.

Let's just say the ghosts of CBGBs are in there somewhere, hold the nasty dressing rooms.

 

When you walk down the industrial staircase right towards a giant LCD screen projecting music videos featuring the kids in the shop, Jib-Jab style (kids can take pics in a nearby "rock band" photobooth), you know this is no ordinary mall chain store. This is a concept shop, and the concept is interactive digital playspace meets rock n roll factory of coolness, executed with the perfect balance of hard edge and not-too-skeery for the tourists.

Kids will have a blast pulling levers around the store that make denim jeans move on conveyor belts or "run" giant washing machines, even selecting the store's music on giant touch screen panels. (Don't worry, it's more The Clash and Lynryd Skynyrd, not the Wiggles.) The digitized photobooth is going to be a huge hit too, and every kid gets a token that she can pop into a converted Cigarette machine for a teeny box of Nerds or Lemonheads.

If you haven't figured it out yet, this is not American Girl Shop.


The 77kids clothes of course, some designed just for this flagship store, are the real star of the shop and I am in love with so much of it: little faux leather motorcycle jackets for babies, funky hoodies with Steve Sprouse-esque graffiti, grungy NYC tees and lots and lots of denim. The 0-18 month line is as hip as the stuff for young kids and tweens which is always a treat for new moms. And I have to give extra props to 77kids for not making every "girl" item pink and sparkly.

I also love the partnerships they have, with hip books and carefully curated accessories on display like those from Joanne Dugan and the vintage This is...NY series. Also? Robot keychains.

My favorite item though has to be a line of rockin' swaddlers designed just for the store by aden + anais. So smart.

Of course the one downside for us jaded New Yorkers is that we have to haul our kids to Time Square to go there. But if you ever needed an excuse to visit the heart of Times Square with your kids, this is it. Just don't let me catch you eating at Olive Garden when you're through. -Liz

Get a look at the American Eagle 77kids line for fall on their website where shipping is free with orders $100+. And if you're in NY, don't miss the new Style Lab shop at 1551 Broadway.

Find More: Baby Clothes, Big Brands Doing Cool Things, Cool Clothes for Boys, Kids Clothing, New York Parents, Travel and events, Tweens + Big Kids