Design for Life

MARC BAGUTTA'S LATEST COUTURE HAVEN

Just walking into Bagutta Life is like a religious experience. Picture a 12-foot-high Peter Beard photograph amid a bi-level, 8,000-square-foot, 17th-century-Dubrovnik-churchinspired space—complete with exposed-wood archways, mosaics, and stained-glass windows—that's filled with Zac Posen dresses, Alexander McQueen coats, and Alia gowns. What you have is the most fabulous store to open in a long time. Owner Marc Bagutta has opened his new place on Greene Street in New York's SoHo and added the word "Life" to its name because, simply, he wants to sell only the good things life has to offer, including couture clothing for women, men, and children, furniture designed by R&Y Augousti, eclectic art, Loree Rodkin Gothic-style jewelry, high-end accessories, and even a signature fragrance. Bagutta never buys in bulk; he handpicks everything—from the newest pair of Dior pumps to the pieces of Augousti furniture upholstered with the skins of non-endangered underwater species. "Each piece I have in the store is original and different, like in a museum," says Bagutta. And you immediately get that vibe as you walk through the door. Lest you fear you may be frowned upon when asking to try on that Stella McCartney dress—a la Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman— Bagutta assures that his staff makes "shopping a pleasure, not a chore."

LAUREN TABACH-BANK