Live from the LOWER EAST SIDE:
The Cast
There is always a store where you covet practically the entire inventory. A store you always stop into "just to look" but find at least five things you would die to take home with you, but which your bank account won’t allow. For me this place is The Cast.
So when the weather began to get cold I casually, yet manaically headed to The Cast to satisfy my craving for/and obsessive collecting of coats. I keep my shopping local to the Lower East Side as much as possible in support of my community. My neighborhood has the best clothing selections for both men, actually an outrageous quantity and quality of menswear shops, and women, whatever your style may be.
The Cast is owned by Chuck Guarino and Elisa Maldonado. They started The Cast brand and the clothing line nine years ago, finding endless possibilities in the name alone. Chuck describes the inspiration and initiel style for The Cast as "Rock 'n' roll and the bands we listen to: everything from Chuck Berry to Johnny Thunders & The Heartbreakers... to Dead Boys, Ramones, and of course The Stooges."
Elise and Chuck are both designers. Elisa went to school for Fashion Merchandising & Textiles. Chuck, with no formal design training, took classes in Photoshop, Illustrator, and web design. Elisa and Chuck focus on all the clothing design for The Cast line. Chuck tells me, "I guess you could say it was a trial-and-error experience the first couple years of actually designing and making clothes, but now we got it down and are having a lot of fun with it."
As I continue to try on different coats Elisa explaines the store merchandise. "The store is stocked with our brand, The Cast, which is men's and women's leather jackets, vests, and pants, T-shirts and two cuts of men's denim, with women’s denim on the way. With leather being the focus, we offer custom leather jackets and have a great selection of men’s and women’s vintage clothing, along with some records and accessories." They have a wide variety of both men's and women's boot's; where else would I have found my vintage leather ankle boot's I wear pratically every day? Amazing!
Chuck and Elisa support the community and carry clothing lines of local designers in their shop as well. In The Cast you will find Sex Trash NYC, a studded/leather lingerie line; Horse + Nail, leather handbags; and jewelry by Birds Of Prey, Bevel, and Ayaka Nishi.
Elisa describes the stores clientele as "Anyone from your downtown rock 'n' roll girl or guy or even a Wall Street guy who wants to up his game with a custom leather jacket." There is something for almost everyone at The Cast.
Chuck arrived on the Lower East Side in 2002 from New Jersey and has been here ever since. Elisa moved here from LA and partnered up with Chuck in 2009. Chuck decribes the neighborhood. "It’s definitely evolved since I moved here ten years ago. It was still a bit of a dump (which I didn’t mind) but you can't control gentrification; it seems inevitable wherever you are."
Chuck and Elisa have no plans on leaving the Lower East Side. "We’re going to stay put on Orchard Street. We love this block South of Delancy, and all our neighbors rule. We're all friends and support one another. Elisa and I both like to embrace the downtown New York rock 'n' roll culture of the previous generations and hope to keep that spirit alive."
The Cast keeps the integrity and influence of the Lower East Side neighborhood and the NY rock 'n' roll era current while at the same time adjusting to the growing and gentrifiying of the area. Chuck and Elisa will continue to and always be true to themselves and their vision. I did finally choose one of the five coats I wanted oh so much to call my own and it is killer; I plan to enjoy it every day, weather permitting. The Cast is a stop NOT to be missed on the Lower East Side, a memory from the past with a look of the future.
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