The first day of Spring has turned into everyone’s favorite reason to throw a shopping party.

You’re going to have to find a way to squeeze in Hayden-Harnett’s Saturday afternoon fling. Their new Nolita location, on Elizabeth Street between Houston and Prince, is slightly more accessible than their Greenpoint location. Plus, Saturday means 20% off everything in the store.

Not to mention Ben and Toni, the brilliant and sweet minds behind the line, will be there to help you pick the perfect bag for spring - and dress/shoes/bathing suit/wallet etc.

They’ll be there from 12 - 6pm with champagne, food and a handful of giveaways.

We’ll be there bright and early - even though the Greenpoint store’s a block away from our bed.

Toni Hacker and Ben Harnett held their Fall 09 presentation in Room 219 of the Chelsea Hotel last night, and we’re pretty sure nobody wanted to leave.

It actually felt like a party - The clothes, shoes, bags, bracelets and belts were strewn about the four-room suite, sometimes in drawers, sometimes on the models (who posed with Milk Duds, Whoppers and whatever else), sometimes hanging off lampshades, pretty much everywhere.

The layout was like a treasure hunt, and it perfectly underscored how precious every piece of Hayden-Harnett feels. Plus, with the models stuffing their faces (one finally had to snatch a bag of cheese poofs away from another before she made herself sick) the whole mood felt funny enough so that you actually talked to other people you didn’t know - a Fashion Week oddity for sure.

The collection itself was so covetable we’re already tearing pages out of the look book. The best pieces were easily identified: The little box clutch (at left), and the spat-boot-heels (whatever you call these) with Victorian style buttons down the front. Toni wanted the presentation to give you the impression that the models were just a bunch of girls that live in the room, and never leave (hence the Rapunzel braids) except to sometimes go out and buy candy. And it worked - by the end, you pretty much only wanted to deck yourself out in a leather necklace and kimono-style dress, eat Twizzlers and never leave. In fact, Hayden-Harnett almost made us late to Zac Posen, and we think that pretty much sums up how it went.

We stopped by the Hayden-Harnett presentation at the Chelsea Hotel tonight (more on that later) where we caught up with the brand’s mastermind, Toni Hacker.

We talked about the shoes, the bags, the belts, the necklaces, the clothes, the cheese balls (yes, later), but most importantly, Toni said this:

“Oh! We’re actually opening a store right by you in March!”

Come again?

“Yeah, we’re opening up our second store on Elizabeth Street, between Prince and Houston.”

Are you taking up the old Mayle space? And when?

“Oh no, Mayle is sacred. It’s a different spot on the same block. Sometime in early March, we’re shooting for March 7th.”

Wow! How come I haven’t read this anywhere? Have you told anyone?

“No, not yet. Well, I just told you, so…”

Perfect.

We just got back from hanging out with Toni Hacker, designer and creative director of Hayden-Harnett, and you’ll have to wait until tomorrow for the whole story, but for now, we’ll let you in on a little secret because we’re too excited not to share.

She, and the rest of her creative team, is partnering with PONY to bring you a super fun, super limited-edition sneaker collection.

The Brooklyn based PONY, which actually stands for “Product of New York”, approached the designer this summer to put some signature, vintage inspired colorful prints on their beloved sneakers because they, “like our flavor,” Hacker says.

The designer, who’s relegated her Chucks to the back of the closet in favor of Hayden-Harnett’s upcoming shoe collection, is thrilled at the opportunity to make cute sneakers for her loyal fan base.

So are we Toni, so are we.

(Stay tuned for pictures!)