WORK • Tuesday Routine
MADISON DOWD • owner • Ludivine
Neighborhood you work in: Upper East Side
Neighborhood you live in: West Village
It’s Tuesday morning. What’s the scene at your workplace?
It’s Tuesday and I am at Ludivine, the luxury multi-brand boutique I own on the Upper East Side. We carry a curated mix of womenswear from designers such as Gabriela Hearst, Etro, R13, Kallmeyer, Auralee, and Emilia Wickstead to name a few. I also design and produce a ready-to-wear brand called Freya, which is made here in NYC.
I always knew I wanted to be an entrepreneur. While my friends were scrolling social media, I was scrolling BizBuySell.com looking for a small business to buy. I ended up purchasing Ludivine from its prior owner in 2018, right after graduating from college.
We’ve evolved a lot since then, elevating the buy and refining the brand. That led to our move from Lexington to Madison Avenue five years ago. When our lease was up this January, we opened what feels like our forever home on 73rd between Madison and Fifth, right across from Via Quadronno. I’m so excited about our new space. It feels like a true UES townhouse, with two floors to explore, and it’s super private. It was also my first opportunity to fully renovate a space, and I wanted it to feel elevated and special enough to reflect what Ludivine has become.
What’s on the agenda for today?
I try to start my mornings with a workout. It’s maybe cliché, but I love all types of Pilates, so you can usually find me at FORMA, Tera, Studio Boa taking Brittni Tucker’s class, or Pilates by Stef in the WSA Building. Then I begin my Tuesdays at home on a call with my CFO, where we go over last week’s sales, cash flow, and goals for the week ahead. I try to get any admin tasks done before heading to the store, since once I’m there the day gets busy fast.
By the afternoon I’m at the store, checking in with our sales associates and shifting into our new Tuesday routine: content. If we have any new arrivals, I’ll try them on to check the fit and snap a few photos to send to clients. They love seeing the clothes on real people, so I do my best to model. I recently brought on a social media manager to lead our TikTok strategy because content creation doesn’t come naturally to me. We spend the rest of the afternoon shooting videos for the week.
There’s been a lot of buzz lately about the Upper East Side’s resurgence, which is providing a real opportunity to reach a new audience. TikTok is helping with that. After resisting for a while, I’m slowly getting more comfortable in front of the camera.
At the end of the day, I have a design meeting with my partner on Freya. We’re finalizing fabric selections for our Spring/Summer ‘26 collection, which we’ll be showing in Paris this month. I’m so excited about the easy dresses we’re designing. There are never enough good dresses out there, in my opinion.
Any restaurant plans today, tonight, this weekend?
Tonight I’m heading to Raf’s for dinner. It’s where my boyfriend and I had our first date, so it’s special to us, plus the food is fantastic and the room is beautiful.
Other places I constantly find myself at:
Raoul’s and The Grill: when you’re taking a friend from out-of-town to dinner and you want a restaurant that feels like New York with A+ food
Casa Lever: for when you want a chic meal in Midtown. Antonio, the maître d', is a true gem
Ci Siamo: don’t let the location get in the way of the perfect tagliatelle
Poppy’s: breakfast or lunch followed by a walk through Cobble Hill and Brooklyn Heights
Sant Ambroeus (West Village location): our neighborhood go-to. Other restaurants have more hype, but this might be the best restaurant in the West Village
L&B Spumoni Gardens (OG location in Bensonhurst): a summer tradition for my favorite slice! I love the traditional triangle slice, but my boyfriend swears by the square.
What’s a recent big-ticket purchase you love?
I just bought this beautiful crochet dress from a very special brand called Heirloom. We’ll be carrying the brand at Ludivine for Resort 2026 but I just couldn’t wait to get my hands on this piece. I love a dress that you can dress up or down. I have trips to Sun Valley and Italy coming up, and despite each having a very different vibe, I’m styling the same dress for both. In Idaho, I’ll wear it with cowboy boots and a jacket; in Italy, it’s getting a heeled sandal for dinner.
What NYC store or service do you love to recommend?
My favorite service in NYC is the buccal facial with Kristen at Onda Beauty in Tribeca. She’s so talented and does all the massage manually with her hands. All the products are holistic as well, which I love for my sensitive skin.
Where are you donating your time or money?
My friend Grace recently started a charity called Bright Light. The concept is volunteering opportunities for young people who have jobs that preclude them from volunteering mid-day, during the week. She’s getting such great participation just by posting on Tiktok!