Immediately after landing, you order JFK Airport Transportation, then you get into your limo or town car and drive to the main island (Manhattan) to leave your luggage. Once at the hotel, you notice your itinerary is blank for that day! What do you do? So, you take out your smartphone and you Google “shopping in NYC.”
New York City: the fashion capital of the New World. Here, garments fly off the runway during fashion week and into boutiques and shops all over the city. You don’t need to wait for the fashion to trickle down to become available in stores near you. In New York City, you can buy raw fashion at it source. If you’re ever in New York City to get your fashion fix, here are a few neighborhoods to keep in mind where you’ll everything from loafers and heels to pencil skirts and floral silk dresses.
SoHo
When one thinks about SoHo, it’s impossible not to think about it’s large influence in hipster culture. Not only is SoHo seen as one of the best neighborhoods to find trendy clothes, but it also offers something for everyone, ranging from expensive couture to affordable outerwear. Based just south of Houston street, SoHo is a neighborhood that is lined with boutiques, trendy patisseries for pit stops and mainstream stores such as Hollister, Bloomingdale’s and Barney’s New York. Take your pick!
NoLita
A few blocks from the trendy SoHo district in Manhattan, NoLita, based north of Little Italy, is a mixture of hipster, artistically ethnic cultures, being mainly a boutique neighborhood. Whether you’re walking down Broome or Spring street, there’s bound to be a shop that catches your eye. From sock and eye stores (The Sock Hop) to a street bazaar lined with homemade hats, dresses, pants shoes and other knick knacks, NoLita surely will push the limits of your fashion sense.
Tribeca
Being in one of the most expensive zip codes in the country, Tribeca is one of the hotspots for film seekers and celebrities such as Jay-Z, Beyonce, Chris Martin and Gwyneth Paltrow. It also happens to be one of the hubs of modern New York City fashion. One shop that is gaining popularity is the now world famous JEM Fabric Warehouse. Allowing customers to literally design their look, JEM tailors and seamstresses will take your concept, whether it be original or off the cover of a magazine, and will re-create it in whatever pattern, fabric and color you’d like.
West Village and Greenwich Village
European fashions that migrate to the United States usually take a quick pit stop before arriving to the runways of Fashion Week. Yes, I’m talking about the West Village area, which also encompasses Greenwich Village. Located on the west side of Manhattan a few blocks from Tribeca, West and Greenwich have evolved over the past few years, incorporating themselves into the New York City fashion world, comparable to that of SoHo and Fifth Ave. Just off of Bleecker Street, locals flock to the retailers that line the street, offering the newest fashion for a bargain. If you want to shop like a local, the West Village and Greenwich Village may just be for your. It’s just a cab ride away!
Fifth Ave.
Just northeast of the West Village lies the Mecca of high end fashion in all of New York City. Located on Fifth Ave. between 34th and 59th street, Fifth Ave (no name need to be given) is the epitome of American fashion centered in the middle of Manhattan. Shops that have accumulated notoriety over the years, Tiffany and Co., Bergdorf Goodman and those in the Trump Tower, still line the sidewalks of this bubbly neighborhood. International designer fashion can also be found the on northern end of the street. Fifth Avenue is also the site of several films and TV shows such as Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Sex and the City and The Apprentice due to it being one of the centers of tourism. So, take a cab, grab a latte and enjoy the day on Fifth Ave.
Being in New York is an indulgence in itself, but shopping in New York makes it a luxury. There’s definitely nothing like it. Next time you drop by the city, why not take a quick shopping tour of these neighborhoods? You won’t regret it!
