Downtown
Lower Manhattan & The Financial District--The Financial District's shopping scene was devastated by the demise of the World Trade Center, whose underground shopping mall had evolved into the city's best by 2001. Now South Street Seaport (tel. 212/732-8257; subway: 2, 3, 4, 5 to Fulton St.) carries the neighborhood's torch. Familiar names like Abercrombie & Fitch, Bath & Body Works, Brookstone, and the Sunglass Hut line Fulton Street, the Seaport's main cobbled drag, and fill the levels at Pier 17, a waterfront barge-turned-shopping mall. There's nothing here you can't get anywhere else in Manhattan; come for the historic ambience, the wonderful harbor views, and to spend a few dollars in Lower Manhattan, which needs all the support it can get. For a complete store list, visit www.southstreetseaport.com.
Lower Manhattan continues to shine in the discount department. New Yorkers were thrilled in spring 2002 when the king of discount department stores, Century 21, reopened its doors against all odds. (The store is across the street from the World Trade Center site.) Electronics megamart J&R is still going strong, now occupying a full city block with great prices on everything from cameras and computers to CDs and software.
Chinatown--Don't expect to find the purchase of a lifetime on Chinatown's streets, but there's some quality browsing to be had. The fish and herbal markets along Canal, Mott, Mulberry, and Elizabeth streets are fun for their bustle and exotica. Dispersed among them (especially along Canal St.), you'll find a mind-boggling collection of knock-off sunglasses and watches, cheap backpacks, discount leather goods, and exotic souvenirs. It's a fun daytime browse, but don't expect quality -- and be sure to bargain before you buy. (Also, skip the bootleg CDs, video, and software -- these are stolen goods, and you will be disappointed with the product.) Mott Street, between Pell Street and Chatham Square, boasts the most interesting of Chinatown's off-Canal shopping, with an antiques shop or two dispersed among the tiny storefronts selling blue-and-white Chinese dinnerware. The definite highlight is the two-stop Pearl River Chinese emporium.
The Lower East Side--The bargains aren't quite what they used to be in the Historic Orchard Street Shopping District -- which basically runs from Houston to Canal along Allen, Orchard, and Ludlow streets, spreading outward along both sides of Delancey Street -- but prices on leather bags, shoes, luggage, and fabrics on the bolt are still quite good. Be aware, though, that the hard sell on Orchard Street can be pretty hard to take. Still, the district is a nice place to discover a part of New York that's disappearing. Come during the week, since most stores are Jewish-owned and, therefore, close Friday afternoon and all day Saturday. Sunday tends to be a madhouse.
The artists and other trendsetters who have been turning this neighborhood into a bastion of hip have also added a cutting edge to its shopping scene in recent years, too. You'll find a growing -- and increasingly upscale -- crop of alterna-shops south of Houston and north of Grand Street, between Allen and Clinton streets to the east and west, specializing in up-to-the-minute fashions and edgy club clothes for twentysomethings, plus funky retro furnishings, Japanese toys, and other offbeat items. Before you browse, stop into the Lower East Side Visitor Center, 261 Broome St., between Orchard and Allen streets (tel. 866/825-8374 or 212/226-9010; subway: F to Delancey St.), for a shopping guide that includes vendors both old-world and new. Or you can preview the list online at www.lowereastsideny.com.
Soho--People love to complain about superfashionable SoHo -- it's become too trendy, too tony, too Mall of America. True, J. Crew is only one of many big names that have supplanted the artists and galleries that used to inhabit its historic cast-iron buildings. But SoHo is still one of the best shopping 'hoods in the city -- and few are more fun to browse. It's the epicenter of cutting-edge fashion and still boasts plenty of unique boutiques. The streets are chock-full of tempting stores, so just come and browse.
SoHo's prime shopping grid is from Broadway east to Sullivan Street, and from Houston down to Broome, although Grand Street, 1 block south of Broome, has been sprouting shops of late. Broadway is the most commercial strip, with such recognizable names as Pottery Barn and A/X Armani Exchange. But the real tone of the neighborhood is set by the big names in avant-garde fashion. Fabulous accessories shops -- like the Hat Shop, 120 Thompson St., between Prince and Spring (tel. 212/219-1445), a full-service milliner for women that also features plenty of off-the-rack toppers, and shoe stores galore -- plus high-end home design and housewares boutiques add to the appeal.
Nolita--Not so long ago, Elizabeth Street was a nondescript adjunct to Little Italy and the no-man's-land east of SoHo. Today it's one of the hottest shopping strips in town, the star of the neighborhood known as Nolita. Elizabeth and neighboring Mott and Mulberry streets are dotted with an increasing number of shops between Houston and Spring streets, with a few pushing 1 more block south to Kenmare. It's an easy walk from the Broadway/Lafayette stop on the F, V line to the neighborhood, since it starts just east of Lafayette Street; you can also take the 6 to Spring Street, or the N, R to Prince Street and walk east from there.
This may be a burgeoning neighborhood, but don't expect cheap -- Nolita is clearly the stepchild of SoHo. Its boutiques are largely the province of sophisticated shopkeepers specializing in high-quality fashion-forward products and design. Mott Street is an accessories bonanza, with eye-popping Jamin Puech for handbags, Push and others for gorgeous offbeat jewelry designs, and Sigerson Morrison for shoes. The boutique density is most intense on Elizabeth, where offerings range from whimsical milliner Kelly Christy at no. 235 (tel. 212/965-0686) to Area ... id, no. 262 (tel. 212/219-9903), for sleek vintage Danish everything.
The East Village--The East Village personifies bohemian hip. Kmart, 770 Broadway (tel. 212/673-1540), between 8th and 9th streets, is so out of place that it's marvelous camp: Japanese kids stare and marvel at gargantuan boxes of laundry detergent as if they were Warhol designed, while multipierced and mohawked locals navigate the name-brand maze alongside stroller-pushing housewives. The easiest subway access is the 6 train to Astor Place, which lets you right out at Kmart and Astor Wines & Spirits; from here, it's just a couple blocks east to the prime hunting grounds.
East 9th Street between Second Avenue and Avenue A has become one of my favorite shopping strips in the entire city. Lined with an increasingly smart collection of boutiques, it proves that the East Village isn't just for kids anymore. Up-and-coming designers, including Jill Anderson and Selia Yang, sell excellent-quality and affordably priced original fashions for women along here. It's also an excellent strip for stylish gifts and little luxuries. The surrounding blocks aren't quite as mature yet, but are on their way.
If it's strange, illegal, or funky, it's probably available on St. Marks Place, which takes over for 8th Street, running east from Third Avenue to Avenue A. This skanky strip is a permanent street market, with countless T-shirt and boho jewelry stands. The height of the action is between Second and Third avenues, which is prime hunting grounds for used-record collectors.
Lafayette Street from Soho to Noho--Lafayette Street has a retail character all its own, distinct from the rest of SoHo. It has grown into a full-fledged Antiques Row, especially strong in mid-century furniture. Prices are high, but so is quality. The stretch to stroll is between 8th Street to the north and Spring Street to the south. Either take the 6 train to Astor Place and work your way south; get off at Spring Street and walk north; or take the F or V to Broadway-Lafayette and get dropped off in the heart of the action. Highlights include Guéridon, at no. 359, between Bleecker and Bond streets (tel. 212/677-7740; www.gueridon.com), for sophisticated 20th-century European pieces, mainly French, plus some original designs in the same vein; and City Barn Antiques, at Lafayette and Prince streets (tel. 212/941-5757; www.citybarnantiques.com), probably the nation's premier dealer in impeccably restored Heywood-Wakefield furnishings. There's much more -- furniture hunters and design lovers will be enthralled for hours. Most dealers are well versed in shipping worldwide.
Dispersed among the furniture and design stores are a number of cutting-edge clothiers, such as Bond 07, just off Lafayette at 7 Bond St. (tel. 212/677-8487), featuring artfully displayed collections of classic vintage fashions and accessories.
Greenwich Village--The West Village is great for browsing and gift shopping. Specialty book- and record stores, antiques and craft shops, and gourmet food markets dominate. The Village isn't much of a destination for fashion hunters, with the exception of NYU territory -- 8th Street between Broadway and Sixth Avenue for trendy footwear and affordable fashions, and Broadway from 8th Street south to Houston, anchored by Urban Outfitters at 628 Broadway, between Bleecker and Houston Street (tel. 212/475-0009; www.urbanoutfitters.com) and dotted with skate and sneaker shops. Clothes hounds looking for volume shopping are better off elsewhere.
The prime drag for strolling is bustling Bleecker Street, where you'll find lots of "discount" leather shops and record stores interspersed with a good number of interesting and artsy boutiques. Narrow Christopher Street is another fun strip, because it's loaded with genuine Village character. Those who really love to browse should also wander west of Seventh Avenue and along Hudson Street, where charming shops like House of Cards and Curiosities, 23 Eighth Ave., between Jane and 12th streets (tel. 212/675-6178), the Village's own funky take on an old-fashioned nickel-and-dime, are tucked among the brownstones.
Midtown
The Flatiron District & Union Square--When 23rd Street was the epitome of New York uptown fashion more than 100 years ago, the major department stores stretched along Sixth Avenue for about a mile (1.5km) from 14th Street up. These elegant stores stood in huge cast-iron buildings that were long ago abandoned and left to rust. In the last several years, however, the area has grown into the city's discount shopping center, with superstores and off-pricers filling up the renovated spaces: Filene's Basement, TJ Maxx, and Bed Bath & Beyond are all at 620 Sixth Ave., while Old Navy is next door, and Barnes & Noble is just a couple of blocks away at Sixth Avenue near 22nd Street
On Broadway, just a few blocks north of Union Square is ABC Carpet & Home, a magnet for aspiring Martha Stewarts. If it's actually a rug you're looking for, a whole slew of imported carpet dealers line Broadway from ABC north to about 25th Street.
Upscale retailers who have rediscovered the architectural majesty of lower Fifth Avenue include Banana Republic, Victoria's Secret, and Kenneth Cole. You won't find much that's new along here, but it's a pleasing stretch nonetheless.
Herald Square & The Garment District--Herald Square -- where 34th Street, Sixth Avenue, and Broadway converge -- is dominated by Macy's, the self-proclaimed world's biggest department store, and other famous-name shopping like Old Navy across from Macy's on 34th Street. At Sixth Avenue and 33rd Street is the Manhattan Mall (tel. 212/465-0500; www.manhattanmallny.com), home to mall standards like Foot Locker, LensCrafters, and Radio Shack.
A long block over on Seventh Avenue, not much goes on in the grimy, heavily industrial Garment District. This is, however, where you'll find that quintessential New York experience, the sample sale.
Times Square & The Theater District--This neighborhood has become increasingly family oriented, hence, Richard Branson's rollicking Virgin Megastore; the fabulous Toys "R" Us flagship on Broadway and 44th Street, which even has its own full-scale Ferris wheel; and the mammoth E-Walk retail and entertainment complex on 42nd Street between Seventh and Eighth avenues, overflowing with mall-familiar shops like the Museum Company.
West 47th Street between Fifth and Sixth avenues is the city's famous Diamond District.
You'll also notice a wealth of electronics stores throughout the neighborhood, many suspiciously trumpeting GOING OUT OF BUSINESS sales. These guys have been going out of business since the Stone Age. That's the bait and switch; pretty soon you've spent too much money for not enough stereo. If you want to check out what they have to offer, go in knowing the going price on that PDA or digital camera you're interested in. You can make a good deal if you know exactly what the market is, but these guys will be happy to suck you dry given half a chance.
Fifth Avenue & 57th Street--The heart of Manhattan retail is the corner of Fifth Avenue and 57th Street. Time was, only the very rich could shop these sacred crossroads. Such is not the case anymore, now that Tiffany & Co., which has long reigned supreme here, sits a stone's throw from Niketown and the NBA Store. In addition, a good number of mainstream retailers, like Banana Republic, have flagships along Fifth, further democratizing the avenue. Still, you will find a number of big-name, big-ticket designers radiating from the crossroads, including Versace, Chanel, Dior, and Cartier. You'll also find big-name jewelers along here, as well as chichi department stores like Bergdorf Goodman, Henri Bendel, and Saks Fifth Avenue, all of which help the avenue maintain its classy cachet.
Uptown
Madison Avenue--Madison Avenue from 57th to 79th streets has usurped Fifth Avenue as the tony shopping street in the city; in fact, it boasts the most expensive retail real estate in the world. Bring lots of plastic. This ultradeluxe strip -- particularly in the high 60s -- is home to the most luxurious designer boutiques, with Barneys New York as the anchor.
For those of us without unlimited budgets, the good news is that stores like Crate & Barrel and the fabulous Ann Taylor flagship make the untouchable Madison Avenue seem approachable and affordable.
Upper Madison, from about 72nd to 86th streets, has become the domain of cozy-chic home stores for the uptown Martha Stewart set, such as A La Maison, no. 1078, between 81st and 82nd (tel. 212/396-1020), for sophisticated country French imports.
Upper West Side--The Upper West Side's best shopping street is Columbus Avenue. Small shops catering to the neighborhood's white-collar mix of young hipsters and families line both sides of the pleasant avenue from 66th Street (where you'll find an excellent branch of Barnes & Noble) to about 86th Street. Highlights include Robert Marc Opticians and Maxilla & Mandible for museum-quality natural science-based gifts, but you won't lack for good browsing along here.
Boutiques also dot Amsterdam Avenue, but main-drag Broadway is most notable for its terrific gourmet edibles at Zabar's and Fairway (2127 Broadway, at 74th St.; tel. 212/595-1888) markets, both legends in their own right.
