^TM

Buy, Baby, Buy

New York is a Shopper’s Heaven

By Stephen Henderson

There are always plenty of reasons to visit Manhattan – seeing a Broadway show, touring extraordinary museums, or dining in high style being just a few.  But let's be honest: one of the city’s chief attractions is world-class shopping. 

So it's distressing that some of Gotham’s most prestigious retail areas (Rockefeller Center, 57th Street, and Soho) have become crowded of late with the same shops you can find at your local mall.  Do you really need to brave New York City to buy something at the Disney Store or the Gap?  No, indeed.

Pack up your credit cards, then, and journey to some lesser-known neighborhoods like the meatpacking district, Greenwich Village, Nolita, and upper Madison Avenue, where you’ll find gifts for loved ones (or yourself!) that are truly unusual.   Shopping in any of these four spots puts a delightful twist on the Frank Sinatra lyric from “New York, New York.”  If you can buy it here, you can’t buy it anywhere else. 

The Meatpacking District

In the late 19th century, this section of lower Manhattan (which neatly divides Chelsea from Greenwich Village), was a busy wholesale market for produce called the Gansevoort Market.  It was named for General Peter Gansevoort, who was a hero in the Revolutionary War and, coincidentally, was also Herman Melville’s grandfather.   In 1949, this area changed from being a market for fresh fruit and vegetables, to a place where carcasses of beef, pork, veal, and chicken were sold to the city’s supermarkets and restaurants.

Though butchering facilities are still very visible, within the last half-dozen years, West 14th Street between Eighth Avenue and the Westside Highway has also become home to the city’s most chic boutiques, restaurants, galleries, nightclubs and bars.  Take a whiff; you can still smell carnage in these cobble-stoned streets.  Is that due to a side of beef, or a knock-down drag-out fight between two men over a sale-priced sweater?  Only in the meatpacking district is being fashionable a blood sport. 

Not too long ago at Jeffrey, the apparel store that started an influx of high-end retailers to this neighborhood, a dazed-looking woman sat surrounded by high piles of open shoe boxes.  She gazed up at her salesperson, and asked plaintively, “do you remember which pair I tried on first?”  He shook his head, and then they both laughed.  You may become similarly overwhelmed by Jeffrey’s treasure trove of both women’s and men’s fashions, jewelry, house wares and cosmetics. 

Push a large square doorbell at Alexander McQueen, the enfant-terrible of London haberdashery, and an oversized glass door swings slowly open, admitting you to a vista of way-over-the-top women’s fashion.  Zippers are apparently big this year at McQueen.  A black and white embroidered fur ($4,375) has three zippered hemlines – making it a bomber jacket, car coat or mid-calf style.  Talk about a zippy outfit!

Nearby is Stella McCartney, the daughter of ex-Beatle Paul, who continues to turn out women’s clothes that rock and roll.  Her thigh-high “bondage” boots (starting at $1,400) are a big hit this season.  And, Carlos Miele, a Brazilian designer, has draped, slinky clothes that make any woman instantly able to dance the samba – or at least look like she can. 

Julian Santiago, co-owner of Artsee, likes to call himself “the tailor of eyewear.”  Nicole Kidman, Julianne Moore and Kim Catrall have all visited his shop to order one-of-a-kind spectacles.  Santiago also collects and sells vintage designs.  Have him show you the enormous orange sunglasses that once belonged to Jackie O.  They can be yours for only $3,000. 

Are all those outfits in size 2 and 4 making you hungry?  Then head to the Chelsea Market – a former Nabisco Factory where Oreos were invented in 1912.  Now, it’s a tasty complex of food shops.  If all those fresh ingredients make you long for your own kitchen, check out Bodum, an inexpensive and well-stocked cooking gadget shop.   The Specialty Coffee Association of America recently declared Bodum’s new Santos coffee maker ($99.99), “the best brewing equipment of the year.”

There’s an exquisite collection of Swedish and French Antiques at Lars Bollander’s newly-opened boutique.   His linen pillows with an appliquéd pattern of sea coral ($375) would look smart on any furniture at the Design within Reach store a few blocks away.  A tufted leather and chrome steel Pavilion Chair ($1,995) designed by Mies Van der Rohe for the 1929 International Exhibition in Barcelona, still looks fresh today.  As do the prints of Andy Warhol (starting at $25,000) on display at Wooster Projects.   Even if you don’t want a rainbow-colored Elizabeth Taylor, Chairman Mao, or Franz Kafka hanging in your den, these vibrant silk-screens retain their shock value and are well worth a look.

If you do like modern art, though, the blocks above the meatpacking district (10th and 11th Avenues, between 20th and 26th streets) have a dazzling constellation of art galleries.  While browsing here, check out the Starrett Lehigh, which is a stream-lined Art Moderne building where Martha Stewart’s empire is based.  A reliable rumor has it that she is driven door to door thanks to Starrett Lehigh’s enormous freight elevators.  Now that’s Martha Stewart Living.

When it’s time for dinner, Bottino is the unofficial “canteen” for the art gallery and fashion set.  Its northern Italian food is excellent; the crowd is young, hip and self-infatuated.   Or, try Markt, a boisterous Belgian restaurant, where you can wash back your mussels and pomme frites with an ice-cold Stella Artois beer.  For a rollicking nightcap, head to Hogs & Heifers, a saloon where the ceiling is festooned with hundreds (maybe thousands) of brassieres tossed aside by rowdy female customers who’ve danced on top of the bar.  Yee-haw!

Greenwich Village

The small, tree-lined streets in the Village (only newcomers insist on adding “Greenwich”), are a pleasant walk south from the meatpacking district.  These blocks are among New York’s most poetic and, as they wind about and seemingly double back upon themselves, they’re also some of the city’s most difficult to navigate.  Why does West 4th Street suddenly intersect West 11th Street?  If you have to ask, you’re missing the point.   Like Venice, the Village is a place where getting lost is an essential part of the tourist experience.

Long associated with all things artistic, counter-culture and “Bohemian” – think Emma Goldman, W. H. Auden, or Edna St. Vincent Millay, who were all onetime residents -- the shops in and around Bleecker Street between Bank and Christopher, are a great place to feel the Village’s magic. 

At Leo Design, there’s a focus on the Arts & Crafts period, as well as the 19th century Aesthetic movement.  This tiny shop’s ambience is decidedly masculine, with a wealth of vintage cufflinks ($75 and up), and hand-hewn copper vases and bowls ($40 and up) that have a warm, ruddy glow.  If the man in your life likes classic clothes with a sly wit to them, stop by Marc Jacobs.  A corduroy jacket that’s hooded and fleece-lined is $375, and double-faced cashmere gloves in many colors are $140.  

At Marc Jacobs’ women’s boutique next door, the styles are girlish yet soigné and much adored by such scene-stealers as Sofia Coppola, as well as Junior Leaguers and Soccer Moms.  Is your lady crazy for footwear – and, truly, what woman isn’t? – take her to Constanca Basto, a shoe salon as vibrantly styled as the shoes on display.  High-heeled leather sandals with crystal pedants are $295.

All lives great and small can be found at The Biography Bookshop, a village mainstay for many years.  The End of History displays Italian, Scandanavian and American glass objects alongside mid-century furniture.  Old Japan, Inc., has vintage silk kimonos starting at $30, Clary & Co. Antiques is full of stylish oddments, and a set of six cowhide coasters are $25 at Venfield, where there’s also a large collection of English Staffordshire porcelain dogs (starting at $500.)

If you have a live pooch on your shopping list, head to The Four Paws Club, where hand-knit puppy pullovers start at $50, and there are plastic fetch toys shaped like a globe for $16.50, proving that it’s a dog-eat-world world. 

To get your adolescent or teenager in the groove, Carmine Street boasts a collection of record stores par excellence including House of Oldies, Rockit Scientist Records, and Vinylmania.  And don’t forget Village Comics.  Yes, you are allowed in, even if you are not a fourteen-year-old boy.   This store is fully loaded with AC and Marvel comic books and toys – in short, Action Hero Heaven. 

Hungry?  Eat at Chumley’s which looks just like it did in the 1920’s, when it was a speakeasy during Prohibition.  Back then, drinkers carved their initials in the wooden tables.  You can, too, if you ever find the place.  There’s no sign out front, only a small, barred window on an anonymous door.  (Good luck.)  There’s also The White Horse Tavern, where you can hoist a pint in honor of such past customers as Bob Dylan, Norman Mailer and Jack Kerouac.

Nolita

If you have one foot in the present and one in the past, head down to the vibrantly retro scene in the Lower East Side’s “Nolita” neighborhood.  It’s just north of Little Italy, hence its somewhat clumsy nickname.  The action centers along two streets, Mott and Elizabeth where there are funky boutiques and unique antiques galore. 

Start at this neighborhood’s southern-most end, Howard Street, with a visit to Ted Muehling.   This store is a cabinet of curiosities, with delicate jewelry and ceramic objets d’art inspired by natural forms such as shells, nuts, eggs and trees.   Candlesticks that resemble driftwood are $820, and earrings start at $100.   A few doors away is E. Vogel.  If there’s an equestrian in the family, he or she should gallop to this three-story brick townhouse, where they can order made-to-measure riding boots (starting at $700).  They’ll be in good company – everyone from Charles Lindbergh to Paul Newman has trotted in.

“The Nolita customer wants something unique; New York’s real originality is found here,” said Ellen Cohen, owner of Lale, a store that sells a wide variety of things made in Turkey.  Lale (which means “tulip” in Turkish) sells rugs, glass, pillows, trays and marvelous paperweights, the latter starting at $90. 

Pearl Daddy offers a new take on that classic fixture in a woman’s jewel box – the pearl.  Lariat necklaces start at $34.  If the jewelry and accessories at Dinosaur Designs resonate with you, it’s probably because everything here is made from resin.   Large salad bowls in a variety of colors are $180 and women’s bangle bracelets start at $40.

Room One is hardly larger than a walk-in closet, but it has amassed an excellent collection of designs for contemporary living.  Salt and pepper shakers that look like beach stones are $20 a pair.  A magnetized stainless steel rack ($98.00) that will make your bay leaves, pepper and ten other spice jars look like they are floating on the wall.

There is a wealth of wonderfully-curated vintage clothing stores in Nolita, too.  Resurrection is especially strong in 60’s and 70’s couture such as Courreges and Emilo Pucci, whose shirts in psychedelic swirls of green, turquoise and black are $265.  INA has previously-owned men’s wear, but in excellent condition.  Are you crazy for Prada, Louis Vuitton and Gucci, but have a Banana Republic budget?  This is the store for you, fella.

While you’re shopping, if you need a picker-upper, stop off at Rice to Riches.  This store’s sleek interior looks like the Starship Enterprise, and sells 21 flavors of rice pudding (8 oz., $5.00).  The pudding made with Mascarpone cream and cherries is so fantastically dense, you may want to share it with a friend. 

Upper Madison Avenue

Fifth Avenue is the most costly real estate in New York City, if not the world.  Residential buildings face west across Central Park, and when the sun sets, these huge apartments are bathed with nearly as much gold as their owners have in their bank accounts.

One block east is Madison Avenue, which is essentially Fifth Avenue’s back alley.  Here are stores that cater to the so-called “carriage trade,” and they are some of the haute-iest and, well, snobbiest shops in Manhattan.  Even been-there-done-that New Yorkers can sometimes blanche at the prospect of shopping along Madison Avenue.  Think you’re up to it?  Suck in those cheeks, sister.  Sure you are! 

Why not begin at 72nd Street, where the baronial splendor of Ralph Lauren’s flagship store at the former Rhinelander Mansion continues to expand in all directions.  Ralph Lauren Sport was the second outpost across the street (ski and riding wear), and now Ralph Lauren Children has opened a few doors south.  Do the little ‘uns need cashmere sweaters ($150), tiny Harris tweed blazers ($350) or a silver hair brush, engraved with their initials ($250)?   It’s all here, for your petite patrician.

Carolina Herrera designs ultra-sophisticated women’s fashion that puts the “deb” both in debutante and debit.  Her embroidered gowns and satin evening coats start at $5,000.  If you’re headed to the Caribbean anytime soon, stop by Calypso for way-cool tropical fashions such as slinky tee-shirts and sarongs.  A pair of black velvet “mules,” embroidered with silver beads is $350.

Tired of having the same stationery as everyone else?  Then, visit Jamie Ostrow, a paper shop that stocks colors and a fountain of fonts you’ve never seen before.   Imagine your name printed in chartreuse, tangerine or fuchsia -- 100 cards and envelopes are $175.

As is to be expected with so many well-feathered nests nearby, Madison Avenue abounds with high-end home design stores.  At Adrien Linnford, there are pewter trays for $98, glass oil lamps that look like candle sticks ($78,) and moody black and white photographs of sailboats ($375).  Homer has lacquered boxes with sea shells on top ($60).

If your house turns into an igloo during the winter, you might enjoy Alaska on Madison, a gallery of Eskimo Art.  Owner Jack Bryan is an enthusiastic guide to crafts made by tribes in Alaska and British Columbia such as the Inuit, Tingit, Kwakiutl, Nootka and Tshimian.   Spear points start at $23, hauntingly odd prints range upwards from $650.

To dish about dishes, head to Bardith Ltd., a fusty shop which specializes in complete sets of ceramic and porcelain dinnerware from the 18th and 19th century.    “A lot of what we sell is hung on kitchen walls by people who can arrange $25,000 worth of plates on the floor, and then say ‘we’ll take it,’” said Joan Milgrim, a pleasantly gruff saleswoman.  “I always say when it sells, it’s porcelain.  Sitting on the shelf, it’s just stuff.”

Stop in at Bemelman’s Bar at the Carlyle Hotel if you’re peckish, and see murals painted by Ludwig Bemelman, best remembered for his Madeline books.  Or, visit Soupburg, a humble coffee shop which is, hilariously, plunked down right in the midst of this opulent neighborhood.  It’s so small, you can hear and smell your lunch’s progress on the grill.  “The rich are different,” F. Scott Fitzgerald famously said.  Maybe so, but they still don’t want to pay more than $8.25 for a cheeseburger deluxe. 

Outside Soupburg just a few days ago, two ladies, old friends apparently, ran into each other.  They “air-kissed” each other’s cheeks, and then stepped back for appraisals.    

“Who styled you?” one asked the other.

A normal enough question on Madison Avenue, and maybe for New York generally, a place where being stylish makes you a member of an elite club.  Shopping is this club’s ongoing initiation fee. 

When You Go

Getting around in New York City is easily accomplished by subway, which is $2.00 per ride.  Subway stops nearest each neighborhood are included below.

The Meat Packing District
(take #1 local to 14th Street, walk west, towards Hudson River)

Jeffrey, 449 W. 14th Street, near Tenth Avenue, 212-206-1272. 

Alexander McQueen, 417 W. 14th Street, near Ninth Avenue, 212-645-1797.  

Stella McCartney, 429 W. 14th Street, near Washington Street, 212-255-1556.

Carlos Miele, 408 West 14th Street, 646-336-6642.

Artsee, 863 Washington Street, 212-414-0900.

Chelsea Market.  75 Ninth Avenue, between 9th and 10th Avenues. 

Bodum, 413-415 West 14th Street,  212-367-9125.

Lars Bolander, 72 Gansevoort Street, 212-924-1000.

Design Within Reach, 408 West 14th Street, 212-242-9449.

Wooster Projects Contemporary Art, 421 West 14th Street, 646-336-1999.

Starrett Lehigh Building, 601 West 26th Street, between 11th and 12th Avenues.

Bottino, 246 Tenth Avenue, between 24th and 25th Streets, 212-206-6766.

Markt,  401 West 14th Street, 212-727-3314.

Hogs & Heifers, 859 Washington Street, corner of 13th Street, 212-929-0655.

If you want to stay overnight in the area, try Soho House, 29-35 Ninth Avenue, 212-627-9800, www.sohohouse.com.  This is a chic, new boutique hotel.  Rooms start at $250.

Greenwich Village
(Take the #1 local to Christopher Street, walk west till you intersect Bleecker Street)

Leo Design, 413 Bleecker Street, 212-929-8466.

Marc Jacobs, 403-405 Bleecker Street, near 11th Street, 212-924-0026. 

Constanca Basto, 573 Hudson, at 11th Street, 212-645-3233.

The Biography Bookshop, 400 Bleecker Street, 212-807-8655.

The End of History, 548 ½ Hudson Street, near Perry Street, 212-647-7598.

Old Japan, Inc., 382 Bleecker Street, 212-633-0922.

Clary & Co. Antiques, 374 Bleecker Street, near Perry Street, 212-229-1773. 

Venfield, 392 Bleecker Street, 212-627-5552.

The Four Paws Club, 387 Bleecker, near Perry Street, 212-367-8265.  

House of Oldies, 35 Carmine Street, near Bleecker , 212-243-0500. 

Rockit Scientist Records, 43 Carmine Street, 212-242-0066.  

Vinylmania, 60 Carmine Street, 212-924-7223.

Village Comics, 214 Sullivan Street, between Bleecker and West 3rd Street, 212-777-2770.

Chumley’s, 86 Bedford Street, 212-675-4449.  

The White Horse Tavern, 567 Hudson Street at West 11th, 212-989-3956. 

Nolita
(Take the #6 local to Spring Street, walk east till you intersect Mott Street)

Ted Muehling, 27 Howard Street, between Broadway and Lafayette, 212-431-3825. 

E. Vogel, 19 Howard Street, between Broadway and Lafayette, 212-925-2460. 

Lale, 200 Mott Street, between Spring and Kenmare, 212-941-7641.

Pearl Daddy, 202 Mott Street, 212-219-7727.

Dinosaur Designs, 250 Mott Street, near Prince, 212-680-3523.

Room One, 229 Mott Street, 212-625-9444.

Resurrection, 217 Mott Street, 212-625-1374.

INA, 262 Mott Street, 212-334-2210.

Rice to Riches, 37 Spring Street, 212-274-0008.

Upper Madison Avenue
(Take the #6 local to 68th Street and Lexington Avenue, walk 2 blocks west to Madison Avenue, and four blocks north to 72nd Street)

Ralph Lauren Children, 872 Madison Avenue at 72nd Street, 212-434-8099.

Carolina Herrera, 954 Madison Avenue, 212-249-6552. 

Calypso, 935 Madison Avenue, 212-535-4100. 

Jamie Ostrow, 876 Madison Avenue, near 71st, 212-734-8890. 

Adrien Linford, 927 Madison Avenue, 212-628-4500.

Homer – 939 Madison Avenue, 212-744-7705.

Alaska on Madison, 937 Madison Avenue, 212-879-1782.

Bardith Ltd., 31 East 72nd Street, near Madison Avenue, 212-737-8660.

Bemelman’s Bar at the Carlyle Hotel, Madison Avenue at 76th Street, 212-744-1600.

Soupburg, 922 Madison Avenue, 212-734-6964.

If you’re in the neighborhood, by all means visit the Whitney Museum of American Art, 945 Madison Avenue at 75th Street, 212-570-3676.  This triumph of late 20th century modernism was designed in 1966 by Marcel Breuer. 

Also, perhaps no other hotel in Manhattan so embodies its neighborhood as The Carlyle.  The guestrooms and suites are elegantly decorated, and some feature views of Central Park.  212-744-1600, www.TheCarlyle.com,  Rates start at $495.

For More Information, visit the New York City Tourism Website, www.nycvisit.com, or call 212-484-1200.

Back to TravelLady Magazine