nyc shopping trip

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it'd clearly be ridiculous for me to spend over three months in boston and never make it to nyc, so i'm thinking of going there to do some shopping. is it worth it? british newspapers are always full of stories around christmas time about british people flying over to do their xmas shopping and save money, so i figure there have to be some things worth going for. what? where?

i guess i'm particularly after men's clothes + maybe books/records. any suggestions of places to go?

oh, and what's the sales tax like there?

also: should i get on with this now? when does xmas shopping hell kick in over here?

― toby (tsg20), Wednesday, 23 October 2002 12:37 (twenty-two years ago)

nice one Toby, I was hoping someone would start this exact thread.

― Tim (Tim), Wednesday, 23 October 2002 12:46 (twenty-two years ago)

cheapass me went to Century 21 clothing (right by WTC site), Canal Street Jeans (near Canal Street, but on a n-s street i can't recall which). Reckids: Kim's Basement in St Marks. Michaelangelo recommended some other place like "Open" or somesuch name -- i'm sure the nyc people will know...

Proper clothes shopping, i wouldn't know

― Alan (Alan), Wednesday, 23 October 2002 13:01 (twenty-two years ago)

books: strand bookstore, 12th street (and, um, broadway?)

records: other music, 7th st i think? also, theres a few places on st marks (that kims place)

clothes: well, um, i bought some brown and white pinstripe trousers from urban outfitters, but you got that in boston too, so...

― gareth (gareth), Wednesday, 23 October 2002 13:05 (twenty-two years ago)

Over here one hears tales of record stores with stacks & stacks of unwanted vinyl for a couple of $ a throw... do they exist in NYC (or Boston for that matter)? Are they mythical?

― Tim (Tim), Wednesday, 23 October 2002 13:09 (twenty-two years ago)

and I'm sure the pants Gareth bought were a small fortune as with everything from Urban Outfitters? am i right?

― Chris V. (Chris V), Wednesday, 23 October 2002 13:15 (twenty-two years ago)

being in the brown = the new being in the red

― Tim (Tim), Wednesday, 23 October 2002 13:16 (twenty-two years ago)

$52

― gareth (gareth), Wednesday, 23 October 2002 13:18 (twenty-two years ago)

ugh.

― Chris V. (Chris V), Wednesday, 23 October 2002 13:19 (twenty-two years ago)

clothes seemed to be cheaper over there than here (there was also no sales tax on these, which surprised me)

― gareth (gareth), Wednesday, 23 October 2002 13:20 (twenty-two years ago)

you'll have better luck getting cheap used records in boston than in NYC, and the sales tax is lower there.

― geeta (geeta), Wednesday, 23 October 2002 13:22 (twenty-two years ago)

definitely not cheap, but if you are interested in hip hop and jazz/ soul etc which it samples, go to a-1 and sound library (?) in the east village

― ron (ron), Wednesday, 23 October 2002 13:25 (twenty-two years ago)

Century 21 is cheap. Canal Jean is a bit pricey, but not too bad. Very nice, "hip" clothes there. Added bonus: They are going out of business and right now everything is either 10% or 20% off. I'm thinking that prices will drop more.

As for cheap records, for catalog stuff go to Sounds on St. Marks Place. Every album there is $9.99. Other Music is pricey, but they have a good selection. Same with Kim's.

For books go to Strand, but there are millions of other little corner shops to check out.

― Yancey (ystrickler), Wednesday, 23 October 2002 13:37 (twenty-two years ago)

tim - i'm deliberately not looking at vinyl in boston cos i can't face bringing it back. having said that my flatmate's coming out next week and will doubtless buy tonnes, so i'll report back; it's certainly way better for buying 2nd hand cds than london is (unless i've been going to the wrong places in london).

clothes: what about more upmarketish places (agnes b, that kind of thing)? anyone here have a clue?

― toby (tsg20), Wednesday, 23 October 2002 13:51 (twenty-two years ago)

OLD NAVY, PANTS FOR $19.50 CAN'T BEAT IT.

― Chris V. (Chris V), Wednesday, 23 October 2002 13:55 (twenty-two years ago)

century 21 is ACE!

also there are the big h & m stores -- 51st and 5th, or 34th and 6th.

as for record stores -- sound and fury on orchard is pretty standard indie stuff, while rockit scientist on carmine skews '60s mod and psych.

also you must eat at shopsin's, which is near rockit scientist. i went there last night, and it is amazing. 200+ kinds of soup!

― maura (maura), Wednesday, 23 October 2002 14:29 (twenty-two years ago)

There are a couple of places to get cheap vinyl in the city, mainly thrift shops. The weekend of November 1-3 is the WFMU record fair, and there's always lots of $1 records there, (and cheap CDs, too).

There's no sales tax on clothing in NYC but 8.25% tax on books and music.

― rosemary (rosemary), Wednesday, 23 October 2002 14:53 (twenty-two years ago)

Agnes b. and stores in general have their best sales of the year right AFTER Christmas, so keep that in mind if you doing the shopping for yourself.

p.s. There is an Agnes b. store in Boston on Newberry Street.

― felicity (felicity), Wednesday, 23 October 2002 15:47 (twenty-two years ago)

p.s. There is an Agnes b. store in Boston on Newberry Street.

unfortunately it's only a women's one though...

― toby (tsg20), Wednesday, 23 October 2002 16:31 (twenty-two years ago)

The shame about NY is that anything you save on clothes, you'll likely spend on the extortionately high food and drink prices...

― Mark C (Mark C), Thursday, 24 October 2002 13:09 (twenty-two years ago)

Great - start this thread the day after I get back from a trip to NYC and Boston.

Both are cheaper for music than Europe but for piles of cheap vinyl Boston won hands down. I suspect with the high rents guys in NYC can't afford to stock loads of stuff that someone will eventually pay one or two dollars for. That said the same stuff was often twice the price in NYC - also city centre record shops in boston were pricier than suburban ones.

― tigerclawskank, Thursday, 24 October 2002 13:17 (twenty-two years ago)

one month passes...

thread revival cos i'm going next week - suggestions of gd places for men's clothing especially appreciated.

― toby (tsg20), Thursday, 5 December 2002 14:30 (twenty-two years ago)

Barney's Coop is bloody expensive but does have great stuff. I think its 11th or 12th in chelsea.

― Ed (dali), Thursday, 5 December 2002 16:43 (twenty-two years ago)

how expensive is "bloody expensive", ed?

― toby (tsg20), Thursday, 5 December 2002 18:45 (twenty-two years ago)

$50 designer t-shirts. $150 jeans. Good stuff though.

― Ed (dali), Thursday, 5 December 2002 18:51 (twenty-two years ago)

ooh, that's not too bad at all! i was expecting you to say something more like two or three times as much. i'll definitely check it out.

― toby (tsg20), Thursday, 5 December 2002 20:10 (twenty-two years ago)

they also have $500 t-shirts. I had to try one on just because I could.

― Ed (dali), Thursday, 5 December 2002 20:14 (twenty-two years ago)

Hurrah! I've finally found the thread that I own!

I don't even live in NYC but I'm obsessed with it, see my blog for the excruciating details.

The deal with sales tax, if I remember correctly, is that you don't get taxed on items costing less than $100. So when you go to Barneys, you'll likely be paying tax on everything. But you can sign up for their credit card and get 10% off that day's purchases, negating sales tax. Other department stores will likely have the same deal.

As I'm a girl, I can't help you quite as much with store recommendations, but give me some ideas of what you like and I'll try. A good starting point for deals is NYSale. Also pick up a copy of Time Out New York as soon as you get in the city; they'll have ads and a listing of sample sales.

Here's one for next week from NYSale:

The Designer Warehouse- European Items Priced -$29
The Designer Warehouse
Warehouse Sale

No holiday shopping event would be complete without high profile designer names like Ferragamo, Dolce & Gabbana, Exte, Cavalli, Gigli, Versace, Versus, Fendi, Jil Sander, Ferre just to name a few. The Designer Warehouse has all assorted designer sportswear from the above listed designers including blouses, pants, skirts, dresses & jackets priced at $29 Orig. Retail $145 - $1995.

Yes, we've given you another great reason to shop!

Sale Begins: 12/4/2002
Sale Ends: 12/12/2002
Sale Times: Wed - Fri: 11 AM -8 PM (12/04-12/6)
Sat - Sun: 11 AM - 8 PM (12/07-12/08)
Mon - Wed: 11 AM - 8 PM (12/09-12/12)

Location: The Designer Warehouse
600 Broadway
(Corner of Houston & Broadway)
2nd Fl.
New York, NY 10012
(212) 334-1034

515 Broadway
(btwn. Spring & Broome)
New York, NY 10012
(212) 334-1034

Payment Type: Cash/VISA/MC/ AMEX

― teeny (teeny), Thursday, 5 December 2002 20:36 (twenty-two years ago)

The Adidas Classic shop in Soho (if you're into that sort of thing) was like my mecca.

― Aaron W, Thursday, 5 December 2002 20:47 (twenty-two years ago)

There's this store in the Broadway/Canal vicinity that had kick ass things, Levi's and CK's real cheap and a nice velour sweatsuit.

― Ally (mlescaut), Friday, 6 December 2002 00:51 (twenty-two years ago)

Ally: OMG?

The Adidas store is wicked.

― jm, Friday, 6 December 2002 04:26 (twenty-two years ago)

Ally, my brother would be there in an INSTANT.

― Dan Perry (Dan Perry), Friday, 6 December 2002 05:17 (twenty-two years ago)

three weeks pass...

I forget who originally asked this, but now is the best time for a shopping trip to Agnes b. homme. The sale started yesterday -- 50% off and you can do some serious damage.

― felicity (felicity), Saturday, 28 December 2002 02:24 (twenty-two years ago)

That's fantastic. We definitely need a trip to an outlet mall soon. What about the one in Riverhead? There's also a JC Penney outlet and a Lord & Taylor outlet relatively close, unless it got closed. And Target! We have no Target in NYC :(

― Ally (mlescaut), Saturday, 28 December 2002 08:47 (twenty-two years ago)

they're building one on Broadway

― felicity (felicity), Sunday, 29 December 2002 23:22 (twenty-two years ago)

two months pass...

Thread revival for the purposes of asking: can anyone recommend a really good NYC shop for buying your American country andswestern music? I didn't have much luck last time.

― Tim (Tim), Monday, 10 March 2003 16:38 (twenty-two years ago)

one year passes...

Can anyone answer Tim's question? I can't think of anything besides Tower. Housing Works Café on Crosby Street had some used c&w records last time I was there though. It's also a nice, mellow place to take a place from the ravages of Soho.

― Mary (Mary), Tuesday, 6 April 2004 14:25 (twenty-one years ago)

I dunno, but I really can't wait until the next Agnes B sale. There are some really cute pinstriped shirts that I'd like.

― phil-two (phil-two), Tuesday, 6 April 2004 15:57 (twenty-one years ago)

I bought up all the remaining Safari and Castle and House pillows (on Markdown!) at Mogu.

― gygax! (gygax!), Tuesday, 6 April 2004 17:04 (twenty-one years ago)

I honestly can't think of a single record store that has an *unusually* good c&w selection; they always treat c&w as one of the unloved bastard child sections. Colony Records, maybe? (Which, IIRC, is the Brill Building, ooh la la!)

― Michael Daddino (epicharmus), Tuesday, 6 April 2004 17:14 (twenty-one years ago)

I bought up all the remaining Safari and Castle and House pillows (on Markdown!) at Mogu.

you also texted me last night by accident, silly goose.

― lauren (laurenp), Tuesday, 6 April 2004 17:18 (twenty-one years ago)

"on accident" ;-D

― gygax! (gygax!), Tuesday, 6 April 2004 17:19 (twenty-one years ago)

i was very worried for a few minutes. i thought perhaps there was an emergency. a real one, not a drinks emergency.

― lauren (laurenp), Tuesday, 6 April 2004 17:49 (twenty-one years ago)

for music, also go to Academy music (18th, btw 5th and 6th Aves). Everything is 2nd hand, but about half the 2nd hand is still wrapped / review copies etc. Prices for most CDs = $4 - $9. They have a good amount of electronic, reggae and rock, but it's in jazz and classical that they're really amazing.

― paulhw (paulhw), Tuesday, 6 April 2004 20:28 (twenty-one years ago)

haha gygax in drunk texting frenzy shockah.

― Ian Johnson (orion), Tuesday, 6 April 2004 20:38 (twenty-one years ago)

Mooncurser Records on City Island, run by a really old man, has a really good country section, but goodness me is it a long slog on mass transit.

― Dickerson Pike (Dickerson Pike), Tuesday, 6 April 2004 21:25 (twenty-one years ago)

I might be up for driving, but it's gonna be a tight squeeze to get many more folks than Tim and me in my Volkswagen.

― Dickerson Pike (Dickerson Pike), Tuesday, 6 April 2004 21:27 (twenty-one years ago)

Casting back further, there's a Target going into the new shopping center being built above Flatbush Station of the LIRR (at Atlantic and Flatbush).

― Dickerson Pike (Dickerson Pike), Tuesday, 6 April 2004 21:28 (twenty-one years ago)

It's just the 6 train to the last stop and a short bus ride to City Island. The commute's not as long as it would seem.

― stockholm cindy (Jody Beth Rosen), Tuesday, 6 April 2004 21:29 (twenty-one years ago)

my roommate went to Mooncurser yesterday and says it's overpriced.

― hstencil, Tuesday, 6 April 2004 21:30 (twenty-one years ago)

it is, but most of the stock is 50 percent off anyway.

― stockholm cindy (Jody Beth Rosen), Tuesday, 6 April 2004 21:33 (twenty-one years ago)

yeah but $20 for Taking Tiger Mountain after the 50 percent off (meaning it was priced at $40) is just plain retarded.

― hstencil, Tuesday, 6 April 2004 21:34 (twenty-one years ago)

but otherwise he had a good time. And he says the bus ride from the 6 train only takes about 5-7 minutes.

― hstencil, Tuesday, 6 April 2004 21:34 (twenty-one years ago)

That is ridiculous, but you don't go there to buy Taking Tiger Mountain, you go there for all the rare shit that's been out of print for 25 years.

― stockholm cindy (Jody Beth Rosen), Tuesday, 6 April 2004 21:47 (twenty-one years ago)

City Island, The Bronx

― Mary (Mary), Wednesday, 7 April 2004 01:45 (twenty-one years ago)

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