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Discount
Shopping in New York
What's a sure sign that
you're a true New Yorker? You never
buying clothing at full price. Seriously,
many New York insiders know that if you
time your shopping trips carefully, and
control your desires to buy, you can pick
up some excellent bargains, not just at
discount stores, but at the
top-of-the-line department stores as
well.
Some Rules For
Successful Shopping
- Keep an open mind.
You might need a pair of black
slacks, but if you just look for
black , you'll miss out on some
great stuff. And you may not find
the slacks anyway.
- Know your wardrobe.
Don't buy the fuchsia blouse
you're in love with when you know
that color won't go with anything
in your wardrobe. Memorize, or
keep a list, of the
"holes" in your closet
and be alert to everything on the
racks.
- Shop end of season.
While there are bargains to be
had all year round, end-of-season
is when you'll save the most.
- Just because you
don't find something, don't judge
the store a loser. Discount
stores are hit or miss - one day
you'll walk out empty-handed,
another day you'll drop several
hundred dollars.
- Be patient. Make
sure you're in "shopping
mode." You need patience to
go through racks one item at a
time, especially since the items
are jammed in and sometimes
falling off of the hangers.
Discount Stores
Bolton's
Moderate priced clothing at very good
prices. Practically everything is under
$75. I bought a cream colored silk
oversized shirt there with lots of
wonderful design elements and detail. I
get compliments on it every time I wear
it. There are Bolton's stores all over
the city, but the best location is at
57th Street between 5th and 6th Avenues
(up the block from the beautiful -- but
pricey -- Bergdorf Goodman).
Burlington
Coat Factory
Good source for Liz Claiborne and
moderate priced coats. Not too far from
Forman's on John and Gold Streets, so do
both at the same time. Location: Park
Place between Church St. and West
Broadway. By subway, take the N or R to
City Hall, or the 2 or 3 to Park Place.
Century 21
They bill themselves as "New York's
best kept secret," but truthfully,
most New Yorkers know all about this
discount emporium, having named it the
best discount shop in the city. As with
other discounters, you may have to dig
deep to uncover the best bargains, but
trust us, your hard work can really pay
off with some superlative steals.
Daffy's
The city has several locations, but my
favorites are the mid-town store on
Madison Avenue and the larger store on
57th Street. You may find yourself
sifting through lots of dross to find the
gold, but it is generally worth it.
Daffy's offers women's, men's and
children's clothing and shoes, plus some
housewares.
Fine & Klein
Fine & Klein has the best prices and
best selection of designer handbags.
Expect to save 30%. Location: 119 Orchard
Street A note on the Lower East Side:
many stores there sell underwear,
stockings, and bedding at a minimum of
20% off. Walk around, have a good time.
The stores in the area are closed
Saturday, open Sunday. If you want some
help in finding the bargains, take one of
the free, one-hour tours of the Lower
East Side shopping bargains that begins
each Sunday at 11 am at Katz's
Delicatessen (Ludlow and East Houston
Streets). For more information about this
tour, call (212) 226-9010.
Loehmann's
The mother of all discount stores is
Loehmann's, located in Queens, the Bronx,
Manhattan and surrounding suburbs. In
their "Back Room," you'll find
designer merchandise with names you'll
recognize at large discounts. They sell
women's clothing, shoes, accessories,
coats and handbags. My favorite bargain:
I had my eye on a Calvin Klein yellow
linen jacket at Lord & Taylor, priced
at $280, too rich for my blood at the
time. At the end of the season, the
jacket was marked down to $200, but I
still didn't want to spend that much. On
a visit to Loehmann's, I found the
jacket, label still in, for $100. But it
was August, and the store was clearing
out all their summer merchandise, giving
an additional 40% off so I got the jacket
for $60! Locations: Manhattan store: 7th
Avenue between 16th and 17th Streets.
Take the #1 or #9 subway to 18th Street.,
or the #2 or #3 subway to 14th Street.
Bronx store: Take the #1 or #9 uptown to
the 238th Street station.
Sym's
This is not my favorite store, but a lot
of people have success here. Sym's
carries women's and men's clothing; men
will have reasonable success with suits.
Locations: Sym's has two stores in
Manhattan: 42 Trinity Place (by subway,
take the N or R, or #1 or# 9 train to
Rector Street) and 400 Park Avenue at
54th Street (take the E or F to Lexington
Avenue and walk back a block).
S&W
There is no better place for an enormous
selection of designer coats at excellent
prices. S&W is run by orthodox Jews
and is closed Saturday, open Sunday. My
favorite bargain: I wanted a dress coat,
trimmed with fur. I saw a Perry Ellis
black cashmere swing coat with mink
collar and cuffs at Saks Fifth Avenue,
priced at $1300. I called S&W, gave
them the style numbers from the ticket,
and they said they had the coat. At
S&W, the coat was $900 and I had it
shipped to a friend's house in New Jersey
(no tax on clothing in NJ) and saved the
sales tax. Location: 7th Avenue and 28th
Street. Take the #1 or #9 train to 28th
Street. Or, take the #2 or #3 to 34th
Street and walk the few blocks to the
store.
Department Stores
Department stores can be
sources of real treasures if you can wait
for end of season sales. While there are
sales all year round, and on holidays -
e.g, coat sales on Columbus Day - end of
season will get you your best buys. And
the nice part about buying in a
department store is that you can always
return merchandise if you change your
mind (you can even make returns by mail).
Note that L&T and Saks have the best
return policies. The New York department
stores that have the best sales are:
Barney's
660 Madison Avenue
Sarah Jessica Parker once told Vanity
Fair, “If you’re a nice person
and you work hard, you get to go shopping
at Barneys. It’s the decadent
reward.” Well it doesn't have to be
so decadent, if you keep your eyes open
for Barney's semi-annual sale, where
people stand in line for hours to grab
fabulous, fun clothes at great discounted
prices.
Bloomingdale's
Main Store: Third Avenue and 59th Street
SoHo: 504 Broadway
It's hot, trendy, busy and
exciting. It's like "no other store
in the world." Either you love it or
you don't. You'll find stuff there you
won't find anywhere. And sales in their
non-clothes areas are frequently
excellent, too, so watch for sales on
home furnishings as well as spectacular
discounts on clothing.
Lord &
Taylor
38th St. and Fifth Avenue
L&T has instituted a series of
discounts that make for fabulous bargain
shopping. First they market down an item,
say, 40%. Then they'll have a sign on
some racks saying "Take an
additional 25% off." Then, as they
get ready to bring in new merchandise for
the next season, they'll run coupons in
the newspapers, taking an additional 10%
or 20% off any item already on sale.
Recent bargain: navy wool Anne Klein II
slacks, originally $200. I paid, after
all the discounts, $81.
Saks Fifth
Avenue
50th St. and Fifth Avenue
A wonderfully elegant store. Shopping
without turmoil. Pricey merchandise but
great markdowns. Recent bargain: brown
wool Donna Karan slacks, originally $395;
I paid $236.90.
Sample Sales
Now that you've got a taste
of the discounts that NYC has to offer,
perhaps you're ready for the big time!
Try out New York's famous sample sales,
where top fashion designers try to recoup
some of their investment in the sample
outfits they make to show to store buyers
by selling the samples to the public.
Click over to our related article to
learn more.
by Barbara Mehlman
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