FIT & Garment District
 

My daughter, and I, hope to come to NYC, for a college visit @ FIT. I thought it would also be interesting to walk around the garment district. we will only be visiting for a day.Any suggestions, insight..?My daughter also loves to shop. I am from upstate NY , and not familiar with the city.

OK, maybe I'm brain dead. Not being from New York (notice how I actually spelled it out!), please give me a clue as to what FIT is.<BR><BR>If you don't , I'll be FIT to be TIED.<BR><BR>Huh????

How to you plan to get to NYC? You can take Amtrak into Penn Station and the garment district is only a short walk. After visiting the school, hop on the N or W train at the corner of 32nd and Broadway and take it downtown to the Canal Street exit (Soho/Chinatown) If you and your daughter enjoy shopping, Soho is a pretty good place. The subways are safe and easy to use. Send a reply if you have any detailed questions. Good luck.

Note to Huh? - FIT is the Fashion Institute of Technology<BR><BR>Rachel - "shopping" is a relative term. If your daughter is into designer products at low prices then you might check out Century 21 down in the Financial District or if she's working on a more restricted budget perhaps a stroll down lower Broadway (from Union Square down) will get you past plenty of stores that cater to a younger crowd. If you want to get a feel for the commercial business narture of the garment ditrict it's important to come on a weekday. The sides streets in the mid to upper 30's (about 36th to 40th) between Broadway and 8th (also some places heading towards 6th and out towards 9th) are full of fabric vendors, wholesalers and tucked away in the upper floors of non-descript buildings are shops where many garments are assembled. The larger more prestigious firms will have offices out on Brooadway or 7th Avenue. Look for the large sculpture of a needle and button at or near 41st and 7th. There's an info booth there that can provide you with info on the Garment District. FIT is just a bit further down at the top edge of Chelsea. Lots of good cafes and small restaurants in Chelsea. if you like Mediterranean style food, I can recommend Gus's Figs Bistro for lunch or dinner. It's on 27th between 7th and 8th a few yards from FIT. My other favorite in that neighborhood is Maroon's - upscale dinner place that serves Jamaican and Southern - reservations required as it gets busy. Here's a link to dining options in Chelsea <BR><BR>http://www.geocities.com/~cititour/citimenu/Chelsea/chelsea.html<BR><BR>There's so much else to do.... hard to know where to start and you'll have limited time. If ytou have never been to Times Square or haven't been in many years it's really fun to see - big, flashy and glitzy - not my favorite place to hang out but it always amazes me. Likewise with Grand Central Terminal - the restoration now allwos the magnificence of this structure to really be appreciated. Advise us of how you're getting into the city and how much time you'll have aprt from the school tour. On that basis folks are likely to have more specific suggestions.

The website following is one that has a lot of different websites involving shopping in New York, including sites that will list the special sample sales in the garment district that you would otherwise not know about.<BR>http://gonyc.miningco.com/cs/samplesales/

FIT = Fashion Institute of Technology. I dated a girl who went to school there. I met her at a nightclub (she was dressed very fashionable of course), later on that night her and I were wearing only our birthday suits.

FIT, Just wondering why a man who is clearly trying to come across as a player is making a post at 12:15 on a Saturday night? I mean, shouldn't you be out or something? <BR><BR>Rachel, the area in and around FIT is not particularly good for shopping. There are some stores but you might find Soho more interesting. You might want to hit the Macy's on 34th and Broadway and then take the subway to Soho.

thank you for all the info. The type of shopping , we are interested is bargain , clothes. I am planning on driving to NYC, but not sure whether I am going to drive in or get a bus or train actually into the city. We have to be at FIT at noon, and then plan to spend 3 hrs. there,so we have very little time to do much. I'm sure shopping will be the main activity, and a quick bite to eat. This a low budget, day. Thank you R

IMHO there is some great shopping in the Garmet district. Some of my best buys and bargins have been acquired in the herald square area (34/broadway)The area offers everything from Macy's to Conway to little independent boutiques on 7th and 6th avenues... and it is near FIT so you don't have to waste time travelling and you can check out times square to boot. If you do want to travel by train, Soho is great (but pricier, I've found). Downtown, Century 21 is awesome and the stores nearby on Fulton leading down to the South Street Seaport are good too. Remember that you can bargin with small boutique vendors and will most likely walk away with some sort of discount. Oh, I love NYC!!!!

Rachel,<BR><BR>FIT is not far from 34th St so after your tour of the school, you might want to head up to 34th and 6th to Daffy's and H&M which is a new store, youngish crowd. Conway also in the immediate area is a good place for casual cloths, tee shirts, jeans etc.<BR><BR>Daffy's is also in Herald Square and worth a visit. The store carries label clothing at discount prices. <BR><BR>FIT is a very well known and respected school in the area. Hope all goes well with your visit.<BR><BR>tweedy<BR><BR>