We are taking our Honeymoon trip to NYC. It is my soon to be Husbands first time there. I have been there many times but mostly for just shows.

We are very interested in going shopping since Xmas will be right around the corner. Any suggestions? Where is it you find all the knock offs? Chinatown?

Thanks

Congrats!

Canal Street in Chinatown is the main location for knockoffs. You'll be able to buy them cheaper here (and with a better selection) than from street vendors in other areas of Manhattan. You can usually talk them down in price.

Other places to shop:

Century 21 Department Store for designer clothing bargains. Located across the street from the WTC site.

Bloomingdale's on E 60th & Lexington.

Broadway in SoHo, between Houston and Canal Streets has lots of shops - both chain shops (H&M, Old Navy), funky expensive shops, and funky cheap shops. West Broadway is good too...much more upscale.

5th Avenue in the 50s has the big old NYC stores like Tiffany's, Neiman Marcus, Bendel's, etc.

5th Avenue in the teens has your regular mall stores...Express, J. Crew, Nine West, Victoria's Secret, etc.

6th Avenue in the teens/low 20s has bargain shopping like Filene's Basement, TJ Maxx, Burlington Coat Factory.

Madison Avenue on the Upper East Side has upscale, expensive shopping.

33-34th Street around Broadway (Herald Square area) has Macy's, the Manhattan Mall, H&M, and a bunch of other stores - mostly chains. However, THIS is the area to AVOID before Christmas. And all the time, actually...it's jam-packed with people.

There are a TON of other areas to shop in in NYC...I'm sure I didn't list all of them.

Don't forget DAFFY'S. 57th St. between Park and Lexington. Another one on Madison Ave. I think at 44th or 45th St. On the corner.

OK, now that I have plane tickets and a hotel, I'm ready to move on to the important stuff. Tell me more about Canal street? Many times I compliment someone on a great purse and they say they got it on Canal Street.

Are they cheap versions or just knock offs are discounted prices or stolen or what?

The bags, watches, etc. on Canal Street are knock-offs of real items. Look carefully at some of the logos and you will notice that the Fendi F's are really E's. I got a "burberry" bag this fall and it had a "kate spade" lable on it. Since that was mixing marks, the girl took that one off and put a "burberry" one on. Obviously, the bags are made from much cheaper materials, the patterns don't match, and the linings are cheaply made. But if you'r like I am and only really want the bag for one season (and the it goes to goodwill), you will not mind paying $20-$50 for it. As for the watches, again, look for odd and off brands. If you look you can find all of the Rolexes, patek phillipe and cartier watches you want (wearing a cartier with a hot pink band today) for about $20-$30. They generally last two years and then quit. In about 15 years of shopping there, a couple of times a year, I have only had one watch die before the week was out, and I have probably bought about 30 watches over the years.

sounds like I should buy if I like it, and willing to take the risk on the quality. If the prices are reasonable enough it may be worth buying a handbag for fun!

Look at high end catalogues/websites before you go to see what styles are hot in the stores, and then look for them in chinatown. They're usually about a half season behind, but that's not too bad! I find that the north side of Canal Street tends to have better merchandise. Also, there'a a "shop" towards the west part of canal (it is on a corner) that has the most amazing "diamond" earings, and lots of "silver" I bought a pair of what look like 2 carat diamond studs for $6.00. They have sterling posts and the stones sparkle brilliantly.

Have fun, bargain with the stall owners and stay alert!

Neiman Marcus on Fifth Ave.? When & where? Does this mean Bergdorf's no longer accepts the Neiman charge card?

Whoops! I don't know why I said Neiman Marcus. Must have been stuck in my head from my recent outlet shopping trip.

http://www.nyctourist.com/shopping_fifthave.htm

This is a good link for 5th Avenue shopping...it lists all the stores there.

There is a Neiman Marcus in Manhattan?

Make sure to check out the two Filene's Basement stores in Manhattan. They carry name brand merchandise, but it is greatly discounted. I was there in May and bought a Jones of N.Y. suit for $35.