Your shopping exprience in new york
 

Hi Everyone,
I have a few shopping questions:
1] is century 21 in manhattan a good place to shop or would it be better to go to the NJ outlets? [ looking for sports shoes, young fashion, and so forth not designer bags]
2] where is the closest mega Walmart and Target stores [ not small city branches] to Manhattan?

Can you share your experience?

The culture of New York City is not to shop at malls or chain stores, even though they continue to make incursions into the city.

There was a GAP on the corner of St. Mark's and Third Avenue that closed becasue only tourists would shop there and there was a concerted effort by the neighborhood not to.

Any time a box store tries to open, there is usually public opposition. There are literally thousands of independent stores in NYC which NY'ers support. I am not even sure where a large Wal-Mart exists and there is a Target in Queens.

The stretch of Fifth Avenue from 22nd St to 15 Street suddenly has all the mall clothing stores, seemingly arranged in alphabetical order.

I worked downtown for twenty years and I would get anxious every time I entered Century 21. It is thousands of people fighting for the last pair of socks in NY. There is a frenetic enrgy that permeates the store. If you go avoid lunch time and never, ever go at any time the two weeks before Christmas.

i heard you need to be at Century 21 at least by 8.00am to be able to shop with ease otherwise it gets crazy busy...my sister said she walked in and then walked out straight away - she cant shop like that haha
we might go but im not into designer labels too much...

im more keen to find American labels that we cant get here
like JCrew, Anthropologie..i heard Forever21 is dirt cheap, guess the quality must be too..
im looking forwar to exploring the little boutiques in the village to get inspired ....

There are no Walmart or Target stores in Manhattan, not even "small city branches." Manhattan does have two Kmarts, which I know are not the same thing.

There are Target stores in the Bronx and Brooklyn, both accessible by public transport. went to the Brooklyn Target once and was incredibly disappointed--not very well-stocked and pretty messy. I'm not sure if the Bronx store would be the same. Some offer good reports of Target near a PATH train line in New Jersey.

At the websites for Walmart and Target, I'm sure you'll find a "store locator" option that can help you find these stores.

Century 21 is not where I'd go for sports shoes. DSW (discount shoe supermarket), Sports Authority and Modell's would be better I think. For "young fashion" it depends on how young and whether it's for male or female.

As mentioned above, both walmart.com and target.com will have a store locator. Put the zip code of your hotel in and it will list nearest stores. I have no idea what you mean by "not small city branches." There's a Target in Queens, Brooklyn and Jersey City. Whether they are "small city branches" by your definition, I have no idea.

For large fully-stocked branches of Walmat or Target you will probably need to rent a car and go to New Jersey. (New Yorkers hate these stores and have done everything possible to keep them out of the city - as in not allowing them the zoning variances they would need, or allowing them to put heavy truck traffic routes through heavily populated residential areas.)

Century 21 tends to be more upscale, designer or semi-designer stuff - not great for sports shoes or uber trendy teen type attire - although you night get stuff at Filene's basement or H&M.

Union Square has a Filene's, DSW, and I believe a Forever 21 as well. Filene's and DSW are both discount stores. DSW in Union Square has a huge range of shoes - I tried on a pair of Marc Jacobs flats last time I was there, but they also have the usual (last season) athletic shoes.

J Crew and Anthropologie both have stores very close to Rock Center. In fact, there are a fair number of standard mall stores (such as Banana Republic and Abercrombie - though Abercrombie always has a line, for reasons defying my understanding) mixed in with the high end stores on 5th ave. below 60th or so.

Ok, here I can really help you out with ideas.

In Herald Square, there's:

Conway for younger and dirt cheap clothing made pretty well. That's where I always go for summer jeans, tees, and household stuff. 35th and Broadway. Macy's is across the street.

From there head to Daffy's, another really good discount store, and you will find good quality for very reasonable prices. 34th and 6th Ave.

From there continue down 6th Ave and you will find Burlington Coat Factory, huge men's section upstairs and good prices throughout the store. 23rd and 6th.

A block or 2 down from there is Men's Wharehouse, again good shopping there, but it can be hit or miss. 20th and 6th I think.

You're now down to 18th and 6th to Bed Bath and Beyond, Filene's and the top floor is (drawing a blank on the name,,,,,,) another wellknown discount store. Will post back if I can think of it, or I'm sure someone will remember it for me.........



Heading further down

TJMaxx above Filene's on 6th Ave?

thanks for the tips.
travelbuff - "very reasonable prices. 34th and 6th Ave." that's great info

kientruc10: For anme-brand discounted sports shoes you will not really find anything in Manhattan at all. For those you really need to visit an outlet mall. There are occasional sales.

Daffy's is always hit or miss, and it's much more downscale than Century 21, so keep that in mind. In my experience, the Daffy's at Herald Square has always been a disappointment.

If you are looking for name-brand young fashions, then neither Conway nor Daffy's is going to do it for you. H&M is popular and cheap; Forever 21 is popular and cheap. Quality is just not there for either one. You'll do just as well as American Eagle on 34th Street than anywhere else. But for JCrew, you'd have to find an outlet if you want discounts, unless your visit coincides with a sale.

The best outlet mall on the east coast is about 90 minutes north of NYC. It's Woodbury Commons in Harmon, and it's accessible via regular bus service from Manhattan. But the real positive aspect of that mall is the very upscale designer outlets like Prada, Gucci, Dior, etc. If you just want regular outlets like Nike, Reebok, and Ralph Lauren, then you don't have to go there. There are some outlets closer to Manhattan in Secaucus (car needed) and other places ... also on Long Island.

I absolutely hated Century 21 - I would avoid it like the plague. It was crowded, the lines for the dressing room were loooong, none of the shoes in the shoe department had the proper mate, and the clothes all looked very tired and "shop worn." My girlfriends and I all agreed we can definitely skip Century 21 on future shopping visits.

My Ds and I love Century 21. We have been twice, both right at 7:45 am opening time. You can shop for a several hours before other stores are even open. You have to have patience, but there are no crowds or long lines if you go early in the morngin.

The girls also loved the stores on lower Broadway (Desengual [sp?], Top Shop, etc.) but the best shopping was in the little boutiques a few blocks over in Nolita. Some are very pricey but others are not. You just have to be brave enough to go in and look at price tags.

The girls hated the Herald Square area. They just aren't into department stores so Macy's was a bust, and Conway and Daffy's weren't to their taste.

Why come to NYC to shop at NJ Malls?
One thing to know is that the selection at the store in NYC sometimes vary from the stores in other cities. So although it may be a chain store, some of the selection will be unique to NYC.

For young fashion shop on Broadway in Soho between Canal and W Houston. You will find H&M, Mango, Top Shop, Forever 21, Uniqlo, Guess, Zara, Armani Exchange, Madewell which is a J Crew affiliate, J J crew is on Prince Street (this one has more sales items than the one near Rock Ctr because Rock ctr is for tourists and they tend not to discount there. You will also find boutiques in this neighborhood and other young fashion stores on the side streets like Prince, Spring, Mercer, etc. Keep walking on Broadway past W Houston and you'll find Urban Outfitters, French Connection, American Apparel.

Soho shopping guide here: http://www.sohonyc.com/#

Big box stores, visit Long Island, Brooklyn has a Target but it is small and selection is slim if you are not there before 10 am. But you can find some of their "designer" duds easily at the NYC area stores.

Outlet shipping: Woodbury Commons there is a bus that leaves from the Port Authority that will take you there. Plan for a full day.

ohhh Soho sounds FAB....im there!! cant wait to check out american stores like JCrew and anthropologie - we dont get those in Australia!

Thank K_brklyn BELENKY BROTHERS is near my place

bookmarking

Sports shoes in Manhattan, unless you really mean athletic gear - DSW is probably best.

I love Century 21, at any hour, but it's for real designer clothes mostly. The real pleasure there is in finding European things at deep discounts - almost everything I ever bought there is party clothes, usually at 1/5 their initial price - like a $500 dress for $100.

For young style at a pretty good price, go to Topshop on Broadway below Prince Street. It is more expensive than H&M, which I also like, and also to my mind better quality. I used to set aside 2 days of any trip to London just for them, now there is finally this one store in the US.

Right now I am particularly crazy about their (costume) jewelry. Prices are like J Crew I guess - but whatever you find, nobody else will have it. Also clothes are cut better for people who aren't totally skinny, their customer can be more of a range of ages. Oh - and the shoes are wonderful - but you won't want to wear them hiking!!