14 Best Shopping in Midtown West, New York City

Competitive prices, vast inventory (new and used), and a fair return policy make this bustling emporium a favorite with both pros and amateurs looking for audio and video equipment, new cameras, computers, or tech accessories. Be sure to leave a few extra minutes for the checkout procedure; bear in mind, too, that the store is closed early Friday afternoon and all day Saturday. B&H is also known for its ingenious, ceiling-height, conveyor-belt system to move packages.

Located on the museum's first floor off the main lobby, MoMA's in-house shop stocks uniquely creative housewares, jewelry, toys, an array of art reproductions, and impressive coffee-table books about painting, sculpture, film, and photography. Across the street is the MoMA Design Store ( 44 W. 53rd St.), where you can find Charles and Ray Eames furniture reproductions, vases designed by Alvar Aalto, and lots of clever toys. You won't find more ingenious, practical souvenirs anywhere in town. (There's also a location in SoHo.)

Grade-school kids still love American Girl dolls, whose lines range from historical characters to contemporary characters, each with accompanying clothes and accessories. Bring your doll to this New York flagship in Rockefeller Plaza for a doll hairdressing salon, doll hospital, café, Dress Like Your Doll shop, design-your-own-doll station, and more.

The success of this Canadian fashion brand and retailer is reflected in having two NYC flagship stores, one in Hudson Yards, and this two-story, 12,000-square-foot emporium beside Rockefeller Center. Expect to find Aritzia's own collections of denim, active, trendy, and everyday apparel, plus a curated selection of women's clothing, shoes, and accessories from new and familiar labels.

If you're looking for a script, a lesser-known translation, obscure film, or Broadway hit, chances are you can find it here. The range of books spans cinema, music, dance, TV, and biographies. The shop also hosts events with leading playwrights.

If you're stumped on what to buy the man in your life, head to Dunhill. This London designer's exquisitely tailored menswear and accessories like wallets and cuff links are pricey but created to transcend trends.

Famed toy retailer FAO Schwarz lives on in full, fun swing at 30 Rock, occupying 20,000 square feet of prime Midtown real estate. Explore the Build-a-Bear Workshop, play with cars on a racetrack, learn magic tricks, and tickle the oversize keys of the walk-on piano keyboard—featured in the 1988 Tom Hanks movie smash Big. The store's iconic clock tower is here, too, along with its famous life-size toy soldiers, a zillion stuffed animals, and a rocket-ship centerpiece.

With more than 1 million square feet of retail space to explore, it's easy to spend an entire day shopping at Macy's massive, iconic flagship store, which stocks everything from fragrances and beauty products, to shoes and handbags, to furniture and appliances. The brand itself is legendary, having launched in 1858 and opened these Midtown doors in 1902. On the Broadway side, check out the painted streetscape (refreshed every year) for the annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.

Established in 1947, vibrant Morrell & Company takes its grape products very seriously, with an epic array of bottles from around the world, carefully cataloged by varietal, country, region, year, and winery. You also can browse spirits from around the world, available at prices from $10 to more than $100,000. Though the wine bar here closed in 2020, this shop remains one of Manhattan's top outposts for oenophiles.

If you're into simple, chic, and cheap style, Muji has you covered: the name of this popular Japanese import translates to "no brand," and indeed, you don't find logos plastered on the housewares or clothes. Instead, the hallmark is streamlined, minimalist design. The whole range of goods, from milky porcelain teapots to wooden toys, is invariably user-friendly.

Just south of Central Park is NYC's shiny Nordstrom, opened in 2019, with a unique wave-form glass facade that lets passersby peek into (and out of) its bright-and-shiny retail wonderland. The 320,000-square-foot department store occupies a full seven floors plus a mezzanine-level "beauty haven," all at the base of one of America's tallest residential buildings. The flagship offers the refined sartorial wares you'd expect from Nordies, plus children's clothing, fragrances, handbags, shoes, accessories, and more. The inventory is curated for New Yorkers with exclusives available only here, along with designer pop-ups—though it's almost entirely for women. (You'll have to cross Broadway to browse the Men's Store.) Sales can be excellent. Several cafés and the Broadway Bar (for cocktails) are within the store, as are contemporary full-service restaurants including Wolf and Jeannie's.

A fashion fixture since the 1980s, Norma Kamali has a thoroughly modern, though still '80s-influenced, line. Her luminously white NYC flagship store carries graphic bathing suits, Grecian-style draped dresses, and her signature poofy "sleeping-bag coats." 

This was the first store to sell Broadway merchandise outside of a theater. Today, souvenir posters, T-shirts, and knickknacks memorializing past and present Broadway hits still reign at this Theater District shop next to the Booth Theatre.

Theatrical posters both large and small are available here, and the selection is democratic, with everything from Marlene Dietrich's Blue Angel to recent Broadway shows like Hamilton represented.