Monday, June 4, 2012

Shopping In NYC 2

Someone forgot to pay the phone bill on time and Tm Net was off for one week for the Harvest Festival. It's good to be without Internet for a change. I turned to reading novels, something I've neglected since I started blogging. I'm enjoying Sophie's World immensely; it's a story about a girl in Norway who gets mysterious letters telling her to think about topics from Socrates to the creation of the world. I've never studied philosophy so this book is really thought-provoking.

It's uncanny how accurate the weather is. May was such a hot month, so hot it was like living in an oven. Never visit Sabah in the month of May. Then on the dot, on 1st June, the wind and rain came, and the whole place is a lot cooler. Perfect for planting padi.

This is my final post on New York, the city that is far above my expectations. So many friends have spoken negatively about New York (especially those who haven't been there before and those who were last there decades ago) but I'm not surprised because that was my impression too. But what a different city New York city is now. Believe me (and my friend Y who flies there frequently), New York now is one of the best cities to visit. 

I left my last two days in NY for shopping and it turned out to be a wrong move because I never really got to shop on 34th Street, where all the shops are, and I didn't do most of the departmental stores too. There just wasn't enough time in two days. The first day, we went to Woodbury Outlet. What can I say? I bought Hugo Boss shirts for less than USD70 each, DKNY shirts for USD40 each, DKNY dress for USD38, Elie Tahari dress at half price, Calvin Klein, Ann Taylor, Kenneth Cole and Banana Republic at 70% off, Le Crueset enamel and iron frying pan--in bright yellow--(yes, I did lug one home) for 40% off and Coach bags for my sister, MIL and a friend at about USD119 to USD 139 each.  The Woodbury Outlets are set in the beautiful countryside and each store is a nice little grey wooden house, something like the Napa Valley Outlets. If you don't have time, forget the outlet because there are always lots of sales in the city. I'm told that New Jersey is the place to shop if you want to avoid the sales tax. New Jersey is just a couple of subway stops from Manhattan. How come I wasn't informed...And if you don't mind the crowd, the best time to shop is during Black Friday which will fall on  November 23 this year. 

The final day, I wasted time checking out Saks Fifth (too expensive), Bergdorf Goodman (too expensive), Bloomingdales (not so bad) and finally, by evening, I walked into Macy's. Yi got excited over colored Calvin Klein jeans, only USD17 each. At the shoes department, shoes were strewn all over the floor, thousands of  pairs of shoes, all reduced between 30 to 70%! We found out later that we should've been at Macy's between 9 am and 1 pm on on Wednesdays (it was a Wed when we were there, but wrong time) because the sales can go up to 90% off! What a crazy store. I love it!

DSC_5742_1208x800

DSC_5573_1208x800

DSC_4132_1208x800

DSC_5794_1208x800
Love the display in Saks Fifth.

DSC_5816_1208x800

DSC_5795_1208x800
Rag and Bone, a clothing line that I've never heard of until they contacted my daughter.

DSC_5786_1208x800

DSC_5777_1208x800

DSC_5802_1208x800
Classy little pooch, shopping for shoes at Saks Fifth.

DSC_5815_1208x800
I prefer their bags...

DSC_5803_1208x800
The Louboutins were many classes above the other shoes in terms of style.

DSC_5807_1208x800

DSC_5806_1208x800
USD765 + tax x 3.10 = a new laptop. Or 6 pairs of discounted Cole Haans. Or 3 pairs of discounted Stuart Weitzmans. Or 10 good meals for two persons at a fancy restaurant. (Excuse the foldable umbrella; it was raining.) Wait. I think the shoes are worth 10 good meals.

DSC_5810_1208x800
Well, I thought, if I couldn't buy anything in Saks Fifth, I could always eat there. The corn and crab chowder (their signature soup) was very good, especially on a rainy afternoon, best I've eaten on the trip, and the sandwich (can't remember what) was yummy too. Whole set for USD13 including tax. Affordable. And the view of Fifth Ave (I think it was) from the restaurant of people walking in the rain was very nice. It felt very New York, I thought as I sat back and read my magazine.

That's it, New York New York.

11 comments:

fishm0i said...

Rag and bone... sounds odd alright lol.

Jasmine said...

Hi Terri,
I'm happy you like Manhattan so much! I heart NY very much myself when I visited a few years back. It is such a walkable city with the most incredible energy. Must be all those creative people living/visiting there! The minute I got off the plane in JFK and walked out onto the street, I heard 5 different languages being spoken by the people around me.

NY wowed me! I had heard from an acquaintance before that it was dirty, lots of litter, not impressive etc. But you know what, I guess I only saw what I wanted to see and felt what I wanted to feel - the beautiful buildings, the magic in the air! I'm glad I went and got my own experience of it. Even with the trash bins on the streets, and the smell from the sewage manholes, it was ridiculously easy to fall in love with it. Of course I was only there for a week and seeing through "tourist eyes", and long-term residents who live there might feel differently. But I think what makes a world-class city are the people who actually live there and make it breathe, and that's why Manhattan is so amazing. It's the New Yorkers themselves that are amazing.

Jasmine
P.s. Rag and Bone contacted your daughter?! Is she doing something with them? :)

Michelle Chin said...

Speaking of which, my mom is at the woodbury outlet just two hours ago.

She's at new york enjoying the best of it while i'm here, about to face my stats exam!

wish me luck!!!

do they cut off the internet just like that? i thought you will need to owe them a huge sum for tmnet to do something like that!

Linda said...

I lived in Sydney for 10 years. Before we moved to NY for work, our families and friends asked us to reconsider the decision because NY is not safe etc. They were wrong, I feel that NYC is safer than Sydney.

I like to shop at Lord & Taylor, it is on 5th and 38th St. I feel that Macy is too big and messy. A few years ago, I went shopping on Black Friday, it was so crowded everywhere and queue at cashier was unbelievable long. I went home without buying anything. Never again go shopping on Black Friday.

You can take PATH Train to Jersey City but those shopping outlets in NJ are not reachable by trains, you have to take bus from Port Authority. I feel that it is not worth it. I'd rather pay sales tax than taking bus to the shopping outlets in NJ.

terri@adailyobsession said...

agnes: apparently rag and bone is a british expression meaning a person who buys and sells discarded clothing, furniture etc. hm. i learnt smthing new today:)

jasmine: high 5! oh they wanted her to do a mural in a very prominent part of NYC but she got their email the night beofre our final day there so she had to tell them no. but they were so nice, they are sending her a pair of jeans after she did an online interview with them for their website. you can check it out here http://www.rag-bone.com/blog/

miche: wow really?! bet she bought tons! oh, i hope she bought some kate spade bags for you bc i got some really nice ones there, half price. tell her to eat breakfast at Prune. the other place to eat is Pies n Thighs. i'd love to see what she has to say. wish i'm in her shoes now!
yes, good luck on your stats exam. love stats, so logical haha. oh, it was a couple of hundreds:D

linda: i know what you mean about macy's. on my first time there, all i did was go up and then down the escalators. it was like you said, too big and messy. on my last night in nyc, i needed another luggage bag n got it in macy. i had some time in the shoe dept but couldn't find anuthing; was too tired. but i think if you can look beyond the messiness, there are very good buys in macys'. i wish i checked out lord & taylors. next time...ok, tt makes me feel better, what u said about NJ:) thnx, i won't go there then.

the lunch guy said...

you chose this over the Guggenheim?

LOL LOL LOL

and Hong Yi is an architect?

will wonders never cease?

sorry, couldn't resist.

terri@adailyobsession said...

lunchguy! we did many museums n one day (ok, two) of shopping in nyc is very reasonable!n if i go back to ny, i might choose The Whitney over Guggenheim!

the lunch guy said...

next trip go to Washington DC, not for the blowhards that are waging wars and ruining our planet, but for the museums ...

http://www.hirshhorn.si.edu/collection/home/#collection=home

http://www.nga.gov/

http://www.si.edu/

and the food! one of the most cosmopolitan cities on earth.

again, too bad many of its inhabitants are reprehensible politicians.

NT said...

if you like shopping, next time you're there, check out Century 21 Department Store downtown right across from the World Trade Center. They have the best deal anywhere.

For cute clothes from small boutiques, visit shops in Lower East Side.

Also, DailyCandy.com have listing of sample sales. NYC has the best sample sales.

oh, and clothes are tax free under USD110.

Nate @ House of Annie said...

NYC - no place else like it.

the shoe company said...

very good. Also visit here to know about surveys and thier rewards and coupons the shoe company

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...