Maybe it’s just a side-effect of the three thousand (no joke, they’re documented) hours I spent working on costumes for my high-school theatre department, but I always get a small thrill of fashion-related bliss when I walk through the Garment District. Something about the semi-sketchy narrow streets and the storefronts that explode with colorful fabrics and eye-catching trims always sends my imagination soaring off to new and unexplored heights. I honestly think that you can find anything in those somewhat plain and unassuming little shops - magenta ribbon, a prom dress, a sari, five yards of pleather. (I even spotted a store featuring nothing but spandex. Talk about specialization…did someone say “niche”?) Don’t believe me? Go see for yourself…
It’s easy enough. Just take the one downtown to either 42nd or 34th - it’s sandwiched neatly between the two. A specific goal for your trip is encouraged but not required - feel free to go and just soak up the history.
History? Yeah, you read that right. ‘Back in the day,’ the Garment District was the home of many of the sweatshops and factories that gave New York City its manufacturing-center bragging rights. That lasted until 1911, when the tragic fire at the Triangle Shirtwaist Company heralded the end of the sweatshop system and a new beginning for the manufacturers of the future. Today, there are still a few manufacturers in the area, and the neighborhood is also home to several big-name designers - Oscar de la Renta and Calvin Klein among them. It’s mostly gone commercial, though, with shops catering to the needs both of companies buying fabric wholesale and of Joe-Schmoes (Jane-Schmoes?) like me.
But you don’t have to be buddy-buddy with your mom’s sewing kit to appreciate the glories of the Garment District. Wander down around 38th and 7th, and you’ll start seeing stores featuring every possible variety of clothing - blue jeans, skirts, gorgeous dresses, menswear, and a magical, magical shop containing more purses than I have ever seen in a single place at once. The brands are all completely nameless and generally sound sketchy, but the quality tends to be good and the price is almost always right. Grab a friend. Go check it out this Friday. People talk about 7th Avenue and Columbus Circle, but I know I for one do most of my clothes shopping in this seriously underappreciated neighborhood. The latest reason why? An ultra-chic, supremely gorgeous dress for an upcoming formal (floor-length burgundy chiffon, if you’re wondering), recently purchased for $50. (Retail at Neiman Marcus: similar style sighted for approximately $350. You do the math.)
Go forth and explore.
There are totally multiple spandex-only stores! I went to “stretch house” on Monday and got myself some lovely silver spandex and lining…I’m currently working on an amazingly tacky bathing suit. But yeah, I had to go to about 7 different stores before I could find a zipper the other day. The people at the tassle store told me to go across the street, the people at the button store told me to try next door, etc.
Said Ginia Sweeney,
On February 20, 2008 at 12:37 pm: