To consider NYC shopping trip if I can't afford designer clothes?

[NeverYouMind123]

When (if!) the pandemic ends and we're allowed to travel again I'd love to (hopefully / if I can) finally visit New York. I love shopping and I hear this is the ultimate city break, I'd do some sightseeing and visit museums and Central Park etc too. But when I Google it, I get the feeling most of the shops are Chanel, Louis Vuitton etc and I'm more "normal" high street, markets and department stores etc. Can anyone who has been before advise me please? I'll be going alone...

There are loads of high street stores there. Like London if you want high end, you can buy high end.

Century 21 is your friend. A bit like TK Maxx - designer brands v cheaply priced. How the £ against the $ is shit so not huge bargains to be had as there were a few years ago.

There are plenty of 'high street shops', some the same as here, like H&M and Gap, but some US based chains like American Eagle and Madewell.

All the department stores will stock some names you recognise and some new to you. Century 21 is like a massive TKMaxx with last years versions of Calvin Klein etc, so plenty to be getting on with

Macy's has a range of prices too.
There are plenty of normal priced places but of course they have the high end designer brands particularly along 5th avenue which is nice for a walk along.

I go a few times a year for work, and its not too different to London in terms of selection and price.
High end areas are full of high end shops, but thats no different to Bond St, Knightsbridge, etc

Hotels and eating are steep. Take a lot of money.

I was there last year. Plenty of cheaper shops.

Eating and drinking is eye wateringly expensive though. I grabbed a smoothie on the go and it cost me $10.

My son was there in January, he bought nikes, AirPods, me a Tiffany necklace but mostly high street type stuff but did shopping on the last day after sightseeing (he’s 18) took girlfriend for her 18th, he’s going back in January next year (well had planned to) I’m sure you’ll have an amazing time and maybe get to peek into some of those shops. Chanel is only one I like, just to look though.

A smoothie shouldn’t cost $10! There are plenty of places where you can get cheap food. NY is just like London or anywhere else, there are rip-off tourist places, and regular places local eat and shop.

For fashion, NYC has fantastic designer clothing sales, and consignment stores where you can buy last season or second hand high end designer clothes at cheap prices.

We often go to NY.

Shopping is not much different to the West End and certainly no cheaper. But it is fun to do Bergdorf's, Bloomingdale's, SAK's, Barney's etc if you haven't been before.

We prefer the indie shops in the West Village.

RapunzelinQuarantine My BIL lives in NY with his wife, food there is very expensive even for those that know where to go. They shop around when they can, have a few places were there is friend prices/discounts but still costs them a fortune.

If you go schedule time for one of the outlets, I love Woodbury common but I believe another one may have opened since I was last there.
Bargains galore.
Century 21 is fab but very cluttered I found although it was a number of years ago that I went x

My go-to places for bargain designer or higher quality high street clothes are Nordstrom Rack, Macy’s and the Saks outlet stores. I also love Bloomingdales. Don’t forget to take your passport and register with customer services before you start shopping as an overseas visitor as you will get a large discount because you won’t pay local sales tax.

The £ is so shit at that moment that New York just feels eye wateringly expensive. By all means go and sightsee but high street shops work out cheaper here. I was there a couple of months ago and was queuing to pay in GAP. Had a quick Google and everything I was planning on buying was available in the UK and cheaper. I put everything back!!

I used to live there. Shopping is the same as here, you have your high street brands and designer.

High street - GAP, Banana Republic, LOFT ( equivalent of maybe next/Dorothy Perkins) Ann Taylor (linked to loft but for older women). Abercrombie, Madewell

They have J Crew which is high street but more expensive.

Macy's is the cheaper end of department stores.

They have lots of European stores now Zara, H&M, all saints etc but they are more expensive than here unless there's a good sale.

Gone are the days when you could get really cheap jeans, uggs etc as the exchange rate is rubbish now. They might be a bit cheaper but you don't get the bargains that you used to get a few years ago. Although they do have "holiday" sales (their bank holidays) which are usually very good so can depend on what time of year you go. Check out their bank holiday dates.

NYC is amazing and one of my fave cities but it’s expensive! DH and I went in 2008 when the exchange rate was around $2 to $1 and it felt relatively cheap then.

However, shopping might seem cheaper but beware they don’t include taxes in the prices displayed in shops, so I had a couple of shocks when i got to the till. DH treated me to a designer bag for a big birthday while there in a business trip and by the time he’d paid the taxes it would have cost the same to buy it in London.

Same with restaurants and cafes etc - by the time you’ve added on taxes and gratuity/tips every time you buy a beer/order a meal/ grab something from a cafe/ get a cab, it can add up to a pricy trip. I love the US and have travelled a lot there but always feel a bit rinsed by the time we get home.

I still love it though. We have a 17 month old DD at the mo so are planning our next trip for a couple of years when we feel ready to leave her with Nanny 😆.

Woodbury common is worth a bus trip. We used to shop there more than anywhere else when we lived there. Again, more discounts on "holiday" weekends and get a discount book from customer services.

You need to look at the exchange rate. When I went last year it was not good so things weren't cheaper really. That said we didn't do outlet shopping so there may be bargains there!

Lots of normal high street chains in NYC, OP, it’s like every other big city in the world you’ll find everything from knock off street vendors to haute couture and everything in between on the same street! As others have pointed out, it’ll be the exchange rate that determines what you’ll be able to afford not the range of price points in the stores.

Would you really save any money? After air fare and hotel, plus the cost of eating and drinking, you also have to consider you'll be liable for duty when you arrive back into the UK if you have £390 or more worth of shopping. The exchange rate is great for us in the US right now, but awful for you folks in the UK. That may change, of course.

Yes, you’d get a holiday out if it too but whether it’s really worth it for high-street-type clothes is debatable. No big savings and the clothes are the same as you’d find in the UK. If you’re going there for other reasons too, then fair enough. But to come over here just for average clothes shopping? Waste of money.

I’ve been to NY and the shopping is not that great, don’t get your hopes up. Absolutely not better than in London. In fact, I think London is shoppers paradise, better than NY.

I used to go to NY pretty often for work; when I got the chance to shop, I would usually hit up Old Navy (cheaper version of Gap, love their jeans and activewear), Express (great for work clothes - they have a shirt that comes in a range of interesting patterns which I always buy and always get great comments on) and Sephora. I always pay a trip to DSW for shoes if I can - you get some designer bargains but I also buy things like converse. I like it in particular because all the shoes are out and you don't have to talk to anyone. None of those are NY specific although there just so happen to be branches of all of them on 34th Street which was close to my office and my train terminus so it was all very convenient.

Go to Vegas, same shops, nicer weather, cheap food and drink and plenty to do.

Don't forget to take into account the extra tax you'll pay on your shopping when you return to the UK.

Please don’t fly to another country to go shopping for clothes.

When the pandemic ends and we’re allowed to travel again I really hope that the radical action we have taken in response to COVID-19 will help us see what needs to be done to tackle the climate emergency.

Shoppers gonna shop @Llyn, but nice try attempting to influence strangers on the Internet, because that works so well doesn't it?

But it is an odd thing to do: fly to New York to go clothes shopping.