As the fashion capital of America and a worldwide fashion hub, New York City is overflowing with a crazy range of flagship shops, small boutiques and mega department stores. This summer, I have had the opportunity to explore many different shopping areas. Here are some of my favorite neighborhoods and streets ideal for any fashion lover or avid shopper.

Soho

Soho is the designated “cool” tourist neighborhood with every imaginable “cool” store you can think of.  While it might be busy, the area is vibrant and has some great destination stores such as Reformation, Opening Ceremony, Off-White, etc.  There are also a lot of pop-up stores and concept places such as the Glossier Flagship.  For window shopping, nearly every major design house has a location around Soho.

Flatiron District

The area around the Flatiron building and Madison Square Park has a lot of major flagships found inside cool Gilded Age era Neo-classical style buildings lining the avenues and streets.  Many mid-range stores such as Club Monaco, J Crew, Madewell, Anthropology, Intermix, Tory Burch and Brooks Brothers have huge flagships in this area.  The crowds are less around this area too which is a huge plus. 

Upper West Side

The Upper West Side area around Lincoln Center and along Central Park boasts an array of slightly trendier and more reasonably priced stores than its east side counterpart.  European favorites such as Joie and Maje have large flagships here, along with popular American jean companies Paige and AG.  The area is also super cute and quiet.  

Chelsea

Around the High Line are some of the nicest streets in the city.  They are lined with luxury apartment buildings and designer stores.  A lot of New York contemporary designers such as Rebecca Taylor, Alice and Olivia and DVF have their flagships in this area, and Chelsea market is full of all sorts of local goodies and artisan crafts.  Seek out bargains, window shop and admire the street art in the popular urban revival neighborhood.

Hudson Yards

The newest and coolest complex of Manhattan, Hudson Yards’ epicenter includes a giant 5 level luxury mall that is unlike any mall I have ever been to.  The stores range from high-end designer shops to fast fashion places like Zara and popular places like Aritzia and Lululemon.  What’s great is that the ac is blowing and the cool marble interior makes for a fun indoor experience on a hot summer day.  The 5th floor holds New York’s first and only Neiman Marcus.  They give it their all to give shoppers a modern retail experience.  

 5th Avenue and Madison Avenue

Throughout Midtown, 5th Avenue to Lex Ave are for the most part very touristy and not very worthwhile in terms of shops.  However, the general area that borders central park is home to many of New York’s iconic department stores.  Window shop at the massive Bergdorf Goodman, experience the newly reopened accessories and shoe departments at Saks, and take advantage of the many boutique designers being featured at Bloomingdales.  Walk further uptown to Barney’s which is truly an experience for any fashion fan and admire the window displays of designer flagships along Madison Ave.