SHOP TILL YOU DROP
NOW you’ve saved money on air fares and accommodation, you are free to spend it on shopping and entertainment. The centre of gravity for bargain shopping may have shifted thanks to the flash pre-Christmas sales (Black Friday and Cyber Monday) and global digital sales (China’s Alibaba and Google Singles Day), but there’s nothing quite like spotting deep discount signs in a big New York store.
DEPARTMENT STORES
BLOOMINGDALE’S, Bergdorf and Saks all offer at least 40 per cent off normal prices and even more off major U.S. fashion lines. At J. Crew, for instance, pave bow stud earrings cost £45.75, compared with £67 at its London store.
My favourite is Macy’s, where you can expect to pay £31 for a pair of Levi 512 jeans, which is 40 per cent off the list price and far less than the £56 you’ll pay at John Lewis in London.
CUT-PRICE FASHION
MACY’S may not be fashionable New Yorkers’ idea of a proper place to be seen shopping, but the midtown megastore carries top
brands such as Thomas Pink, Ralph Lauren and Tommy Hilfiger at knock-down prices. Likewise, the best bargains can be found at a store no self-respecting Manhattan socialite would be seen dead at — Century 21. There are two stores in Manhattan, opposite the World Trade Centre Memorial and on the Upper West Side, and shoppers who are prepared to rummage through piles of fashion tat may well find items from Gucci, Prada and the rest for up to 60 per cent off the listed price. Recent examples of discounts include the classic Prada Big Bag at £1,171 (standard retail price £1,953); a St Laurent silk dress for £780, down from £2,187; and a Patrizia Pepe jacket at £108, down from £351. Salvatore Ferragamo sunglasses currently sell for £69.20, down from £240; Calvin Klein’s three-pack crew-neck T-shirts sell for £7.68, down from £30. Expect further discounts during the sales.
TECH BARGAINS
DIGITAL audio and camera equipment is good value in New York and B&H, a few blocks from Macy’s, is a magnet for tech fans. Although January discounts are yet to be announced, there are always deals. For example, a SanDisk 150 MB/s, 64GB memory card is £13, while at John Lewis the price is £59.95; a Samsung T5 1TB external hard drive costs £106 (£119.99 at John Lewis); and a SanDisk Extreme SDHC 16GB card costs £7.13, compared with £39.99 at a camera shop on Tottenham Court Road.