Fashion-Forward in Midtown East
Even the most demanding fashionistas could replenish their entire wardrobe season after season without leaving Midtown East. The neighborhood is a trove of designer apparel shops—too many for us to include here. Below are some of the best-known clothing stores in the area, as well as some we think should be better known.
Among the household names in Midtown East:
1000 Third Avenue (at 59th Street)
Bloomingdale’s takes up the block between 58th and 59th Streets, Third and Lexington Avenues. Image: Ajay Suresh/Flickr
“Like No Other Store…” is the name of a book about the fabled department store by its former chairman, and the title is appropriate. Is there a Manhattanite who has never stepped into Bloomingdale’s even once?
444 Madison Avenue (between 49th and 50th Streets)
Nine East 57th Street (between Madison and Fifth Avenues)
The New York flagship, on 57th Street, encompasses six floors of the British brand’s exhaustive offering, from clothing for women, men, and children to fragrances.
15 East 57th Street (between Madison and Fifth Avenues)
Another New York flagship, and Chanel’s largest store in the country, the five-story emporium sells just about everything imaginable branded with the interlocking C’s, including limited-edition items. A 60-foot sculpture of a pearl necklace pays homage to Madame Chanel’s famed accessory.
17-21 East 57th Street (between Madison and Fifth Avenues)
Dior on 57th Street. Image: Ajay Suresh/Flickr
If it is made by Dior, you will likely find it here in the French label’s New York flagship.
Seven East 55th Street (between Madison and Fifth Avenues)
This shop is not just the New York flagship of the German-based womenswear brand but also the U.S. flagship.
575 Madison Avenue (between 56th and 57th Streets)
You can now customize your polo shirt with one of more than 40 variations of the famed crocodile insignia. In addition to the classic polos, the store sells a full gamut of casual (but chic) apparel, footwear, and accessories for men, women, and children.
11 East 57th Street (between Madison and Fifth Avenues)
Fun fact: This Prada-owned women’s brand bears the nickname of designer Miuccia Prada, who conceived it in part to appeal to women who were younger and less traditional than the typical Prada customer.
Three East 57th Street (between Madison and Fifth Avenues)
The design house formerly known as Yves Saint Laurent sells its complete range of men’s and women’s apparel and accessories in this gleaming three-story flagship.
While these brands may not be in the public consciousness the way Bloomingdale’s and Chanel are, tastemakers know and love them.
625 Madison Avenue (between 58th and 59th Streets)
Menswear shop Canali. Image: Canali
The third generation of Canalis now own and operate this Italian menswear business. In addition to selling casual, business, and formal apparel, footwear, and accessories, the Madison Avenue store offers made-to-measure services.
520 Madison Avenue (between 53rd and 54th Streets)
This is the only full-price store of the menswear company outside of its native Rome. The family-owned business is known for the tighter Italian-style fit of its trousers and jackets, though winter jackets are cut loose enough to allow for a sweater or vest beneath them. Bespoke suits are available as well.
625 Madison Avenue (between 58th and 59th Streets)
Despite its British name, Eton is a Swedish brand. Though it began in 1928 as a dressmaker, today it produces and sells only men’s shirts, ties, and related accessories. Its vast selection ranges from paisley formal shirts to piqué polo shirts to white shirts with eight collar and 13 fabric options.
501 Madison Avenue (between 52nd and 53rd Streets)
Hickey Freeman has been tailoring its menswear from the same Rochester, NY, factory since the company was founded in 1899. The collection encompasses formalwear, overcoats, business apparel, casualwear, and accessories, and suits can be made-to-measure.
40 East 58th Street (between Park and Madison Avenues)
Nora Gardner’s womenswear is designed and made in New York, and it certainly addresses the needs of multitasking New York women. Sheath dresses that can go from the office to dinner out and simply cut tops, trousers, jackets, and skirts in a palette of solids that allow for infinite mixing and matching make up the bulk of the product range.
520 Madison Avenue (between 53rd and 54th Streets)
Founded in 1971 as a menswear brand, British label Reiss did not begin offering women’s apparel until 2000. Today, though, it is perhaps better known for its womenswear, in large part because of the assorted Reiss dresses and coats Kate Middleton (aka Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge) has been spotted in. If you like her classic but not stuffy, figure-flattering but not body-con style, this is the shop for you. The men’s clothing range offers a similarly fresh take on traditional elegance.
50 East 57th Street (between Park and Madison Avenues)
No roundup of Midtown clothiers can be complete without including Turnbull & Asser. The venerable British menswear purveyor was the recipient of the current Prince of Wales’s first-ever Royal Warrant, and Its four-story 57th Street store is its only shop outside of London. Inside you will find handcrafted boxer shorts with mother-of-pearl buttons, cashmere-blend button-down shirts, velvet smoking jackets, and silk ascots, which like all its other apparel are made in England. As you would expect, bespoke services are available.
14 East 55th Street (between Madison and Fifth Avenues)
Dame Westwood has come a long way since she was the doyenne of punk fashion in the 1970s; Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall and Princess Eugenie are now among her clientele. Among the impeccably draped and gathered dresses and camel-hair men’s coats, however, you will still find plenty of clothing, shoes, jewelry, and accessories the flaunt her off-kilter aesthetic, such as broad-shouldered cropped men’s jackets with sleeves cut to fall above the wrists and asymmetric women’s coats with oversize sleeves and exaggerated collars.