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Scarf Lady
Mystery revealed: Paulette Gay is the Scarf Lady. Her small boutique is crammed with hundreds of her handmade, colorful scarves, hats and other accessories.
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Seize sur Vingt
A Nolita secret, this store turns out stern, classic shirts and suits brightened by high quality material in flashy and fancy colors. It even custom fits shirts to make sure you get just the right silhouette.
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Shakespeare & Co
A bookstore with branches around the city (and in Paris), Shakespeare & Co does its best to hang on to an indie vibe, even though it's now pretty much a chain. It stocks lots of film and theater books and pays homage to the arts in many ways, including its excellent reading series with local authors.
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Sigerson Morrison
Innovation combined with surprising practicality (who would have thought we could have high-heeled flip-flops, or designer rubbers to wear in the rain?), plus a love of splashy colors have made Sigerson a hit. The store also carries Belle, a lower-priced line of its signature high-heeled, glamorous styles.
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Spring Gallery Store
A decidedly anti-establishment mentality reigns at Spring Gallery Store, where design objects like Richard Saja's Historically Inaccurate pillows are displayed in the windows. The latest in European home furnishings are sold here.
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St Mark's Bookshop
Just around the corner from St Marks, this indie bookshop specializes in political literature, poetry, new nonfiction and novels and academic journals. Don't let the slightly antisocial vibe from the staff put you off.
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Stardust Antiques
A rambling, eclectic shop with enchanting rooms, Stardust Antiques has myriad paintings, furnishings and accessories. It's particularly known for its early 19th century, Edwardian and art deco wedding bands and engagement rings. If you're romantic enough to pop the question at the top of the Empire State Building, you'll want a ring from here.
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Takashimaya
Forty-two types of tea are sold at the refreshing Tea Box café in the basement of this stunner of a store. Each of its seven stories has something different, from beauty products and a day spa (top floor), to clothes, accessories, home design and floral bouquets (bottom floor).
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The Children's General Store
Packed with stuffed animals, wind-up toys, costumes and puzzles priced for every budget. As a cute touch, it's laid out like a real general store, with dolls and toys stocked as practically as dry goods. Kids will love it. There is another store in Grand Central Terminal - it's a perfect place to grab something before jumping on a train.
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Time Warner Center
Shop 'til you drop in Manhattan's glossy urban mall, built to look like a glass-covered mountain, home to more than 40 stores, an organic market, a couple of clubs and theaters, as well as tony residences and around US$500 -a-meal restaurants.
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Tokio 7
This revered, hip consignment shop, down a few steps on a shady stretch of E 7th St, has good-condition designer labels for men and women at some fairly hefty prices. Best of all is the selection of men's suits - there's nearly always something tip-top worth trying on in the around US$100 to US$150 range.
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Trader Joe's
If you like fair-trade coffee and organic produce, beef and poultry, and have a hankering for exotic ingredients not stocked in most stores, Trader Joe's wants to talk to you. A Whole Foods competitor, this chain came to New York in 2005 and is holding its own so far.
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Underdog East
Most East Village boutiques are all about women but here, men take center stage. The low-key, exposed-brick space features high-end denim, sweaters, shirts and accessories (including some delicious cashmere hats) from designers like Earnest Sewn, Steven Alan, Filippa K and La Coppola Storta.
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Wear Me Out
A fun little boutique for 'Hellsea boys' needing the perfect outfit to wear to Roxy this weekend, this is a friendly place to pick up a pec-promoting tight tee, a pair of sexy Energie jeans, provocative undies and various types of jewelry. The flirtatious staff is full of encouragement, too.
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Zabar's
An unofficial Upper West Side landmark, Zabar's still has that special 'only-in-New York' vibe that makes you feel you're in an original Woody Allen movie. People bustle and bump around the gourmet foods discussing their lives, politics and the freshness of the gefilte fish as if they were the only ones in the room.
