34th Street Weekend Pick: Urban Outfitters

Urban Outfitters

It's time for Urban Outfitters Best of the Season Sale, so visit Herald Square soon for a good selection of sweaters, boots, and instant cameras! 1333 Broadway at 35th Street

Weekend Pick: Bryant Park Holiday Shops

It's getting serious now. Colleagues are starting to panic: "I haven't gotten anything yet, I need to ship out gifts!" So this weekend's pick is a little one-stop shopping effort to cover a lot of your holiday list: Bank of America Winter Village Holiday Shops at Bryant Park.

Bryant Park is our sister company, and occasionally we like to share when she's doing fabulous things, and the Holiday Shops are always FABULOUS...

Like Bergie's Sock Shop (kiosk C1), above,where you can get Mr. T socks and subway socks (get $2 off when you buy two pairs)...

...or the park's eponymous shop (kiosk A6) where you can buy their iconic bistro chair as an ornament, or get a calendar illustrated by popular French artist Penelope Bagieu...

...or stock up on treats like Woops! Macaroons and Cookies (kiosk K9)...

...and so much more, with boutique eye frame shops, wooden games and puzzles, a great selection of food packaged and a la carte, you're sure to complete your entire holiday shopping list. Happy holiday shopping!

Bank of America Winter Village Holiday Shops at Bryant Park

40th and 42nd and Fifth and Sixth

Mon - Fri: 11am-8pm

Sat: 10am-9pm

Sun: 10am-6pm

Black Friday Picks on 34th Street

Deals abound on 34th Street for Black Friday, and below is a small selection. Happy Thanksgiving and happy holiday shopping!

#1. Macy's Herald Square

Macy's Black Friday "Walk in and Win" begins 6pm Thanksgiving evening. Along with Macy's unbeatable doorbusters and specials, customers will have the chance to win big prizes using Macy's mobile app while shopping in store. Go to http://social.macys.com for more info and to download the most recent Macy's app!

151 West 34th Street between Broadway and Seventh Avenue

Open 6pm on Thanksgiving Day - 11pm on Black Friday

#2. Express

50% off everything! I like Express sweaters, tights, cute boots, and their One Eleven collection.

7 West 34th Street

Open 2pm Thanksgiving Day - 10pm on Black Friday

#3. Gap Herald Square

50% off everything! Stock up on 1969 jeans and some cozy holiday pjs. 

60 West 34th Street

Open noon Thanksgiving Day - 11pm on Black Friday

#4. H&M
Pre-Black Friday deals are going on now with up to 60% off. Black Friday deals start at $4.99, with scratch-offs for the first 100 people worth up to $300.

1293 Broadway at Herald Square
435 Seventh Avenue at 34th Street
47 West 34th Street at Sixth Avenue

#5. Uniqlo

Doorbusters on Black Friday 6am-9am with $1, $5, and $10 deals.

31 West 34th Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues

Closed on Thanksgiving Day

Open Black Friday 6am-9pm

#6. Urban Outfitters

Take an extra 30% off sale items and enjoy select sweaters for $39, flannel for $29, and much more.

Open Thanksgiving Day 6pm
1333 Broadway at 35th Street

34th Street Weekend Pick: Old Navy Friends & Family

Today only get 50% off your purchase at Old Navy! Stock up on cozy pjs, big sweaters, and great jeans for the holidays, and start knocking some names off your holiday list! See store or oldnavy.gap.com for details. 150 West 34th Street between Broadway and Seventh Avenue

34th Street Weekend Picks: Desigual, Gap's Peanuts Collection

Desigual
Mid-season sale: buy one get the second (equal or lesser value) for 50% off select items in store and online. I am adoring what Desigual is doing these days, so stop by the Herald Square store and try on this Spanish retailer's fabulous prints and pants. 958 Avenue of the Americas (Sixth and 35th Street)

  

  

Gap
I can't go on enough about Gap's newly-released Peanuts collection for baby and kids. CAN NOT rave enough. I must buy everything with Snoopy and Woodstock on it. Or that refers to Snoopy and Woodstock. OR IS A CHEVRON HOODIE. We really heart Charlie Brown and the whole Peanuts gang in our house. And yes, the movie must be seen as soon as it opens in theaters. My only complaint? We need Lucy, please, because nothing is better when  The Doctor Is In. 60 West 34th Street at Sixth Avenue

  

  

From the Archives: "Gentleman Jim" Corbett's on 33rd Street

Today our 34th Street archivist Anne Kumer shares some history of the 34th Street district. This post also appears on NYC Circa.

James "Gentleman Jim" Corbett was the heavyweight boxing champion in 1892. He won the title in the 21st round of a fight with the (so far) undefeated John L. Sullivan. Boxing was still illegal in most U.S. states in the late 1800s; New York State didn't legalize it until 1896, and it wasn't made an Olympic sport until 1904.

James "Gentleman Jim" Corbett, 1910. Image: LOC

Corbett legitimized the sport for many by bringing grace and style to the ring. This, along with sharp dressing and a rumored college education earned him the nickname "Gentleman Jim." He followed his career in boxing with a successful one in stage acting. Sometime in the late 1800s he opened a cafe on Broadway, just north of 33rd Street, and named it Corbett's.

Corbett's on Broadway and 33rd Street looking north, 1900. Image: MCNY

Corbett's fit in well in the neighborhood, then an area full of restaurants, bars, and smaller theaters. Actors and publishers were known to drop by, and it was conveniently located near the elevated Sixth Avenue train.

34th Street, where Sixth Avenue and Broadway meet, with the Corbett's sign on the left, 1901. Image: NYPL

The turn of the century brought big retail to the area, and many of the buildings in the neighborhood were razed to make way for large department stores. Andrew Saks bought the properties on the corner of 34th Street where Sixth Avenue and Broadway meet, including the Corbett's building. Saks built his 34th Street flagship store on that corner in 1901. Gimbels followed one block south with a store in 1910, and in the late 1930s, the elevated train went underground.

Saks 34th Street, 1955. Image: MCNY

Though the 34th district is populated with plenty of bars and restaurants, retail still dominates the streetscape. 

34th at Broadway, 2015. Image: 34SP, Anne Kumer

From the Archives: Tammany on 33rd Street

Today our 34th Street archivist Anne Kumer shares some history of the 34th Street district. This post also appears on NYC Circa.

A short distance from Corbett's, on 33rd Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues, in an inconspicuous townhouse, was one of the city's most notorious gambling halls, the House with the Bronze Door. With lavish interiors designed by Stanford White of McKim, Mead and White, and an entrance fortified by a reclaimed 15th century bronze door, the House kept the wealthy in, and unsympathetic lawmakers out. (There were plenty of sympathetic lawmakers at the poker tables too.)

Men playing cards c. 1900. Image: LOC

Players won big and lost bigger in the House's gaming rooms, which included roulette, poker, baccarat. In case of raids, guests could escape through a secret route via an adjoining building. Owner Frank Farrell used the profits from the House with the Bronze Door to fund over 200 other illegal gambling dens throughout the city. He also used the profits to bribe members of law enforcement, most of who belonged to the Tammany Society, a corrupt political machine that controlled city and state politics for decades.

Harper's Weekly cartoon by William A. Rogers showing NYC Chief of Police "Big Bill" Devery collecting "taxes". Image and further explanation: Harp Week

Members of the Tammany Society were widely known to accept and require bribes and selectively enforce laws. Public approval of the organization fluctuated, though its powerlessness in the face of Tammany was recognized by several media outlets. With low rates of literacy, satirical cartoons reached a much wider audience than written diatribes could. It was a winning hand, and they accomplished in part, what Tammany feared the most, exposure to, and criticism from, the public. One of the most notable cartoonists was Thomas Nast of  Harper's Weekly. Throughout his years at the paper, he produced a huge number of sardonic cartoons for the heavily circulated weekly, often showing Tammany as an irate tiger destroying everything in its path.

Harper's Weekly cartoon by Thomas Nast, November 11, 1897 showing Tammany tiger mauling democracy (depicted as Columbia with a crushed ballot box by her side) in a Roman Colosseum as Boss Tweed cheers from the stands. Image: OSU

Reformists, such Reverend Charles C. Parkhurst and Jerry McAuley played huge roles in publicizing Tammany's wrongs through well-attended sermons. In 1891 Reverend Parkhurst inaugurated a campaign against Tammany Hall. He gave sermons throughout the city denouncing public officials, and made it his personal mission to shut down all gambling halls. The effort eventually succeeded with the closure of several gaming rooms throughout the city, including the House with the Bronze Door in 1908. The defeat was celebrated in person and in print, though the Tammany Society would continue to operate in some form or other for several more decades.

Reverend Charles C. Parkhurst enjoys a brief victory over Tammany in this cartoon by J.S. Pughe, printed in an 1894 edition of Puck. Image: LOC

Further Reading:
1. Dash, Mike. Satan's Circus: Murder, Vice, Police Corruption, and New York's Trial of the Century
2. Halloran, Fiona Deans. Thomas Nast: The Father of Modern Political Cartoons
3. Gilfoyle, Timothy. A Pickpocket's Tale
4. Santé, Luc. Low Life

34th Street Weekend Picks: JCPenney, City Streets, and Pandora

JCPenney

Things to look for this weekend at JCPenney: adorable Nicole by Nicole Miller party gear (40% off), pretty MNG by Mango tops (30% off), and this fabulous line called Belle & Sky (40-45% off). Manhattan Mall lower level one, 33rd Street and Sixth Avenue

City Streets
Once you go Birks, you never go back. Now I need a pair in every color. Get the white on white at City Streets on sales for $69 and complete your collection. Also, there are UGG slippers on sale and up to 75 % off select shoe styles. Manhattan Mall ground floor, 33rd Street and Sixth Avenue

Pandora
Buy two rings, get one free: It's a fabulous ring party at Pandora, and we are all invited. 1284 Broadway between 33rd and 34th Streets

34th Street Weekend Picks: H&M Sale, Skechers Sale, and Uniqlo x Lemaire

H&M

Get up to 70% off this weekend at H&M Herald Square, and H&M Herald Square, and H&M 34th Street. I love saying that. Yes, we have TWO H&Ms in Herald Square that sit catty-corner from each other at the 34th Street/Broadway/Sixth bowtie, and one more down the street on 34th and Seventh. The windows at the latter are looking gorgeous, yes? Now go shop one of our three H&Ms on 34th Street and pick up some trendy deals.

  

Skechers
I love this sale: buy a pair of shoes and get 30% off a pair of boots. I would so get a nice pair of kicks for my man and then, natch, boots for me. Skechers really gets its shopper. 140 West 34th Street between Broadway and Seventh Avenue

Uniqlo x Lemaire
Let's not wait on this one. Although RackedNY tells the French label fans to return on Monday for restock and previously only-available-online items, I would not tempt the fabulous collab fates. Stop by this weekend at Herald Square, which RackedNY recommends shopping, check out stock, then return Monday if you think it's worth the hype. And trust me, it's worth the hype. I have big respect for Uniqlo's collabs and this one is a great fit. 31 West 34th Street  between Fifth and Sixth

34th Street Weekend Pick: Levi's

Levi's
Buy two pairs of jeans and get 30% off. Or, use code FRIENDSFIRST online for 50% off a $250 or more purchase, and 40% off $125 and up. I love Levi's pullovers (see below). Also, kids and baby online is up to 40% off! All around a fabulous time to shop Levi's, especially if you want really, really cute white ("winter bloom") overalls. NEED.
45 West 34th Street just east of Sixth Avenue

Fashion Week Spring / Summer 2016: Hanley Mellon

Hanley Mellon

Inspired by Havana, the Hanley Mellon husband/wife duo cranked out a show full of fun, unexpected prints and truly delightful, wearable separates. It's refreshing to view during fashion week a whole collection of colorful sportswear with a hip twist (see head scarves, pointed-toe buckle boots paired with everything). Long, sleeveless tunics, short flirty skirts, and a group of cool whites make Hanley Mellon a go-to for work and play. Highlights included side-wrapped bronze pants paired with a long checked jacket, and the overall modern '70s vibe with a Cuban twist, neither of which, thank goodness, were taken too far. Just right perfectly sums up this breezy and covet-able collection.

  

Fashion Week Spring / Summer 2016: Angel Sanchez

Angel Sanchez 

Angel Sanchez presented a collection of evening gowns and jumpsuits in a variety of bright colors and contemporary shapes. His background in architecture was evident through the designs geometric cuts and the futuristic materials gave way to a distinctly modern feel. Sanchez was able to keep the collection feminine and fun with lighter than air dresses in bright tropical colors, including yellow, pink and orange, and large floral patterns. The light materials screamed spring and hand-cut flowers clustered around the wait and necklines were an interesting way to incorporate detail. While any woman would love to get their hands on any piece, my favorite look was the black crinkle organza ballgown. In a close second was the orange jumpsuit, perfect for any big night out.

      

      

      

      

All photos from WWD