I ended this past summer with a nice whirlwind tour from Baltimore to Toronto, hitting New York City and Montreal on the way home. Believe it or not, it was my first time in New York and obviously, I was very excited since fashion is a big part of my life.
New York is the closest thing that any of us can get to Paris or Milan without a plane, so I was happy to be in such a famous and fashion-forward city. I was excited to check out some of the usual chic spots - and some of the unusual too.
I walked down Fifth Avenue; it was nice, but did I bother going into the Prada, Fendi, Cartier or Saks? No. There's no reason to waste my time ogling clothing that I couldn't buy without maxing out my credit card.
I've been a big promoter of low-cost, high-quality clothing for a long time. A couple examples of such stores are H&M, United Colors of Benetton, Zara and the like. But when I was in New York, I had my eye on another store: Uniqlo.
The store is a Japanese-based specialty retailer of private-label apparel, or SPA. And for all the hype and good business it garners, it has only one store in North America.
I didn't know much about the store, but I knew of its reputation, and it was damn good. So I coaxed my family into going to SoHo with me, where the flagship store is located.
First off, it should be noted that this lone Uniqlo store is massive. I mean three floors of just rack upon rack of clothing, not to mention ceiling-high shelves filled to the brim with more clothing. I was already in love, but I hadn't even scratched the surface.
Uniqlo, as I came to find, is very much like Los Angeles-based American Apparel, except that the clothes are much cheaper and, in my opinion, less ridiculous and more wearable.
The store has everything: a variety of colored skinny jeans, graphic tees, wool sweaters, trench coats, blazers and dress shirts, all of great quality and at an affordable price. It's very much a store in which you can find exactly what you want.
I had been looking for a new pair of dark, slim-fit jeans. What I found was a pair of dark, slim-fit jeans, not made from regular washed cotton, but of raw selvage denim.
I was thrilled because I was about to buy $80 worth of jeans for half the value but more so because selvage denim is rare to find for such a good price these days.
The difference between selvage denim and regular denim is that selvage denim is not typically washed or distressed (think American Eagle jeans from high school).
What enthusiasts love about the raw texture of the material is that the jeans fade and crinkle over time to produce an authentic worn-in look, not a manufactured one - it is unique to the wearer.
I must have tried on these jeans about 10 times before finding the right one (remember talking about fit last week?). So that was success number one.
I was even happier to find a fine cotton cardigan in dark gray ($20) that not only fit well but could be worn in casual and formal situations. I even went on to find a dress shirt in black and white houndstooth, a unique piece of clothing by any standard ($30).
At Uniqlo, you don't necessarily have to be a hipster to buy the clothes. There's something for everyone, as demonstrated by the dress shirt my dad bought and the skinny green jeans my younger brother bought.
What it comes down to is this: In times like these - and any time, for that matter - we as consumers should be maximizing our efficiency. That is to say, we should be getting the best quality for the lowest price. Uniqlo is an example of a brand that lets you do just that.
So that's why I loved shopping in New York: Uniqlo. I highly encourage anyone who lives there or who is visiting to drop by as well, because there are some things you just have to take advantage of while you have the opportunity.
