Sunday, August 30, 2009

NYC Garment District Trip


Sorry I've been absent from the blog world lately. I've just been busy with life. Kids are still home for summer break so pretty much all my time has been spent with them.

I did get a chance to escape to for my day trip to the NYC Garment District/Fashion Center with my friend. This was such a fun experience. This is not a place to go if you are looking for quilting fabrics but it is a place for dress makers, clothes designers and anyone wanting to build their stash with fabulous fabrics. I have to say you need a plan to get through all the stores. It is some what over whelming. I found some stores seem to be duplicates of each other so you really want to hit some of the more popular stores (Paron, Lace Star, Elegant Fabrics, BQ Trimmings, Spandex House, Mood (never made it there), Steinlauf & Stoller, etc.).

My friend, Colleen, is a dress maker at Murhpy Dresses and she was there for several items that she really needed for her customers. We searched high and low for the things she needed. It was quite adventurous ... She has some good stories on her site, especially about our hunt to find NY Fashion Center. It was fun searching and hunting in all the shops for the items she was looking for. She had some good luck with her finds. I was there for the pure pleasure of just looking. I was able to pick up a few a goodies (of course).


These African print fabrics really caught my attention. I purchased them at Fashion Fabrics for approx $5/yd.



Paron Fabrics was my favorite store. Probably because they carried the types of fabrics I like to work with (cottons) ...

Here's the nice man at Paron cutting my $2/yd sweet treats fabric..


Elegant Fabrics had every type of fabric imaginable .. faux furs, shirt fabric, suit fabric, silks, organza, cotton, etc. You get the idea ...


Nothing but lace at Lace Star ... (very cool)


A store with nothing but trimmings. Fun, Fun...
BQ Trimmings ...

Need a zipper ... Go to Steinlauf & Stoller ... I had fun here looking at every color and size imaginable of zippers. They also carried many threads, and notions here.



Spandex House ....
Here are photos of a few other places we were able to visit...


Ladies, if you'd like to go shopping with the guys then just drop them off here at the Midtown Comic Book store.
We shopped to the very last possible minute. We really wanted to sit down at a nice NYC restaurant for dinner but time got a way from us. We stopped at Pret "Just Made' for a sammie .. It was quite yummy (grilled chicken, fresh mozzarella, tomato, lettuce with balsamic vinaigrette)


At last, we get to sit and rest while we wait for our bus to pick us up at beautiful Bryant Park ...

Stop for a game of ping pong in Bryant Park ...
Great trip! :)

Monday, August 10, 2009

NYC Garment Distrcit ... Here I Come !

I'm very much looking forward to a day trip to New York City's Garment District with one of my best buds (you know who you are). My friend is on a hunt for some specialty fabrics where I am just going for the joy of going and have no particular need for anything. I'm sure once I get I step foot there I will have a "need". I've been past the Garment District several times but have never had the chance to visit. I have drooled over the number of shops and the awesome statue of the Garment District worker as we drove through the Garment District area on several occasions. So I can't wait to actually get there to see and touch all the fabric, notions and whatever other exciting things there to see there.

The New York Garment District

From what I have read ... The NYC Garment District, also known as the Fashion District, was originally fully retail, until the gradual moving of retailers uptown. What remained was wholesalers and warehouses.

The district is now home to a high concentration of garment and fabric manufacturers, wholesale distributors, designer studios, brokers and factory sales reps.

After a quick research online I have found the following places that interest me and will try to visit while we are there.

B&J Fabrics (High end fabrics - probably going to just look & feel the fabric in here. :))
M&J Trimming (All kind of trimmings - oh my!)
Steinlau and Stoller (Notions, and more notions. Can't wait to see this.)
Panda Threads (Threads, etc. - A store just for specialty threads - cool!)
The City Quilter (3,000 bolts of 100% cotton fabric!)
Paron Fabrics (I've read they have wonderfully discounted fabric)
Lazzara's Pizza (Ok, we need some place to eat .. heard it's the best thin crust pizza)

Lindsy T, of Lindsy T Sews (Again), has a blog totally dedicated to shopping in the NYC Garment District. Have a look, she has some great information here and you must see the wonderful clothes she has made!



Ta-Ta for now. I will be back soon with an update on our adventure to NYC's Garment District.

If you have any favorite fabric shops in the Garment District, please leave a comment with the name of the shop and I will try to pay a visit while there. Thanks!