I'll be shopping this weekend...

I'm about to finish packing some things and then I'll be heading out to New York City for the weekend. I've altered my travel plans to include buses and trains so that I can avoid having to drive and worse yet, park in this terrible weather. In case you live in a bubble, the entire northeastern US is getting hit with all sorts of crazy precipitation and intense winds, making for a less than ideal weekend away. But since I have plans to meet up with some good friends, I'm braving the bad weather and heading to the city. What am I looking forward to the most? The shopping, of course. I love to shop, but I love shopping with friends even more. And Saturday afternoon is going to be devoted entirely to girl time spent shopping. I dig it. So you may be wondering where I like to shop, right? Of course!

It's actually quite rare that I end up in the city shopping without an agenda for work. Of course, if I see something work related that I can't pass up, I'll probably get it, but right now there isn't exactly a plan to shop for work. Anyway, that being said, whether I'm shopping for life or shopping for work, I still tend to go to a lot of the same places.

For starters, I could spend days in the garment district. I wrote a post a couple of months ago - a sort of beginner's guide to the shops there. Click here to be taken to that post. It's a pretty decent summary of where to go for what. I love to browse the fabric stores because they offer an endless supply of inspiration for me. They also offer an endless means to drain my checking account, but that's ok.

Next, when looking for the BEST in bargain clothing, I head to Daffy's. It's less expensive than Marshalls or TJ Maxx, but with even more interesting, unique, European clothing. It's super-cool menswear HEAVEN at Daffy's, but there are plenty of great clothes for women as well. The Daffy's in Herald Square is my favorite because it's the largest, but there's one in SoHo, and a few in and around mid-town.

Canal Street is a lot of fun, especially if you are looking for a bargain knock-off. I always go to the city thinking I don't want one, and somehow I almost always end up getting one anyway. If you've never experienced Canal Street and Chinatown in NYC, I strongly recommend you do it- even if it's just to do it. There's a whole lot of junk in that area, but the hustle and bustle of the environment is infectious. Also, there are a few cute stores down there like Amsterdam, Necessary Clothing, American Apparel, and of course plenty of Starbucks. And if you're interested in the knock-off experience, it's actually really fun. Since it's so sketchy, a lot of the sellers have gone "underground" so you'll be taken into a back room or basement area where you'll find all the faux-designer bags you could ever want. It's fun to do it, even if you don't buy anything. Also, haggling on prices with them is really fun. I got my faux-Birkin for half the asking price.

Finally, when in the city, it's important to keep your eyes peeled for new and interesting stores. They pop up all over the place and you never know when you'll stumble across the showroom of an obscure but budding fashion designer hosting a sample sale. Score!

Leave a comment and tell me about your favorite NYC shopping destinations, or your faves outside of the city, too- I'd love to hear about them all!