Wednesday, April 23, 2008

New Perspective: Macy's Herald Square



I work from home, so theoretically I have the luxury of stepping away from my desk and exploring the city any day of the week. In reality, I find myself scheduling all my social activities, errands, grocery shopping, lunch meetings on the same day so I don't have to leave the house for the rest of the week. Why change out of your house clothes and get dolled up when you don't have to? It's really unhealthy, I know. I'm trying not to be a hermit.

So I've been putting off returning something to Macy's for days. City Guy and I made a purchase this past weekend on maybe my fifth trip to the store in all my years living here. I guess you could say I dread going to Macy's--Macy's and Times Square are two places where New Yorkers are always outnumbered by tourists, and tourists, bless their hearts, are there to enjoy themselves, not move efficiently, and New Yorkers value efficient movement.

So I thought I'd avoid the crowds and get there a before 11 am, and you know what? It was nice. The floor staff is helpful, smiling and pleasant. You can take your time browsing without feeling like you're in a medieval market.

It's lovely on a weekday before noon. Try it sometime.

Highlights:
  • The old-school elevators. They're wooden and so rickety you feel like some part of you is going to get caught and pull you under, but that's the fun.
  • The shoe department on the 5th floor. Even at 11 am on a Weds, as you can see, women love their shoes.
  • In a city where everyone feels the pressure to pay way too much for designer goods (myself included), it's nice to just walk the floors on an uncrowded day, not paying attention to the labels. You might find yourself stopped by a cute spring dress that's really well made, looks great on you...and then you won't care what it says on the label, except the price.

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