GO SHOPPING: Thousands of Irish will be defying the credit crunch and crossing the Atlantic this winter to snap up bargains in US shops and outlet centres, writes Fiona McCann
'EVERYTHING'S FREE in America," as the song goes. Well, maybe not exactly free, but it sure is cheap these days, and even New York, whose retail delights for so long remained excruciatingly out of reach of your average Irish consumer, has become pleasantly affordable for euro-totin' shoppers on the hunt for a bargain.
Even the shop-allergic can be lured with the promise that two days of shopping in Manhattan can yield the fruits of 12 months of hard retail slog anywhere else. It is New York, after all, and there's nothing you can't get. With so many goodies to choose from, the only difficulty can be working out where to start - and often, when the retail high takes over the rational brain, when to end.
Manhattan itself is just over 20km long and less than four kilometres wide, which may not sound like much, but it can be hell on foot and even worse in taxi traffic, or when you're lugging your own bodyweight in bags through its ancient subway system. The key with this jam-packed island of bargains is focus, and with limited time for those on a weekend blitz it's worth making pre-travel decisions about what you're looking for and how to find it all without losing your mind, or the run of yourself.
For the time-poor who are looking for a little of everything at good ole American prices, a catch-all department store is the obvious option, and where to start but Bloomingdale's (59th Street and Lexington Avenue, 00-1-212-7052000, www.bloomingdales.com)? The chain's flagship store is an art-deco delight with 10 floors of merchandise, including fashion, cosmetics, children's clothes, homewear and luggage.
Through the fog of perfumes and powders you'll find plenty of designer brands along the lines of Armani, Anne Klein and Theory. With swish restrooms and marble lifts, it is a perfect first stop for the new-to-Manhattanite, with all its dizzying consumer delights conveniently arrayed under one roof.
Its slightly downmarket, downtown equivalent is Macy's, on 34th and Broadway (00-1-212-6954400, www. macys.com), boasting more art deco, 11 floors (if you count floor "one and a half") and its own array of sunglasses, swimwear, fragrances and fashion.
Both stores offer 11 per cent discounts to those presenting a foreign passport, available from their visitor centres.
If neither of these fulfils all your department-store desires, there's also Barneys New York, on the Upper West Side (660 Madison Avenue, 00-1-212- 8268900, www.barneys.com), or nearby Saks Fifth Avenue (611 Fifth Avenue, 00-1-212- 7534000, www.saksfifthavenue.com).
If you're on a serious bargain hunt, breeze all the way down to the island's tip and, beside Ground Zero, you'll find Century 21 (22 Cortlandt Street, 00-1-212-2279092, www.c21 stores.com), where bargains galore await those ready to rummage.
A cacophony of accents and languages will remind you that you're not the only foreign bargain hunter to come to this Tower of Babel of bargains. Be prepared to roll up your sleeves and dive into rails and rails of clothes that require some serious attention before they produce the occasional gem. The shoe department alone (follow the footprints) is a great leveller, where Jimmy Choos rub heels with Converse trainers in a melee of footwear that would challenge even the fiercest foot fetishist.
For something really different, trippers to New York need to seek out the treasures in the city's myriad boutiques, with New York's neighbourhoods yielding their riches to the pavement-pounders.
Take the East Village, for instance, tucked east of Greenwich Village between Houston and 14th Street with Tompkins Square Park right in the centre. This is where funky, fetish and far-out fashion meet in the side streets of Alphabet City. Muscle past the tourists around St Mark's Place and you'll find shops such as Tokio 7 (64 East Seventh Street, 00-1-212- 3538443), a brightly painted rack-filled den of second-hand designer goods, or Trash and Vaudeville (4 St Mark's Place, at Third Avenue, 00-1-212- 9823590), home to rubber dresses, mesh shirts, vinyl pants and leather everything.
NoLita, southwest of the East village but north of Little Italy (hence the name), is where the urban professionals planted themselves in the 1990s, bringing with them some upscale retail outlets and plenty of one-off boutiques. For a sample of what the area has to offer, try A Détacher (262 Mott Street, 00-1-212-6253380), with its unique high-fashion designs, or Christopher Totman's environmentally-friendly eco outfits (also 262 Mott Street, 00-1-212-9257495). All this without mentioning the delights of SoHo, where Marc Jacobs, Prada and Louis Vuitton have all set up shop to tempt Manhattanites to part with their beloved greenbacks.
If a wander through New York's natty neighbourhoods is more your style, comfortable shoes are a must, and plenty of time must be factored in for the sundry stop-offs at cafes, bakeries and restaurants en route, to replenish burnt calories.
If it all seems a little intimidating for non-Manhattanites who are failing to channel their Carrie Bradshaw instincts, help is at hand from companies offering an insider's guide to the city's shopping maze, in the form of shopping tours.
"A lot of people come to New York and know the big stores, like Macy's or Bloomingdale's, and that's where they wind up shopping, but there's so much more out here," says Ella Goldin of Chic Inspiration (www.chicshoppingtoursny.com). "If you were walking the streets on your own, you might never come across them."
This is where Chic Inspiration and its team of New York natives come in, offering to help Irish shoppers get the best from their limited time in New York. The company offers four shopping tours of the city: a tour of SoHo and NoLita, a tour of the East Village, an All About Accessories tour and a tour of discount shops.
"Anything you're looking for you can find in New York," says Goldin. "There's just so much here, so much available in terms of shopping, things you can't get anywhere else in the world. It's really worth it"
First, then, we take Manhattan - and, frankly, given the myriad options on offer in the Big Apple, it's probably all that will fit in the suitcase.
Bringing it all back home
• Before you go rushing off stateside, it's worth noting there are limits to what you can officially bring back.
• People coming to Ireland from outside the EU are allowed goods to the value of €175, plus the excisable- products allowance. For under-15s the limit is €90.
• If you go over this limit, you could be liable for import charges, which include a 12 per cent customs duty and 21 per cent VAT. In plain terms, if customs officers catch you, your $800 (€550) party dress could cost you close to $300 more when import duties are taken into account.
• But is anyone really likely to be stopped by customs for indulging in a little retail therapy abroad? Revenue says more passengers may be stopped around Christmas time, though officers are more likely to be looking for illegal substances than your Gucci handbag.
•Customs officers aren't the only concern of shoppers lugging back bargains from their US sprees. The toll that heavy suitcases take on your arms is nothing compared with the toll they can take on your wallet.
• If you are flying to, or from, the US in economy class with Aer Lingus, you are allowed to check in a maximum of two bags each, with a combined weight not exceeding 36kg. Anything over will cost you, with excess between 36kgs and 46kgs charged at €40 and excess between 46kgs and 64kgs charged at €80.
• Those finding bargains on Samsonite or Louis Vuitton should also be prepared to pay - Aer Lingus charges €80 per additional bag. Most other airlines have similar charges.
• And before you go thinking you can maximise on cabin luggage, they'll catch you there, too. Aer Lingus insists the maximum dimensions are 56cm by 45cm by 25cm, with weight not exceeding six kilograms
Top tips for US shopping
• ResearchFor up-to-the-minute information on finding the best bargains, get online and head straight for www.nymag.com, which boasts a sales and bargains section with all the hottest tips on what to look out for. Alternatively, Dailycandy.com offers free advice on the latest deals available at your destination of choice. Zagat brings out an annual New York City Shoppingguide, while Time Out'sweekly New York listings magazine includes a shopping section with up-to-the-minute tips and trends.
• CouponsOutlet malls, and even some stores, have VIP membership that offers discounts on goods purchased. Check for coupon pages online, or coupon booklets, often available with bus tickets or at information centres.
• Visitors' centresIn big department stores, head straight for the visitors' centre and flash your foreign passport for a discount card that can entitle you to savings of more than 10 per cent.
• SalesFind out when the sales start. In the US, Black Friday is the beginning of the holiday shopping season (November 28th this year), but Columbus Day sales (October 13th) and Election Day discounts (November 4th) are also common.
• Sales taxesFactor in the New York city sales tax of 8.375 per cent, but be aware that you don't have to pay this on clothing or footwear that costs less than $110 (€75).
• Shop aroundJust like at home, prices can vary in New York, so use this as an excuse to broaden your shopping horizons, and pound those pavements like a true Manhattanite until you find the best deal.