Last week’s Teen/Recessionista Shopping Tour skipped all the showy flagships and headed straight for the bargains!  From their hotel, the towncar took us straight downtown to Noho where we stopped at Necessary Clothing.  The teen found a super cute pair of gladiator sandals for just $19.99.

Next door, at Joyce Leslie, she found a lot of really cute tops and tanks while her mom browsed some of their jackets.  I figured it would be a fun addition to head over to the Juno New York Sample Sale since the mom admitted to being the shoe addict when we drove through the shoe district. I also knew that the teen was looking for some black flats and they have a huge selection of them.  The stop was a success!  Not only did the teen find her black flats, but she found a cute leather bracelet as well.

Our next destination was TopShop and the ladies were super excited after I showed the a short video about the store.  The teen was a huge fan of Urban Outfitters so I knew she’d love TopShop too.  We definitely spent the most time here.  How could we not with the three levels of endless clothing, shoes and accessories!  The teen tried on a few things while the mom found some cute clutches for just $5.

After TopShop we headed over to the West Village to the Marc Jacobs Special Items store.  The teen found a cute, hawaiian-print MJ tote and a few souvenirs for her friends at home.

As we headed back to their hotel, they enjoyed their yummy Magnolia Bakery cupcakes.

The other combo shopping tour we had last week was for a mother and daughter from the UK.  They wanted to visit some chic boutiques along with some vintage boutiques.  They were such lovely ladies.

We began the tour near Union Square and headed south on University Place where we headed to Jodi Arnold NYC and Pia.  Following, we headed over to the shoe district where they visited some of the best shoe stores in the city along with Monk Vintage, where they enjoyed browsing the unique pieces.

From here, we headed past Washington Square Park and I told them a little bit about the historical MacDougal Street.  We stopped at Cover Up and the daughter bought a cute headband that was also very practical in that, it was knitted and covered her ears.

Moving on, we walked over to Thompson Street, where I took them to Purdy Girl, where the mother found a beautiful necklace (all their jewelry was half off) and then to Stella Dallas, where the daughter found a pair of vintage shoes she absolutely loved.  I told them that we had to visit both Purdy Girl stores, so we walked to the LaGuardia Place shop next, and we also visited Helianthus, which was just a few steps away.

At this point, I figured we should go to Soho, where they could find some more mainstream contemporary fashion at New York Look.  The daughter was looking for a trench coat and I knew they’d have a good selection.  She actually ended up loving a few of their spring handbags.

We were running on schedule for once, so I suggested we go to the Meatpacking District.  The daughter had asked about ScoopNYC and I knew that their best stores are located on Washington Street.  On the way, we made a quick stop at Chelsea Girl Couture where I told them they could find the famous Moon Bags by Patricia Smith along with some dead stock Diane Von Furstenberg.

We hopped on the subway up to the Meatpacking District next, and made a stop at Darling.  The mother sat for a little, while the daughter tried on a few of their gorgeous, colorful silk dresses.  From here we walked (it was a beautiful day) by Elizabeth Charles and Tracy Reese up to Gansevoort Street.  Since the ladies were Carrie Bradshaw advocates, I mentioned Christian Lou Boutin and they wanted to take a quick peak inside.

Finally, we made it to ScoopNYC (they visited Scoop and Scoop Street) and I pointed out that the Diane Von Furstenberg flagship store was across the street.  This was where the daughter found an adorable dress.

From here, I escorted them back to the subway and pointed them to their hotel.

If you’d like to take a customized combo shopping tour, visit our website for more information at www.shop-nyctours.com/guidedtours.  We look forward to shopping with you!

Last weekend’s Prom Shopping Tour was a success!  The mother and daughter came to NYC hoping to find something unique that no one else in Boston would have.  We started the tour watching the 2010 Prom Trends video so the teen could show me which dresses (styles and colors) she did and didn’t like.  After explaining to me that she wanted something long and cream- colored with a low cut back, I decided we should start out downtown at the more unique boutiques (which would be either hit or miss) and then end up in midtown/the Upper East Side for some bigger department stores with more options.

First stop was Unpomela, where they had a limited selection but some really cool dresses.  There was one in particular that the teen was going to try on but the price was just slightly above the average prom dress price.

We moved on next to a few of the sample sales where they had some great deals on a few gowns, but nothing that peaked her fancy.  Over on West Broadway, we tried New York Look, Ariella and Max Azria.  They had some cute short dresses (which is a huge prom trend this year) but not much of a selection for long gowns.

I knew it was time to head uptown to the stores where there would be gowns, gowns, and more gowns.  On the way, we took a look at the Prom Hairstyles video.  The teen really liked the side sweep hairdo with loose curls, which actually ended up to be the perfect style for the dress she chose.

Uptown, we started in the garment district where they have gowns galore.  We came across a few that were similar to what she was looking for, but not the exact style and color that she wanted.  We skipped over some of the accessories stores since we hadn’t found the dress yet and headed over to the huge BCBG flagship store on Fifth Avenue.  They had some beautiful dresses on the second level, as usual, but nothing that quite fit.  Same with Saks Fifth Avenue: beautiful gowns at reasonable prices but nothing exact.

Our last stop was Bloomingdale’s and it was a winner!  There were several gowns in the color and style that she wanted but she also picked out a completely different color: a beaded aquamarine blue dress.  It was really beautiful!  In the dressing room, it came down to a cream-colored dress and the blue (both of which had very unique backs.)  I gave my two cents and said she should get the blue since it was more youthful and fun.  Cream is definitely something you can wear when you get older.  Her mother agreed.  Dress?  Check!

We had a little extra time to shop for shoes after she bought the dress and decided that since the beading had some purple in it, that purple, metallic purple, or dull silver would work best.  I was disappointed in Bloomingdale’s non-designer shoe selection though.  $1500 for prom stilettos is a little steep…  They decided they would just get shoes at home.  (The teen said that she would be kicking them off early in the night anyway!)

We headed over to the MAC makeup counter where one of the makeup artists applied a beautiful blue and purple smokey eye for the teen.  Mom watched very closely so she could recreate the look on the big night!  Makeup?  Check!

If you’re interested in enjoying our NYC Prom Shopping Experience, visit our website for more information at www.shop-nyctours.com/guidedtours/nyc-prom-shopping-experience.  We look forward to prom shopping with you!