Garment District Speakeasy Tour - Summer 2024

 

Wednesday, August 21

Speakeasy tour (in person)

10AM-4PM

Psst... Walking tour of quality garment district stores and related services, appealing to both hobby and professional makers, seeking fabrics, notions, etc.  

The itinerary is below. This one's $115, and includes a sit-down lunch, and is a definite "go", no matter how few or many attend, with no change in price. All conditions regarding cancellation or inability to attend below apply, and full refund or future tour if anything beyond my control prevents me from leading this tour (weather, illness, etc.), of course.

Itinerary:

10AM - 1PM - 

Shopping (Will include a specifically selected set of stores with a wide variety of offerings suitable for many different purposes/types of garments, appropriate for the theme of the day's tour. Relevant additional information, suggested additional resources and appropriate on-site expertise will be available.)

1PM-2PM

Lunch (local restaurant reservation for our group, already included in your fee.)

2PM - until end of business day

Armed with your "Secret Map" and your own interest in or desire to visit the many other stores you see or have learned about, you may visit more garment district stores if you wish, and give unique codes (that you'll get from me) to vendors who will give special assistance/discounts.

The cost of this guided, efficient tour is $90 per person. If you use this trip to shop and participate in what the NYC garment district has to offer, you will save at least as much as you are paying in supplies and education, and probably far more.

Wanna come? Click above, send payment, and the details on meeting time/place will be provided.

From outta town? If you need hotel and/or travel help, I will advise some of the BEST NYC secrets I know! Payment is only accepted via PayPal (you do not need a Paypal account), credit or debit card. No cash, personal checks, or additional payments will be accepted on the day of the tour. The trip will involve a good amount of walking, so come prepared in weather-appropriate gear, and healthy.

Regarding cancellations:

 If you have paid and wish to cancel 7 days or more before date - 100% refund

 Fewer than 7 days - 50% refund

 If you don't come on the scheduled date or cancel within 24 hours or less - you will forfeit your refund, but can switch reservation to a future tour date.

 If I cancel a tour for reasons not related to weather, newsworthy acts of God or other emergencies, you are entitled to your choice of a full refund, or a future tour.

For newbies - tales from a garment district "Buttinski"... (and a "Hug" of a Speakeasy)

**Reposting**


"Pixelated" is what I'll call it.  This fabric called to me, and told me that it has to become something.  You can't appreciate it up close.  You have to see it from a distance. A large expanse of it. Yes, it must become something.

Sometimes a fabric leaps into your arms, like this one did into mine.  Found at NY Elegant Fabrics... One of so many lovely stores in the district...

Now what?  What will I do with it? I've got a million ideas...

BUT, if I were new to or unfamiliar with the sewing world and New York City Garment District, where would I look?

I ask this question because I am constantly overhearing overwhelmed beginners and uninitiated sewing enthusiasts in fabric and notions stores, asking questions about trying to find the items they need for their projects (patterns, home sewing machines, interfacing, zippers, etc.), and frankly, now,  I often interrupt unhelpful interactions with store staffers to answer those questions myself.

Understandably, the fabric stores often don't readily refer customers to one another, and barring the big names, many of them don't direct people to the notions stores they need, either.  There is an unspoken no-handholding policy in the district.  New York is a busy place, time's awastin', and frankly, to quote a famous internet personality, "Ain't nobody got time fuh'dat!"

Let's say you want a velvet board, hand sewing needles, large carbon paper, pattern making paper, a stretchable zipper, tailoring weight interfacing, pocketing, ribbing for edges and cuffs, leather flowers, great scissors, lace trims for lingerie... do you know where to go? How would you find out?

How can you get what you need if no one helps you?

Okay, I get it... independent creatives, artists, and home sewers generally don't bring in enough cash on their own to keep these industry focused stores in business, but certainly, a regular stream of customers is highly valued by any business, and you can play a role in keeping these businesses alive!

So, let's pretend we are on a fabric shopping trip together.  Where will we go?

Do you have a pattern/instructions, something to rub-off/duplicate, a self-drafted design, or just an idea?

A pattern? Well, you likely bought it online, from 

• Vogue Patterns
• Butterick Patterns
• Folkwear Patterns
• Kwik Sew
• Green Pepper Patterns
• Simplicity Patterns
• Burda Patterns
• McCall's Patterns
• Colette Patterns
• True Bias
• Fashion in Harmony
• Patterns from the Past
• Onion Patterns
• Marfy Patterns

Right?

And, then you may have read the reviews and tips on Pattern Review, whose membership is now nearly half a million strong, by the way!

OR

If you bought your pattern in the garment district, you may have grabbed one from Daytona Trimming or Paron Fabrics. (There aren't many places in the district who offer a real range of patterns anymore.)

OR

Maybe you have been inspired by a book or video series, like Vionnet, or the insanely popular Japanese Fashion Design books like Shingo Sato, or exhibits at the 

• FIT Museum 
• Metropolitan Museum of Art
• Museum of the City of New York
• the Cooper Hewitt Museum 
• Brooklyn Museum

or any other special exhibits in near and/or far away locations...

Independent research has led me to believe that the independent creative and sewing market is a wildly strong hidden business opportunity so many retailers could easily tap into into, and benefit from, if courted appropriately, but I have yet to see many garment district fabric stores fully embrace this market.

Whether you want to get your feet wet or deep dive, I suggest you explore the district and its corners and crevices as any creative explorer would, and you'll be amazed at what you will find.  My contribution? 

I will lead a special September Speakeasy that caters to the planning steps of creating the pieces what you've imagined.  Let's look at where to find inspiration, where to find fabrics, and where to find supplies that will help you put it all together.  I'll help, consult, and cheer you on while you shop, but I will also show you where else and how to get what you need, before releasing you to shop on your own. This Speakeasy will assume you are not an expert, would appreciate a bit of guidance and possibly hand-holding, and will introduce you to professional people who will treat you with respect and patience.  Featured on this tour will be only stores with whom I have a long and loving history, guiding you through a calm and fun trip through my beloved garment district.  

Wanna come?  

Look here for more information:

September 23, 2016

What happened to Rosen and Chadick?

Look across the street.  Above the Wasabi restaurant.  The windows?  They look dark.  The familiar white lettering on the windows is gone. No shadows of bolts of fabric, no people bustling around inside... Isn't that where Rosen & Chadick was?  Oh no!!! Wait! Where have they gone?

Well, if you go over to the entrance (as I did) and ask, the doorman will hand you a card.

Whew...

Thank God.

Okay, I'm lying.  I knew they were moving, but was sworn to secrecy until the move was complete, because you know how complicated these deals can be.  

Anyway, today I visited the new Rosen & Chadick space.

They are busy unpacking and setting things up beautifully, organizing their merchandise neatly in this roomy, easily browsable environment.  This spot feels good, and it gives you a fresh perspective on familiar merchandise if you have been to their first and second store locations over the past 50 years or so. Do visit them in this new space, merely a stone's throw away from the old one.  They will be happy to greet you there! 

Big space - stretches out to the right and the left.

Fabrics are now organized by likely end use - makes browsing easier!

Stay tuned for a quick update to this post coming shortly! I'm gonna show you something made with their to-die-for fabric...

Why you should create and/or design your own projects (To be followed by Why you should NOT create and/or design your own projects)

Previous (related) post: Why you should NOT hire a dressmaker

Why should you make your own projects?  Well, I assume you are reading this blog because you already know why.  But I'll gladly give you my opinion, too.

If you are starting from the very basics of sewing/designing/creating, you can take classes or find a tutor, although they are few and far-between these days.  And the beauty of the garment district is that it is full of resources and services that can get you to your finished product without investing in machinery or tools yourself!

Example:

Grommets installed in my "cradle bag" by Star Snaps

Top zipper cut to size by Botani

Have you ever thought about what it means to be unique?  How about "ladylike"?  Well, if that is important to you, you may find it difficult to find in stores without being dowdy, or weird, given today's fashion offerings.  If you want the freedom not to be ladylike or standard, you can find that too, but are you finding what you want?  I am a huge advocate of buying what you love when you find it, but so much of what I've seen is positively yawn-worthy, lately.

Speaking of freedom, how about freedom from wallet-busting current trends?  I am not getting much of what's going on in the fashion landscape right now, but, thank God I can continue to make my own stuff and ignore the rest entirely.

And, well, because HALLOWEEN will come again.

Let's say you haven't been making your own stuff, or you haven't been as productive as you planned to be when you bought all of your supplies, or your poor, neglected stash is screaming your name lately...  Where do you start?

Well, many people start with profoundly ambitious goals, and stop when they feel they have fallen short or failed.  To avoid this cycle, I recommend a very unambitious, unconventional start.

Go to the garment district, WITHOUT planning to spend any money (Yes, ON PURPOSE!).  Treat the stores like a museum visit, and gather ideas.  While in the district, visit the exhibits, idea inspiring spots, and bookstores for images and new inspiration. You will have ideas for embellishing things, ideas for making things, ideas for having things made for you... just ideas.  Buy only what you cannot live without, and, for the rest of it...  sleep on it.  Yes, leave it right there. For a night, a week, or whatever amount of time you need.  The things that really stick with you will still be in your head, and you will need to go back and get them.

The last step of the above detailed plan is dangerous, though.  I'll tell you why...

There are a few stores, and sections of other stores, where you'd really better buy what you fall in love with, because it seriously may be gone later, and I'll tell you which stores those are (based on my own experiences), to save you some heartache:

Paron Fabrics

Metro Textiles

Elliott Berman

Here's the good GREAT thing: Fabric has no expiration date!  So, if you buy it, and practice good storage methods, you are not limited to any short timeframe at all.  Ask me know I know... (smile)

Next post: Why you should NOT Create and/or design your own projects 

Spare me the details...

* I love making/redesigning/altering things, and while I enjoy reading blogs that explore the making process in excruciating detail, here I'll simply share results/photos for inspiration, and guidance regarding where to buy the materials/instructions/supplies, when relevant.  If you have any specific questions regarding the HOW aspect of anything I show here, feel free to ask, and I'll answer!

After putting on her newly altered dress, she admired herself in the mirror... "Why don't they make dresses like this anymore?" she sighed.

The back of the pretty vintage dress.

Pictured above, is the back of a beautiful dress, owned by a vintage-loving client of mine, made of a dreamy metallic brocade.  Since it was made for a broader figure than hers, it needed to be altered it significantly to fit her figure, which I achieved by changing the seaming (adding a princess seams where there were none on the original dress), reshaping the bust and armholes, and added some side boning to give it a smoother look. My client will use it for a choral performance on Easter Sunday.

The dress itself, looks similar to the center view of the dress below, with a natural neckline, rather than the square neckline pictured.

This dress pattern, for sale on Patterns of the Past

The original dress was handmade, using two layers of fabric together as one.  There was no separate lining layer, and large seam allowances and perfectly pinked raw edges made this dress a dream to alter. The precisely cut organza layer had the perfect resilience and crispness to smoothly fortify the shape. 

"Well, THEY don't... but someone can!" I thought.  Fabrics & Fabrics has a particularly spectacular selection of brocades, and there, you can find a beautiful gold metallic brocade like this one, as well as wonderful organza to use as lining.

Now... let's say I were to make a similar dress for myself... all I need is a place to wear something that fabulous... Well, a girl can dream, can't she?

Not quantity. QUALITY

While there are lots of bargains and good deals to be found in the fabric and notions stores, not everyone is looking to haggle, dig through disorganized piles of goods, or question fiber content.  

If quality and effective time management is your goal, there is a new map I've made especially for you.  While three of the eighteen stores listed on the map are located outside of the district's borders, all are still within a painless Manhattan cab ride.

I have named it the "Best of the Best", and it lists the best stores and resources for quality-oriented shoppers, with descriptions of the strengths of each entry.