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Spend your day at the old (but good) standbys.
Henry Bendel
Born in Lafayette, Louisiana, Henri Bendel came to the Big Apple in 1896 when Fifth Avenue was known as the Ladies Mile. It reached upward from Broadway and 9th Street to Fifth Avenue and 23rd Street.  Henry Bendel Shop Front |
The store now resides on Fifth Avenue and is known to Carnet Travelers as the flagship Bendel store. With energetically decorated counters and apparel boutiques, Bendel’s signature brown and white stripped shopping bags wait to be filled with fine clothing, hats, perfume, jewelry and cosmetics.
Bloomingdale's
Bloomingdale's is full of American pride and devotion. In 1898 the store was used as a recruiting station for civilian enlistment to the Spanish-American War. The Red Cross rationed food here during World War I. The company opened in 1872, but moved to its current location in the 1880s after great success selling wood-framed undergarments and hoopskirts at prices that undercut the competition. Over the years the store has continually expanded its selection of merchandise to offer customers new and innovative products.
Bergdorf Goodman
In the late 1890s Herman Bergdorf, a tailor-furrier, hired a young apprentice named Edwin Goodman. They worked together crafting capes, jackets and newmarkets. The fabrics were of high-grade wool and imported materials. At the beginning of the Great War, Bergdorf sold his share of the business to Goodman and the business was moved uptown near the site of Rockefeller Center.  Bergdorf Goodman Shop Front |
Once a private mansion with a 17-room penthouse at the top, the current location remained in the family until 1953 when Goodman's son sold the business. Today Bergdorf Goodman has a spa, restaurant, extensive beauty counter, furnishings, home decoration and a men's store strategically located across the street.
Brooks Brothers
Not only does Brooks Brothers have its own historical significance as the oldest clothier in America, it also has a place in history. In 1863 Abraham Lincoln was wearing a Brooks Brothers suit when he was shot. Brooks Brothers has a history of selling highly regarded British garments, such as ready-made suits, polo shirts, Shetland sweaters, Harris tweed and Oxford shirts, to the well-to-do of Manhattan. Franklin Roosevelt, J.P. Morgan, F. Scott Fitzgerald and Hollywood-leading-man Clark Gable all wore Brooks. Charles Lindbergh after having reached Paris borrowed a suit from the American ambassador that he wore for days as he chose not to fly across the Atlantic with luggage.
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