A Glimpse of the Garment District, in Midtown

Photo by myself, around 39th Street and Eighth Avenue.

The Garment District is tiny now, compared to how it used to be. It is now reduced to a few blocks on the west side, between 40th and 36th Streets, in Midtown.

There are stores selling fabrics, buttons and sewing supplies. There are also some designers there and work rooms that produce clothing. It is not uncommon to see guys pushing racks of dresses or coats down the sidewalk.

Related posts: Business as Usual, in the Garment District, Sweatshop, in the Garment District, and Tailor Made, in the Garment District.

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Business as Usual, in the Garment District

Photo by myself in the Garment District, around 39th Street and Seventh Avenue.

The Garment District has been reduced to a few streets around 37th to 40th Streets, between Seventh and Eighth Avenues. Stores sell fabric, thread, ribbon, elastic and the like on the ground floor. Above, are showrooms.

Often you will see guys pushing racks full of clothing samples. Some of the buildings are older, and if you go up in the elevators, the doors will open and you'll see rows of garment workers and sewing machines. It is less expensive to have garments mass-produced overseas, but designers need workrooms nearby to have one-off samples made.

Steinlauf and Stoller, straight ahead, is an older establishment known for its sewing notions. There you can get all sorts of tailoring supplies.

For an earlier photo of a supercool sweatshop space, click here.

Related posts: Moving and Shaking, in Midtown, A Snapshot from Midtown, and Peeking into Paron's Fabrics, in the Garment District.

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Peeking into Paron's Fabrics, the Garment District

Photo by myself at 39th Street and Eighth Avenue, in the Garment District.

A photo pre-Sandy.

The fabric and notion stores in the Garment District are vanishing one by one. Paron's is one of my favorites. It just recently moved from 40th Street to 37th Street, and sell a range of fabrics and patterns to the public.

Paron's discounts some of its fabrics by as much as 50%. They carry some fabrics used by high end designers like Tessuti, Calvin Klein and DKNY. You can see the rolls and rolls of stuff inside, arranged by fabric weave and fiber content.

--Yesterday, my fiance Mark ventured into the city for work. He found a car service that drove him in. On the way home, he took a convoluted journey on the subway. (The 6 in Soho to Brooklyn Bridge, to the 4 to Atlantic/Pacific in Brooklyn, to the R train to Park Slope).

Mark's project was delayed by the storm, so he has to work weekends to meet their deadline. He works in advertising and they are rushing to fill a Thanksgiving air date. People are still waiting in line for gas for hours.

Meanwhile, I was all set to go in for photos. I had my bag, my water, my big camera, and comfy shoes.

I took the R train to Jay Street and was prepared to walk over the Manhattan Bridge, when I realized I'd forgotten to put the *@#%! battery in my camera.

Oy!! Major fail. I will try again today.

ps: Our building donated a ton of warm clothing to folks in Red Hook, and many of us are helping with a bake sale to raise funds.

While Park Slope escaped without too much damage, the temperatures are dropping here to the 30's at night. Red Hook is only a couple miles away and it was seriously flooded.

Related posts: Death & Co., Behind Closed Doors, Daredevil Tattoo, on Ludlow Street, and Hippy Sign, on Prince Street.

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Sweatshop, in the Garment District

Photo by myself around 7th Avenue and 37th Street, in the Garment District.

You'd think there weren't any sweatshops left the Garment District, but not so.

Buried on various floors of older high rise buildings are work rooms, filled with sewing machines and thread. There, samples are made for fashion designers for fittings and photoshoots.

One of my hobbies is sewing, and I was looking for a fabric store on Monday. Only I had wandered onto the wrong floor of the wrong building.

But for a split second after getting of the elevator, I looked through an open door. There was a treadle-operated sewing machine straight ahead (that black thing on the table) - a sewing machine run by a peddle that an operator pumps up and down with her foot.

Spools of different colored thread dangled precariously. A general mess. A fire waiting to happen. A step backwards in time.

Related posts: Tailor Made, in the Garment District, Over the Shoulder in the Garment District, and Fashionably Late.

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Over the Shoulder in the Garment District

Photo by myself in the Garment District, around Seventh Avenue and 40th Street.

The Garment District has been reduced to just a couple blocks now, at 38th and 39th Streets, between Seventh and Eighth Avenues.

The stores selling fabric and trim are interspersed with bookstores and fast food places. During my time living in New York, I've seen many fabric stores close. Some of the larger established ones, like Mood and Rosen and Chadick, have relocated to second floor locations.

Home sewers make the visit to New York for the nice selection of fabric. Some of the finest cashmeres and wools can cost over $100 a yard. A jacket requires at least two yards of fabric, and a coat at least three.

Taxi!, Columbus Circle at Dusk and Fixing Flats in the Streets.

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Tailor Made in the Garment District

Photo by myself in the Garment District, around 38th Street and Seventh Avenue.

Fashion Week may be over, but this bronze statue lives outside year-round, a tribute to those in the 'rag trade'.

Fashion showrooms are located in this neighborhood on Seventh Avenue, and there still some stores selling fabric and notions. The majority of manufacturers have moved out of Manhattan, however, since rents are high.

The statue sits in an outdoor plaza with zero public seating. People use what they can find.

Related posts: Taking a Break at the Statue of Liberty, Union Square in Black and White and The View of Liberty.

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