Half a day spare in New York

[Man at C&A]

And what to with it? I was expecting a day to myself today but due to a planning cock up I needed to attend to family duties. The weekend is fully booked and I suspect the expectation is I need to visit Macy's on Tuesday morning before we head back to London.

Am I likely to find anything to interest me at Macy's? Or should I put my foot down and take myself off to Paul Stewarts and Fabric Czar? My only real need is for a few decent RTW Oxford button downs which are very hard to find back home.

I'm staying on Madison and 32nd if that influences advice.

[Rob O]

Man@c&a:

I doubt you will find much at Macy's however I read very good things about Kamakura OCBD shirts in NY:

http://putthison.com/post/56525523341/s ... er-reading

[Concordia]

If those don't fit you, a reliable source of button-downs is Mercer, although you'll be ordering on-line.

Perfect collars, OK cloth, a surprising amount of flexibility on fit. To avoid the worst of the short/fat Brooks Brothers model, be sure to consider a long body a few sizes down/slimmed down, with an extra button on the placket. They'll work with you over e-mail on this.

Excellent boxer shorts, as well.

Other RTW button-downs-- J Press (although their NYC store may still be closed for renovations).

Brooks (43d and Madison) seems to be reviving some of their older lines, although I don't keep track of which part of their store isn't junk.

[Man at C&A]

Thanks for the suggestions. Sadly these days I'm built for comfort, not speed and the Kamakura look a tad trim. Nevertheless, I was able to slip my leash for an hour this afternoon and hit Paul Stewart. My God, what a wonderful store. Nothing like it in Europe and I was like a kid in a sweet shop.