New York Part III - Shopping, the final chapter

While in New York I visited Bergdorf Goodman. I was expecting a brightly lit, cavernous pavilion of a store, but it was quite the opposite. The ceilings are low, the rooms are small and the lighting is dim, all exquisite of course.
We had lunch in their dining room, where 'ladies lunch'. It was beautiful, but the women eating there all looked un-nervingly similar to each other. I imagine there must be some nervous husbands standing at the door of the dining room some days, trying to locate their wife amongst 75 look-alikes.

I bought these red, suede shoes at Bergdorfs. I haven't worn them yet. They're quite 'flamenco' with a perfect stacked heel, so I can walk comfortably in them. There's nothing worse than girls all dressed up in ridiculous heels trotting around with the grace of a transvestite.

I have loved Anthropologie from afar for many years, so I was beside myself to actually go in there. You can shop on-line now and they'll deliver to Australia, even sale items. To have a look click here.

I bought this dress. It's a terrible photo. It's actually navy blue, and it's a style that Anthropologie release continually in different colours. The ribbon is from The Tinsel Trading Co, a beautiful haberdashery in New York, that has been open for a hundred years, and they regularly put out vintage stock to sort through. If only I were crafty.

After trying on every sparkly jacket in Manhattan, I decided on the one from Anthro.

Now, let's chat cosmetics for a minute. I'd heard how much less they were in America and made a b-line to the cosmetics counter of Saks Fifth Avenue. 'Oh, we always get the a-straylians in here buying up big. It's so expensive for you there' - Say the cosmetics counter staff, while pouting with their heads cocked sideways.

For example, the shampoo I use in Australia is $19 - in New York it's $8. We pay $20 for a bottle of O.P.I. polish here, there it's around $6-8.

My Estee Lauder foundation is $77 here, there $35. My question is, who is getting that money?

KitchenAid mixers, $199 in the US, at least $685 in Australia. I know we have to factor in freight, but are 10 of those KitchenAid machines sharing a cabin on a P & O cruise to get here? I would have thought they'd show up in a cardboard box.

Even after tips, getting around in a cab and eating out is so much cheaper in New York, a famously expensive city. I caught a cab from Red Hill to the Convention Centre recently, didn't get caught in any traffic, and it was $20. The meter just ticked over and ticked over. The cab driver told me that it costs $400,000 to buy one cab license in Brisbane now. What??

Anyway, enough. I had fun and hauled my massive suitcases through Customs with the super-human-strength usually observed in people who must lift heavy objects off loved ones trapped underneath.