Once you get to the Fashion District you’ll find that everything’s in walking distance, but the side streets seem to get longer as the day wears on. Plot out a path between stores before getting here so you don’t have to backtrack.

The district is easy to navigate once you igure out the parameters. When looking for specific things like fabric, notions, patterns, etc., you’ll see that they tend to cluster so you can limit your shopping to a more specific area. In general, most users of this book will find what they need between 35th and 40th Streets, from Seventh to Eighth Avenues for fabrics and trim, or from Fifth Avenue to Avenue of the Americas for beads and findings. When in doubt, just stroll around one of these areas and you’ll find just what you need or an idea for something else. To locate addresses of side street stores, the Manhattan grid makes this one easy. An address with 0-99 is between Fifth Avenue and Avenue of the Americas (aka Sixth Avenue). The 100’s are between Avenue of the Americas and Seventh (Fashion!) Avenue, the 200’s between Seventh and Eighth Avenues, and the 300’s between Eighth and Ninth Avenues. And if you’re wondering how far you’re walking, figure about one mile for every 20 north/south avenue blocks or every five east/west street blocks. When you’re covering that much concrete, think comfort, not style, when you choose your shoes. There are no park benches or much else in the way of public places to take a break other than the concrete steps of 1411 Broadway plaza (Check out the lunchtime crowd of showroom workers to see who’s wearing what these days!). However, like everywhere else in the known world, you’re never far from a Starbucks for a caffeine fix. And look up! – there are often quiet mezzanine levels in the coffeeshops and delis if you need a place to sit and regroup.