A store called the Banana Republic was opened in San Francisco in 1978 by Mel and Patricia Ziegler. Both the Zieglers worked for the San Franciso Chronicle, Mel was a writer and Patricia an illustrator.
Banana Republic specialized in casual Safari styles and Army Surplus clothing. Many of the utilitarian items had sturdy zips and snaps and were double-stitched and reinforced. The store sold desert army hats, sheepskin vests, shorts and other items of travel clothing to armchair travelers. The garments were designed by the Zieglers for people to wear when mountain hiking or rafting. Source

Liz Claiborne is a Belgian-born fashion designer. She immigrated to the United States in 1939, and was raised in New Orleans, Louisiana. She attended St. Timothy's, a boarding school then in Catonsville, Maryland. Rather than finishing high school, she went to Europe to study art. In 1949, she won the Jacques Heim National Design Contest, and then moved to New York City where she worked as a sketch artist at the sportswear house Tina Leser. She worked as a designer for Dan Keller and Youth Group Inc., before starting her own design company, Liz Claiborne Inc., in 1976. The firm grew from its origins designing affordable active sportswear for women and is now a multi billion-dollar enterprise. Source

Victoria's secret is a specialty retailer of women's intimate apparel. It has about 1,000 Victoria's Secret lingerie stores and 100 stand-alone Victoria's Secret Beauty Stores in the US, mostly mall-based. It sells bras, panties, hosiery, beauty products, sleepwear, and more. Victoria's Secret mails more than 400 million of its catalogs per year.
Victoria's Secret decidedly built its image with a fairly conservative, middle-class shopper in mind and avoided any connotations of sleaziness which lingerie might carry.
The company gained notoriety in the early 1990s after it began to use supermodels in its advertising and fashion shows. Throughout the past decade, it refused to follow the celebrity trend, turning down at least one celebrity a month begging to model the brand. Source

Nine West or 9 West is a subdivision of Jones Apparel Group. Nine West is a women's fashion retailer/wholesaler with offices in sixty countries. There are chains of stores from Hawaii to Maine. It was co-founded by Jack Fisher. The footwear offices are located in White Plains, NY.
Distribution of all Nine West Goods in the United States is processed through 2 large warehouses both located in West Deptford, NJ. Source

Returning after a season's maternity leave, Phoebe sent out a collection with crisp new shapes, proportions and vigour. A line dresses and stiffer couture fabrics were used with flares from the shoulder, and swinging skirts with models on great chunky platform shoes. Sixties ruffled skirts (so popular this season) were intricately worked in crunchy embroidery, organza applique and frills. Lots of new accessories like handbags were seen this season. Source

Aeropostale, Staten Island, Staten Island shopping, New York shopping, Aeropostale Staten Island, Staten Island mall, trendy clothing, fashion clothing Staten Island mall is a great hang out for people of all ages, and Aeropostale happens to be one of the fun, buzzing stores in New York City! If you want a break from the super bright styles, Aeropostale is the place to go. While they do have some brightly colored bikinis for those fun beach days, they keep more to the subtle, but still colorful look, which is a great change from the other Summer 2012 fashions. The more toned down style is different, while it is still stylish and fun. They're clothes are amazingly comfortable and perfect for those warm summer nights when all you want to do is relax and settle down. The diversity of the selection is extremely useful. You can pick out the perfect summer bikini all the while checking out clothes for work. In case you aren't looking for clothes, they also have an extensive accessories section with fun and funky jewelry or entrancing fragrances. All in all, Aeropostale is a great shop for everyone. Men or women, party folk or busy workers, you'll find everything you could ever need here at affordable prices. Step in and check it out yourself!

If you ever find yourself in Manhattan, looking for something unique and different to wear for Spring-Summer 2012, stop into Etro right off of Madison Avenue. Probably the most interesting clothing store you'll find yourself in with their colorful, visually daring dresses. If you really want to stand out in a crowd, this would be the perfect place to go. From formal attire with a beautiful Italian twist to almost spunky men's accessories, they have a grand selection. You truly have to have a need to stand out if you shop here. The employees mirror the interesting and colorful style of the store, some of them dressing in bright red corduroy trousers with rainbow striped shirts. Don't let their colorful clothing scare you off, however. The employees are some of the most friendly and are exceptionally helpful. The store holds a great reputation as a fashion destination for jet-setters and celebrities alike. If you feel as though you're getting lost in a sea of colors and bold patterns, worry not. The colorful and trendy accessories will lead you all the way up to the register and leave you wanting to come back again and again.

Founded by Donald and Doris Fisher as a small San Francisco based clothing store with just a handful of employees, Gap has turned into one of the world’s most recognizable and prestigious clothing store brands. A visit to New York City’s Gap is like a visit to Starbucks – just say when. With its Manhattan clothing store, The Gap has solidified itself as a staple of the New York fashion scene and offers a vast selection of must-have uptown apparel . Along with the Gap banner, Banana Republic, Old Navy, Piperlime and Athleta are all labels available through Gap retailers and covers all ages and styles of fashion, clothing and accessories. Celebrity endorsements from Whoopi Goldberg, Spike Lee and Lorraine Bracco, to name a few, have brought The Gap to the masses and has forever made it part of Americana. Even today, Gap continues its dominance of the fashion industry as it continues to be recognized as the US’s largest specialty apparel retailer and keeps its hand on the pulse of the fashion world. For awesome gifts, family friendly atmospheres and an overall great shopping experience make Manhattan’s Gap one of the stores you visit in the New York fashion scene.

Vera Wang, a native New Yorker, understands women who embrace fashion. As a child, she accompanied her mother as she shopped Parisian and American couture. Vera studied at Chapin, Sarah Lawrence College and The Sorbonne.
Vera Wang has created a unique aspirational world that alludes to sensuality and youthful sophistication. Exquisite details, intricate draping and a nonchalant sense of style characterize the Vera Wang aesthetic.

Develops and produces a distinctive line of contemporary women's apparel and accessories, which it markets under the bebe, 2b bebe and bebe outlet brands. Current Chairman and Founder Manny Mashouf opened the first bebe boutique in 1976 in San Francisco. At that time, three categories dominated the women's wear market: junior, briouh women inspirational, sexy fashion.

Hiho Batik is an experiential retail store and art space, offering people of all ages one-of-a-kind products, in a mass-produced world.
Hiho's wide variety of garments, accessories, and designs are all handmade onsite in our Brooklyn store, using 100% cotton materials. The process leads to the production of soft, durable apparel that is also super fun to wear.
In the Hiho Batik art space, our guests create Make-Your-Own Hiho products and participate in DIY classes taught by local artists and craftspeople. Hiho Batik's founder, Julia Silver Gordon, has been fascinated by the ancient art of batik — using wax and dyes to create an image — since she was a child. The best part about batik is that it is a very forgiving art and therefore is a naturally wonderful medium for all ages to practice.

Paul Stuart offers Made to Measure custom clothing with precision tailoring and an exclusive collection of uniquely styled suits, sport jackets, overcoats and shirts, all with our extensive selection of fine European fabrics.

All that is youthful, sexy, vibrant, full of life and beautiful in draping cloth on men and women, young and old, is exuberantly displayed at this Manhattan shrine to the genius fashion designers, Dolce & Gabbana. JLo loves them, soccer gods model their clothing and movie directors feature their distinctive collections. All because they are really good at what they do. Deceptively simple and outrageously alive, these two Italian fashion designers have transformed quality clothing into an art. What use is designer fashion if you have nowhere to wear it? Favored by celebrities, dignitaries and the man/woman on the street, D&G give a spark of life and creativity to the streets of New York City. Their Spring Summer 2012 collection is extraordinary in fabric, line, and color, embracing the family with fashions for men, women and children, with D&G Junior. Sign up for Swide, their fashion magazine and download their app on your Iphone for everything D&G. You are sure to see some of the world’s most beautiful actresses and sports heroes in their Manhattan boutique. It is worth your while to browse through the beautiful people of the world and their clothes when shopping in New York City.

Modern sportswear, career clothes that work, for women sizes 14 and up.