NYC GARMENT DISTRICT FABRIC SHOPPING GUIDE: PART 1, TOP TIER FABRIC STORES
Rolls of colorful lining fabrics at Mood. If you look closely, you can see the the price cards tucked into the end of each roll.
If you love to sew, or maybe just shop for fabric and notions, and you are planning a trip to New York, there’s a good chance you want to go fabric shopping in Midtown Manhattan. But where? There are so many shops. I’m here to help. Welcome to the first installment in my series of posts about shopping in the NYC Garment District!
The fabric stores included in this roundup are what I consider to be the top tier shops, with gorgeous, luxurious offerings. They feature designer quality (and often, literally, name brand designer fabrics), with prices to match. While there are almost always deals to be found, and some of these shops have remnant bins, overall, these are expensive fabric stores. If you’re planning special project, or if you want a beautiful souvenir from your trip to New York, these are the places for you. If expensive fabric isn’t in your budget, I still recommend checking out one or two of these spots to get a feel for the heart of the New York Garment District. Mood in particular, feels not-to-be-missed to me.
MOOD FABRICS
Mood Fabrics is probably the most famous fabric store in NYC, thanks in large part to Project Runway, but also because it is truly huge. You may have shopped their online store, but this is a whole different experience. Keep in mind that the online inventory and what is in the physical store have no overlap, so be prepared to shop only what is in the store. Many people find Mood to be overwhelming. If you think you may have that reaction, I recommend taking a quick trip to Mood in the morning, when it is significantly less busy and more organized, take a lap of all 3 floors, request swatches if you see something you love, and then leave. Walk a few blocks, have a cup of coffee, and go back in with focus.
The ground floor of Mood has solid and printed silks of all kinds (truly a staggering amount of silk), solid and printed polyesters and synthetic blends, lace, brocade, and high end beaded and embellished fabrics. There is also a selection of buttons, and a very well stocked haberdashery with notions and trims of all kinds. If you head down stairs, you will find denim, eyelet and swiss dots, printed and solid color cottons, shirtings, all kinds of jersey, as well as leathers, furs, and skins (for those you will be helped by someone at a specific desk). If you head upstairs from the ground floor, you will find suiting, knit and woven woolens sorted by weights and end uses (for example, sweater knits are together, and woven boucles are together), Chanel style novelty wovens, linen, spandex jersey (swim & athletic types), rain coat fabrics, cashmere, and faux fur.
That’s a lot of categories! But you know what? There are a lot of employees at Mood and they are very helpful. If you are looking for a specific type of fabric, just ask. Unlike many stores in New York, they will cheerfully show you to the section where you are most likely to find what you are looking for. Additionally, you can ask empolyees for swatches (which are free). At Mood, you get your fabric cut in the section where you found it, and take that cut fabric and your ticket to the front counter to pay.
Location: 225 W 37th St 3rd floor, New York, NY 10018. The elevators have no buttons. Use the touch screen outside the elevator to request an elevator to the 3rd floor, enter the elevator indicated, and it will take you up.
Why I love it: Prices & fiber content clearly marked on all bolts of fabric. Best place to find signature designer prints with name of designer indicated. Public restroom on main floor. Swatch (the dog) can often be found in the printed silks aisle (feel free to take his photo, but I’m not sure how much he enjoys further interaction).
Things to consider: Can be extremely busy on weekends, and that is reflected in the customer service. If you need help selecting or finding a fabric, go during a slower time. You must check large bags upon entering, which allows you to shop hands-free. Overwhelming if you aren’t focused.
Minimum cut: 1/2 yard. Free swatches available.
NEW YORK ELEGANT FABRICS
New York Elegant Fabrics used to be located on 40th street, in a sprawling, truly enormous space. Most of the fabrics were on the ground floor, with well displayed bolts and rolls of fabric, organized by fabric type and then by color, with free swatches and price tags hanging off the end of each roll. There was an upstairs area with faux fur and other voluminous fabrics. Walking around that store felt amazing. Well, I’m sorry to tell you that they have moved (I’m sure they lost their lease), but luckily, they did not go out of business.
New York Elegant Fabrics is in a smaller space now, but the selection remains impressive. All fabrics are now hung on header cards as shown in the photos. The back of each header indicates the price, fiber content, and width of that fabric. You can request a swatch; most are free but expensive fabrics and faux furs have a $5 per swatch fee. If you are interested in a fabric, take down the header and find an employee, who can look up that fabric and tell you how much yardage is available. Many fabrics are in the back, and you can wait while someone locates the bolt, brings it out, and cuts your yardage. Unfortunately, not all fabrics are immediately available; if the bolt is located at their New Jersey warehouse, you will need to wait until the next day to pick up your cut of fabric.
I’m going to be honest with you: I do not understand how the fabrics are categorized or organized. I go to this store fairly regularly and still often need to ask to be shown to a fabric type. Once you find the fabric type you want, there are usually options for color, print etc. all grouped together. They have the most incredible selection of faux fur I’ve ever seen, priced around $29 up to $200/yard - they’re incredible, and the prices reflect the quality. They have wonderful coatings, too. There is a small selection of remnants on a rolling rack (turn left as you enter the store and you should see it).
Location: 225 W 37th St 3rd floor, New York, NY 10018, take the elevator to the 2nd floor, you will exit the elevator directly into the store.
Why I love it: Truly gorgeous fabrics, especially coating (wool, mohair, alpaca, etc) and faux furs. Small selection of remnants.
Things to consider: Shopping is on fabric headers, not bolts or rolls. Organization is unclear but staff is pretty helpful. Fabrics may not be available for immediate purchase/pick up.
Minimum cut: 1/2 yard for most fabrics, 1/4 yard for faux furs. Free swatches available.
B&J FABRICS
B&J Fabrics is set up similarly to New York Elegant in the sense that many fabrics are displayed on headers. There are also fabrics on bolts, it just depends what part of the store you are in. B&J has wonderful selections of Japanese cottons, Liberty Tana Lawn, a beautiful array of solid color linen fabrics. Headers are clearly labelled with fabric price, content, and width. This store is dense with product, which can feel overwhelming, however, I find the staff to be very helpful. If you are searching for something specific, they will help you find it.
All of the fabric stores in this post are high end, but I find B&J in particular to have a higher price point, so I usually head here only when I am searching for something specific or special. Though I love to browse, I have never made a purchase at B&J. I think this is mostly because I have a harder time with the header style shopping experience. I prefer to rummage through bolts.
B&J is sunny, the staff is friendly and the aisles are wide enough for you to browse peacefully. At the ends of the cutting tables, there are remnant bins, which often have enticing parcels of fabric, tied up with string and price tags. This store is located inside a beautiful Midtown building, and it’s kind of fun to go here just for that experience.
Location: Fashion Center Building, 525 7th Ave, New York, NY 10018. Take the elevator to the 2nd floor and you will enter directly into the store.
Why I love it: A beautiful and calm store. A very popular stop in NYC.
Things to consider: Most shopping is on headers, not bolts or rolls. Staff is helpful when you are looking for something specific.
Minimum cut: 1/2 yard. Free swatches available on many fabrics, limit 15 swatches per customer.
FABRICS AND FABRICS
Fabrics and Fabrics is now at a new location - they used to be across the street on the second floor, but over the past few months, they have been moving into a smaller storefront on the ground floor of 38th street. They also have 2 warehouses of fabric and can likely accomodate large order requests beyond was is available in the store. Personally, I actually prefer the new space. While smaller, it is well organized, and they have the rolls on shelves where they are easily visible.
The fabrics here are gorgeous. I am pretty much never in need of metallic brocade, novelty suiting, or Carolina Herrara runway fabrics, but it doesn’t hurt to look! They have a large assortment of solid color silks, and if you head upstairs to the lofted area at the back of the shop, you will find a concentration of printed silks, printed stretch silks, and fabrics that are coordinated to those printed silks (for example, an exact color match or border print). Everything is immediately visible, which makes for a pleasant shopping experience (you do not need to pull out the rolls to view them, as at Mood). I usually have to ask for the price, though some fabrics are labelled on the bolt end.
Location: 263 W 38th St Store #1, New York, NY 10018
Why I love it: Employees here are friendly and helpful, but will also let you browse quietly. Overall, I think this is an easy to digest shopping experience - beautiful fabrics and a manageable space.
Things to consider: Shopping is mostly on rolls, but some headers, too.
Minimum cut: 1 yard. I forgot to ask if they provide swatches! I’ll update this when I have a chance to go back.
ELLIOT BERMAN TEXTILES
Today was my first time visiting this store. Actually, it’s not a store, but rather a textile showroom and stock room. I am familiar with their website and I’ve heard reports that fabric ordered online is of the highest quality, but now that I think of it, I’m not sure if I know anyone who has shopped here in person. The space features the typical giant shelves of rolls of fabric, but also dollys to push them around, what appeared to be a loading/packing area, and a row of typical office desks, where people sat at computers, working. Today they had just received a shipment, so there were truly bolts everywhere. All of the fabrics were dazzling - pretty colors, beautiful prints, delightful textures.
I wandered around for a while before someone cheerfully asked if I needed help. I inquired about the minimun yardage cut, and was informed that they are a wholesaler, but they will “work with you” if you are a retail customer. So pricing is unclear (though I assume expensive), and it is probably best to plan on purchasing a few yards at least. I was also informed that all fabric is imported directly from Europe, primarily Italy and France; besides the evident quality of the fabric, I saw famous mill names like Ratti printed in many selvedges. I was dazzled by the fabric, but as for shopping, it felt a little intimidating for a more casual outing. If you are limited on time and not looking to purchase an entire bolt of italian linen, you may prefer the retail focused shops I’ve reviewed.
Location: 225 W 35th St floor 7, New York, NY 10001. Take the elevator to the 7th floor, turn right.
Why I love it: Friendly and knowledgable staff. A peek behind the scenes of wholesale fabric sales.
Things to consider: Wholesale focused. Organized, but not in the typical manner, you may need to ask to see something specific.
Minimum cut: Unclear! But probably best to purchase a few yards from this location. I didn’t ask about swatches, but I’m sure they can be provided to serious customers. Website says they provide swatches.
Those are my recommendations and reviews of the top tier fabric stores in Manhattan’s Garment District! My next installment of this series will focus on my personal favorite shops - the mid-level, wild style shops that have everything from glitzy feathered tulle to designer silks, at lower prices and a faster pace. Let me know if theres a certain kind of shop you want to learn more about! I have a posts planned, and I’m hoping to cover as much as possible. XO, Martha
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