Upper East Side – Shopping

For shopping mavens, the Upper East Side begins with Bloomingdale’s. The department store serves as a gateway to the neighborhood, the appetizer for the banquet of shops throughout the UES. For luxury-lovers, there are also Alexander McQueen, Bottega Veneta, Celine, Hermès, Missoni, and Prada boutiques, to name just a few. Apple, Best Buy, Gap, J. Crew, Nike, Staples, and Target have UES outposts as well. And let’s not forget the unique independent shops such as Kitchen Arts & Letters (books about food and drink), Mary Arnold Toys (the city’s oldest toy store still in operation), and Monogram Cottage (monogrammed gifts, from throws to duffel bags). Below are a few of the more recent additions to the Upper East Side shopping scene.

 

Tanya Taylor

Eleven years after launching her eponymous womenswear brand, Tanya Taylor opened her first store, in September 2023. The shop’s interior, in which walls with classically elegant moldings surround retro mod furnishings, reflects the uptown-meets-downtown sensibility of the flouncy print dresses, fringed knit tops, and vegan-leather skirts. In addition to the label’s ready-to-wear line, the shop sells a curation of complementary jewelry, accessories, and decor.

 

Serapian

Milanese luxury leather-goods house Serapian also opened an Upper East Side boutique in September 2023. In this bijou space shoppers can shop for handcrafted wallets, handbags, briefcases, and other goods for men and women. They can also select from more than 40 hues of nappa leather to design their own woven pieces in Serapian’s hallmark Mosaico style, incorporating as many colors as desired.

 

Sierra Julian

Who says kids’ clothing can’t be sophisticated? Certainly not the team behind Sierra Julian, which opened its UES shop in April 2023. Designed for boys and girls ages six months to 12 years old, the brand’s ethically made apparel ranges from black-and-white polka-dot dresses with faux-leather ruffles to polo shirts with faux pocket hankies for boys—exceptional clothing for exceptional kids.

 

Sunspel

Venerable apparel brand Sunspel has only a handful of stores in its native England. With the April 2023 launch of its UES shop, it now has two outposts in New York as well. (The other is in SoHo.) Sunspel claims to have invented the luxury T-shirt in 1908, and it continues to offer flawlessly crafted staples for men and women. When you’re seeking the perfect polo shirt, fleece vest, or sweatshirt you can wear even under a blazer, this is an ideal place to look.