TRAVELER @ nationalgeographic.com

In TRAVELER’s November/December issue, special-projects editor Sheila Buckmaster offers an insider’s view on Manhattan’s most sensational offerings. Among the city’s highlights: its dynamic shopping scene. “New York’s shops reflect the brilliant energy and creativity of the city,” says Buckmaster.

You don’t have to be in Manhattan, however, to shop like the city slickers do. Here, we offer a list of sublime Manhattan-area shops with Web sites so you can browse and, in many cases, buy online.

Clothing
Shoes, Purses, and Luggage
Antiques
Home Decorating
Jewelry and Watches
Cosmetics

Clothing

Soho’s Anthropologie, www.anthropologie.com, offers silk sarongs, tie-neck tops, fitted sweater-jackets, velvet pants, fur- trimmed boots, glittery barrettes, and much more. Its eclectic selection also includes home decorating items from hand-painted curtain ties to intricately decorated pillows and bedspreads. Don’t miss the leather-topped coffee table.

Tour all five floors at the chic, cutting-edge Barneys, www.barneys.com, to glimpse jewelry, shoes, designer styles, and elegant evening and bridal wear. You’ll find instruction in selecting makeup colors for various day and evening looks. If you’re in the city, visit the store for a personalized makeover.

Five floors of hip fashions await at the Canal Jean Company, www.canaljean.com. Not only does this store carry nearly every brand of jeans imaginable, it also offers clothing from such labels as French Connection, Schott, and Timberland. For vintage-clothing shoppers, an assortment of tasteful designs, including leather and vinyl jackets, are for sale.

At Century 21, www.century21deptstores.com, shoppers will find discounts of up to 75 percent off the regular retail price. Beyond men’s, women’s, and children’s clothing, Century 21 serves as a one-stop shop for luggage, purses, shoes, electronics, linens, pots and pans, blenders, cosmetics, jewelry, and more. Sign up online for e-mails on sales and special offers.

Visit any one of Daffy’s, www.daffys.com, five Manhattan-area locations for bargains on designer clothes—up to 80 percent off the regular retail price. Daffy’s Web site enables shoppers to sort through inventory and compare prices. An interactive feature gives shoppers a style assessment.

Take a sneak peek at next season’s collection on Gucci’s site, www.gucci.com. You can also check out snapshots of the latest fashions to hit the runways. A handy menu allows you to sort items by style—and zoom in for a closer look. Subscribe on the site for e-mail on news and upcoming events.

Shoes, Purses, and Luggage

Walter Steiger, www.walter-steiger.com, offers a no frills site that makes ordering fine shoes and matching handbags simple. Styles range from snakeskin to leather. Shoppers must order over the telephone, so site creators have listed helpful style numbers with each item.

Louis Vuitton’s site, www.vuitton.com, shows slides of its leather bags, jackets, and shoe collection. The inspiring photo gallery of runway hits could sway any avid shopper. An enticing selection of luggage, handbags, day planners, and cosmetic bags are available for purchase online.

Ghurka, www.ghurka.com, has an excellent system for online shoe shopping and buying. A convenient search function helps you unearth offerings; women’s and men’s shoes, fine leather luggage, furnishings, totes, and more are neatly presented with helpful descriptions. Plus, an extensive section is devoted to suggestions organized by occasion and price range.

Antiques

The midtown-area Manhattan Art & Antiques Center’s site, www.the-maac.com, gives information and photographs on merchandise from its band of dealers. A trip here enables shoppers to scan everything from antique lamps and chandeliers to clocks and chairs. Orders are handled over the telephone.

Howard Kaplan Antiques, www.howardkaplanantiques.com, is an antique lover’s paradise, whether you’re in search of a figurine, vase, table, or couch. You could literally furnish your entire home here. Look in the online Bath Shop for everything from antique toilet paper rolls and lighting fixtures to bathtubs and dressing tables.

Visit J.M.S. & Éva Ltd.,www.jmseva.com, for eye-catching antique jewelry you can order online. Their collection boasts pieces adorned with diamonds, pearls, rubies, and sapphires—everything from rings and lockets to cuff links and charms. There’s also a moderate assortment of unique, interesting watches and paintings.

Fifth Avenue’s A La Vieille Russie, www.alvr.com, works with dealers in antique European jewelry and Russian decorative and fine arts, including Fabergé pieces. The site is set up as an online catalog with many items on display. Purchases can be arranged over the telephone.

Sheila Britz Home, www.sheilabritz.com, specializes in 19th-century and 20th-century antique furniture. Pages of attractive furniture for sale are orderable online. On one visit to the site, highlights included an 1890s red lacquered chinoiserie cabinet, an 1830s English mahogany bow-front chest of drawers, and 1930s French bagues balloon chandelier.

The Chinese Porcelain Company, www.chineseporcelainco.com, offers intricately decorated jars, dishes, vases, and figurines orderable online. Notable items during one visit to the site included a detailed16th-century-Vietnamese jar , a 5th-century “Head of A Bodhisattva” from Pakistan from the Tang Dynasty, glazed pottery horse, the Kangxi-period mirror black and gilt rouleau vase.

Paris to Province, www.paris-to.com is filled with 18th- and 19th-century French, Italian, and English antiques. One of the best parts of this site is its virtual showroom, where you can click on furniture and chandeliers for an enlarged view and information. The selection online is marvelous as well—over 200 pieces on one visit to the site.

Home Decorating

Just enough is offered online from ABC Carpet & Home’s, appealing inventory to whet shoppers’ appetites, www.abchome.com. Online you can access brief overviews on bedding, linens, furniture, antiques, fabrics, and more. But to truly take in ABC’s diverse selections, you’ll need to order a catalogue.

Felissimo, www.felissimo.com, gives an attractive incentive for shoppers to buy online—you can save up to 20 percent. A large selection of products are available online: jewelry, kitchenware, candles, wind chimes, books, music, tabletop accessories, and stationery. The best part is the gift locator where you input price range, occasion, and product type for suggestions on products.

You can find just about anything related to home decorating at Gracious Home, www.gracioushome.com, from appliances to party supplies. Like at ABC Carpet & Home’s site, you merely get a taste of what they offer. But it’s enough to inspire a visit to Gracious Home next time you’re in the city, or to order their catalogue.

Create an online account and your credit card number and billing address will be stored so you only have to enter it once on Bed, Bath, & Beyond’s site, www.bedbathandbeyond.com. Every necessity imaginable is available—bedding, kitchenware, candles, clocks, slipcovers, hangers, vacuums, and more.

If you need help planning a dinner party, check out Bernardaud’s site, www.bernardaud.net. Find tips on how to create the right affect using lighting, scents, and table settings. And take a “guided tour” through the company’s manufacturing plant to learn how Bernardaud’s exquisite porcelain is created.

Jewelry and Watches

Tiffany & Company has its flagship store in the city. On its site, www.tiffany.com, shoppers can see and buy some of its finest jewelry, tabletop Collections, accessories, and precious extras such as a U.S. $150 sterling-silver baby rattle. The luxurious gift ideas range from a crystal ice bucket and sterling-silver money clip to platinum cuff links and brass clocks.

Fortunoff, www.fortunoff.com/index.asp?dept_id=3000000, may have just the bargain you’re looking for—its online selection is diverse and its prices are low. Shoppers can buy jewelry, obtain answers to frequently asked questions, and acquire information on metals, gemstones, and more. There’s also an antique-jewelry section worth browsing and considering.

A fine jeweler, Harry Winston, www.harry-winston.com, created a jewelry making and selling business in the City that is today regarded as one of the finest in New York. Alas, shoppers can’t order jewels from the site. But it’s fun to look at such models as the Hope Diamond and Star of the East, which made Winston famous.

Erwin Pearl, www.erwinpearl.com, specializes in tasteful costume jewelry, from faux pearls to cubic zirconium. The clothing samples, presented to show buyers which pairs complement one another are helpful. There’s also a section called “Fashion Talk,” that shows how necklaces change the appearances of outfits; plus, instruction on the dos and don’ts of selecting earrings.

Aaron Faber Gallery, www.aaronfaber.com, offers a small collection of jewelry online. The shop is known for its retro watches and the display online ranges from U.S. $750 to $72,000. The most impressive piece we saw on the site: a 15-carat estate bracelet valued at over $18,000.

Cosmetics

Have a skincare analysis on Elizabeth Arden’s site www.elizabetharden.com. You can also fill out a questionnaire for immediate recommendations on perfumes. The site will soon offer a section that will help you select makeup colors.

The pharmacy and department store Zitomer, www.zitomer.com, sells ZNew York cosmetics and beauty products online. In addition to its top-of-the-line makeup, stop here to buy a vanity mirror, bronzer, or eyelash curler. You’ll even find fluffy pink slippers.

Caswell-Massey, www.caswell-massey.com, is known for its tantalizing fragrances. Try the English Lavender or the Freesia perfumes. There’s also an assortment of luxurious facial creams and scrubs—perfect after a long day at work.