Sunday in SOHO ... From the Eyes of a Trend Follower

I am in NYC working for a bit.

It’s freezing here in the city, but the locals stay inside and the streets are quiet so I like that. This afternoon I got some shopping done in SOHO.

SOHO is my favorite part of New York. I like the low buildings, the light, the shopping and the streets. In 2008-2010, the Stocktwits HQ was out of an apartment I rented in SOHO.

It’s a little city within the city for people like me that like to shop, eat, people watch and check out brands new and old.

For movies, there is Angelica theatre (totally needs to be redone already).

There are great hotels.

Everything I wear has a store in SOHO. AG jeans, Apple store, Nike store on Spring (5 floors), Converse store (Broadway), Stance store for underwear and socks (Broadway). I get my dress shirts, coats and suits at ARI on West Broadway.

It’s not just the shopping…

I get my pizza at Prince Street or Lombardi’s.

Falafel at Taim’s.

I get cake at The Little Cupcake Bakeshop on Prince Street.

I did not know much about SOHO until Malcolm Gladwell’s book ‘The Tipping Point‘ in the early 2000’s. The Hush Puppies story really rung true to me.

I started to walk the streets and wonder why Malcolm Gladwell had not taken the next step in talking about trends and apply ‘tipping points’ to making money in stocks.

Ever since, SOHO is a place I spend a lot of time walking the streets to see how the big brands are thinking and how the newer brands are attacking.

Of course, SOHO has changed a lot in the last 10 years. Between Amazon and high real estate prices, the boutique retailer is all but gone. But, an emerging trend today is e-commerce ‘first’ brands launching ‘pop-up’ stores. In essence a ‘gig economy’ for new brands to test, launch and grow sales to a global audience of shoppers.

Despite all the changes, SOHO remains a trend followers dream.