Hey all,

This week I take another brief departure from writing about energy to fulfill some grad school requirements.  Enjoy.

There is not one SoHo, but many Sohos. In recent years the area has become a hub for shopping and restaurants, particularly those that cater to high-end fashion shoppers.  You can find everything from Ted Baker, Ralph Lauren, and Prada to Nike and Hollister.  The area is a place where well-heeled New Yorkers walk alongside tourists from all over the world.  What you are buying depends largely on where you are from.

The pricing of American brands and the overall selection of goods available in New York are very attractive to tourists hailing from other countries.

“The Italian brands are more expensive here than they are in Europe, so we are more interested in the American brands”, said Sasha Zidansek, a Slovenian woman who came to New York on business. Zidansek, who works for IBM.  “I mean, Nike in Slovenia? Come on.”

Danny Mieles, a sales associate at 3X1 Denim on Mercer Street, said they draw customers from all countries and all professions for their ready-to-wear, custom made, and bespoke raw denim jeans.

“We get a lot of people from Australia, and Brazil,” Mieles said.  “We get professional athletes, wealthy businessmen.”

3X1 gets little press in American media, but was featured on a Brazilian travel show called “Manhattan Spotlight”.   The exposure gave them an increase in Brazilian customers.

Rudy Young, who works for a small high-end French brand called Surface to Air, said their block of Mercer Street (a few doors down from 3X1) was not even considered part of SoHo a few years ago.  The label has only three stores in the world—in Paris, Brazil, and New York—so their customers likewise come from all over the world.

Young agrees that there are different SoHo’s.  The store offers its guests a map of stores and restaurants they advise their customers to visit.

“These are places we think are aligned with our aesthetic,” Young told me as he pointed to the map.

Some people are not necessarily here for shopping.  Pelin Ozer, a businesswoman from Turkey, was not in SoHo to buy anything, but said friends told her to visit the area.

Wearing an “I (heart) NY” hooded sweatshirt, Ozer stopped to ask me for directions to SoHo.  She had several printed pages of advice from friends in Istanbul on places to visit while in New York.

She saw Prada and a few stores, but they have many of those in Istanbul, she said.  Besides she was not in New York to shop.

“I am here to see the sights,” she said.