New York — Fifth Avenue to Tribeca

The American arc in one line: uptown temples and Madison dandies, then the subway south to the Village’s 1838 apothecary, a shrine of shoes, SoHo’s denim embassy, and the tailoring salon that ends all arguments.

1. 0:00 — Bergdorf Goodman 754 Fifth Avenue at 58th
   Begin at altitude — nine floors on the Vanderbilt plot; ride to 7 for the home floor, descend like a slow avalanche.
2. 0:45 — Paul Stuart Madison Avenue at 45th
   Down Madison: Ivy’s wittier cousin since 1938 — ask for Phineas Cole if feeling brave.
3. 1:10 — J. Press Midtown East
   The Yale outfitter, 1902 — shaggy Shetlands and the flap-pocket oxford that built a century of campuses.
4. 1:45 — C.O. Bigelow 414 Sixth Avenue, Greenwich Village
   Subway to the Village: America’s oldest apothecary — gaslight fixtures, Twain’s prescriptions on file.
5. 2:15 — Leffot 10 Christopher Street
   Around the corner: one tiny perfect room of Edward Green and Corthay — the shoe pilgrimage, concluded.
6. 2:45 — Blue in Green 8 Greene Street, SoHo
   Walk south into the cast-iron blocks: Japanese selvedge wall to wall, the hemming machine humming in back.
7. 3:20 — The Armoury 168 Duane Street, Tribeca
   Finale in Tribeca — Mark Cho’s salon where Neapolitan, Florentine and Japanese tailoring shake hands over coffee.

Aïmé Leon Dore’s café queue, Kith’s cereal bar, and Dover Street Market on Lexington reward remaining stamina; Russ & Daughters’ lox and the Strand’s eighteen miles of books are the other New York, one bridge of appetite away.