What Are People Shopping Right Now? Vogue Took to the Streets to Find Out

Signs of spring are blooming all over New York City: The birdwatchers are out in Central Park, coffee drinkers are crowding around Ralph’s Polo Bar and Aime Leon Doré, and shoppers are back in full force. On a recent Saturday, bouts of rain and wind didn’t stop New Yorkers from lining up at the Louis Vuitton, Dior, and Chanel stores on 57th Street, or queuing for Prada’s epicenter in SoHo.

To some, the re-emergence of retail marks a new kind of consumerism: “Revenge shopping” is the idea that a new leather bag or lug-sole sandal will somehow stick it to the pandemic and the 14 long months of austerity we’ve all lived through. But is buying something fancy the only way to express joy? Shoppers from Madison Avenue to Broadway say that they’re less interested in outfitting themselves for a new kind of roaring ’20s than they are in buying something built to last.

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