Otherwise known as the Fashion District, this thread-obsessed territory might look like an unremarkable stretch of designers' offices and wholesale and retail shops, but it's where you'll find a huge selection of fabrics, sequins, lace and, chances are, those day-glo velvet buttons you've been missing since 1986.
In the lead up to Fashion Week (February and September), the area swarms with portfolio-clutching models on their way from one casting to the next. Whatever the time of year, look down at the sidewalk when you hit Seventh Ave and 39th St and you'll catch the Fashion Walk of Fame, honoring the likes of Betsey Johnson, Marc Jacobs, Geoffrey Beene, Halston and other fashion visionaries. It's on the same corner as Claes Oldenburg's sculpture of the world's largest button, held upright by a 31ft-tall steel needle.