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Published: Thursday, April 27, 2006
By Cecily Hall
The nation's top metro areas ranked by the amount of money
spent on jewelry and accessories by females.
Accessories are the engine driving today's fashion business,
but where are the best customers located? Fort Worth, Tex.-based
retail research firm Buxton created the following ranking
by taking a weighted average of three ratios in metro statistical
areas: spending on jewelry and accessories to number of females,
spending of females 18 and older and the number of people
interested in fashion in each area (based on responses gathered
from surveys and total fashion magazine subscriptions). Said
Rich Hollander, president of Buxton's CustomerID division:
"Some metro areas — like Washington, Chicago and
Detroit — have affluent suburbs where much of the spending
is happening." New York and Los Angeles missed the top
10, coming in at 15th and 18th, respectively. Why so low?
"The average area is weighted at 100. New York's index
score is 162, so New Yorkers are still spending 62 percent
more than the average MSA, while L.A. is spending 55 percent
more — both still rank extremely high," said Hollander.
Women's accessories index: 206
This metro area serves the needs of America's biggest political
players, many of whom make their homes in the upscale suburbs
of Virginia and Maryland — some of which include Chevy
Chase, Bethesda and Silver Spring in Maryland and Alexandria
and Arlington in Virginia. Downtown Bethesda is full of unique
shops, many of which cater to the accessories-obsessed: such
as Hayden Harnett Handbags + Accessories, Bag Boutique and
The Purse Store. And Alexandria's historic Old Town district
(left), a revitalized waterfront area with cobblestone streets,
Colonial houses and churches, museums, shops and restaurants,
is home to numerous antique shops, including Silverman Galleries
and Antique Guild, both of which specialize in estate jewelry.
Women's accessories index: 206
Stamford Town Center (left) has been a staple for Connecticut
shoppers since 1982. Featuring more than 100 shops and restaurants,
the mall houses such accessories destinations as Tumi luggage,
Bailey Banks and Biddle and Claire's Accessories. Christian
Bernard offers a variety of jewelry, including watches, earrings,
bracelets, necklaces and more. Other jewelers in the region
include William Gordon Jewelers, Agabhumi-The Best of Bali
and Marco Jewelers.
Women's accessories index: 201
The Windy City's North Shore community includes many of the
most affluent areas in greater metropolitan Chicago, including
Evanston, Wilmette and Winnetka. Chicago's downtown area also
has plenty when it comes to the world of accessories: Magnificent
Mile offers top retailers such as Saks Fifth Avenue (left),
Lord & Taylor and Nordstrom, along with jewelers such
as Tiffany and Van Cleef & Arpels. Nearby Oak Street is
known for its upscale boutiques and specialty gift stores,
while — perhaps most importantly for jewelry seekers
— State Street houses the Midwest's largest jewelry
district.
Women's accessories index: 184
The hub of hippie culture in the Sixties, Haight Ashbury retains
its reputation, offering a stretch of shops that showcase
local designers, hip restaurants, piercing salons, vintage
shops and exclusive boutiques. On Haight Street (left), shoppers
can find Verd's Funk, which features apparel and accessories
from local artists and jewelry designers, and Piedmont Boutique,
a specialty shop for lingerie, fetishwear, unique jewelry,
gloves, hats, purses and more. Some of San Fran's larger department
stores can be found in Union Square — Macy's, Saks Fifth
Avenue and Neiman Marcus included, while Gucci, Louis Vuitton
and Cartier also have stores in this area.
Women's accessories index: 182
Located 10 miles from Philadelphia and over the Pennsylvania
border in New Jersey is Cherry Hill Mall, the first enclosed
shopping center in the East. The mall, which houses 165 moderate-to-upscale
shops, is a major destination for some of the most affluent
shoppers living in southern New Jersey. Women who are looking
to accessorize can visit such stores as Coach, Fred Meyers
Jewelers and Zales. Closer to Philly is Urban Outfitters Inc.'s
headquarters, located downtown on Market Street. The specialty
retailer, which owns Anthropologie and Urban Oufitters, sells
apparel, accessories and home furnishings at two Anthropologie
shops and three Urban Outfitters locations — one can
be found in the King of Prussia Mall, which features more
than 400 stores, restaurants and boutiques.
Women's accessories index: 182
This metro area, known much better as Long Island to New Yorkers,
comprises shopping spots such as Garden City's Roosevelt Field.
The indoor mall (left), built originally in 1909, holds more
than 270 specialty shops (along with four anchor stores),
and is one of the largest in the country by gross leasable
area. It houses Perlina, Icing by Claire's and Kenneth Cole,
among other stores. Located on the North Shore is Americana
Manhasset, a shopping mecca of more than 45 upscale stores,
including Barneys New York, Cartier and David Yurman. And
on the eastern end of Long Island is the upscale community
known as The Hamptons, where London Jewelers and Rose Jewelers
are located.
Women's accessories index: 181
San Jose offers a number of shopping possibilities, from upscale
Santana Row (left) and boutiques on Antique Row to malls and
flea markets, as well. At santanarow.com, shoppers can look
up profiles of all the accessories shops located in this destination,
such as Cole Haan, Burberry and Bella Dolci, which specializes
in handmade leather garments and handbags. Another huge shopping
haven is the San Jose Flea Market — the largest open-air
market in the U.S., covering 120 acres and eight miles of
retail-packed pathways. San Jose is a rapidly growing part
of Silicon Valley, with wealthy communities such as Palo Alto
and Los Gatos nearby.
Women's accessories index: 178
Located in the Back Bay area of Boston is Newbury Street,
the city's answer to Fifth Avenue or Rodeo Drive. The historic
street (left) spans eight city blocks, and its storefronts
offer charming glimpses of Boston during the mid-to-late 19th
century. Among a plethora of cafes, antique stores, custom
clothiers and brand-name boutiques are some of the city's
hot accessories shops, including the Erwin Pearl, Karyatis
Greek Antiquity, Sarkis Sajonian Jewelry & Watches and
So Good Jewelry.
Women's accessories index: 172
Though Detroit's suburbs boast some of the wealthiest incomes
in America, the Riverfront Shops at the GM Renaissance Center
(part of the General Motors' headquarters site) can be found
in the heart of downtown Detroit. The mall (left) encompasses
accessories and jewelry spots such as Corey's Jewel Box, Costa
D'Oro Jewelers and Susan's Sheer Elegance. On Detroit's east
side lies a group of suburbs collectively known as Grosse
Pointe. In downtown Grosse Pointe, the main shopping district
is known simply as The Village. This area is anchored by Jacobson's
department store and includes unique specialty apparel and
accessories shops such as Boutique Bellissima and Dawood.
Women's accessories index: 171
In addition to several well-known stores, such as Macy's,
Bloomingdale's, Sears and Nordstrom, anchoring Minneapolis'
gargantuan Mall of America (left) — which boasts 2.5
million square feet of gross leasable space — accessories
shops such as Bijou Bijou, Brighton Collectibles, Icing by
Claire's and Local Charm-A Minnesota Jewelry Studio can be
visited between trips to the mall's very own aquarium, wedding
chapel and indoor theme park. Other key attractions include
the Lego Imagination Center, Dinosaur Walk Museum, A.C.E.S.
Flight Simulation and NASCAR Silicon Motor Speedway.
Source: buxton, a retail research firm based in fort worth,
tex.; average score for metro areas was weighted at 100; JEWELRY
AND ACCESSORIES IS DEFINED BY BUXTON AS JEWELRY, HATS, BELTS,
SCARVES, HANDBAGS, GLOVES, MITTENS, PURSES AND HANDKERCHIEFS;
*indicates a tie; for an expanded version of the rankings,
go to wwd.com
* This article was published with the permission of Women’s
Wear Daily
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Areas That Accessorize - (continued) 
