Cheap 'n' Choosy Chelsea

That's what they charged me to take the waistline of my jeans in - and in about 10 mins flat. Nicely taken apart, cut, and re-sewn like new. Most other stores a few blocks west in Chelsea charge $15. $15 was the quote for tapering the delightfully garish florid Debra Rodman shift I got from my favorite consignment store, New and Almost New . But the job was done properly - armhole binding opened and restitched, not simply run up both sides like I would have done if my sewing machine was her instead of downunder. While I waited a woman brought in some green pants to be shortened and the hems were cut and sewn before she had a chance to sit down. "$5," said the cashier. "$4?" she ventured. "OK, $4." "You bargain here?" I asked her, incredulously. " I do," she said. Pensioners (or pensioner-apparents) can get away with anything! At $5 there can't have been a lot of profit in it. I just hope the workers are treated well. What's

Doncha hate maps that ... a) Tear along the creases, especially when flapping about on a windy street corner, and get soggy when wet b) Omit streets. I'm sorry, a useful map has to have EVERY STREET marked, to be called a map c) Are super detailed in some respects, but not the way you really need it d) Fold stupidly, so you can never get it folded right again I've discovered what I consider York's best map - all things considered being a freebie, assuming you can get your hands on one. It's by a company who call themselves NYTAB.COM - New York Travel Advisory Bureau, sounding as government-sanctioned as "Department of the Interior". The map concertinas to a nice, standard envelope shape that slips nicely into a pocket. The subway lines crystal clear. It names every street. The best feature is you can fold to precisely the area you're traveling in "page" forward or back with a simple flip as you go up or downtown. No massiv

Latest C'n'C tip comes appears on my Gal blog, in conjunction with my Traffic Cone bag. Take a look !