A Spandex District? Really?
New York has an interesting habit of forming areas where similar businesses all set up shop, eventually forming a "district" for their specialty. The best known are the famous Diamond District, located in the upper 40's on the west side, and the Fashion District, over on 7th Ave. There are also some lesser known districts, like the Photography District in Chelsea, or the Perfume and Cheap Silver Jewelry District just south of Korea Town (which I made the unfortunate mistake of living in).
Today, while walking down 38th Street on my way to work, I discovered one of the oddest districts I've seen yet, the Spandex District. This block, between 7th and 8th Avenue, has at least five separate Spandex retailers: Spandex World, Inc., Stretch World, Spandex House, Stretch-It Fabrics, and 21st Century Fabrics, Inc. (specializing in Spandex and Lycra!). Granted, I'm not on the cutting edge of the fashion world, but last I checked, major uses for Spandex these days consist of ballerinas' leotards and people dressing up as the 80's for Halloween. Seriously, where is all this demand for Spandex coming from? Who is keeping these shops in business?
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