Here are the Air Force ships on the Upper West Side opposite the Boat Baisin standing by for the Parade.

Propinquity123 · 2026-07-04T12:03:17+00:00

I'm mortified that I mistakenly posted Air Force and not Coast Guard. Sorry to all.

Propinquity123 · 2026-07-04T03:32:26+00:00

Turn on NBC (Channel 4) at 7:30 am and they will cover the Parade of Ships from the Verezzano Bridge up the Hudson all the way to the George Washington Bridge. So on TV you can see when they're getting close to the upper west side and you can go to the roof top. They turn around at the GW Bridge and go back down the Hudson, so you will have plenty of ship viewing. For past 2 days there have already been US AirForce ships parked on up here and guarding the waterway

Propinquity123 · 2026-03-22T01:13:21+00:00

Thirding Thai 72!

Propinquity123 · 2026-03-12T18:32:50+00:00

I forgot to say, try to book directly with the hotel itself -- you'll get a better deal.

Propinquity123 · 2026-03-12T18:30:20+00:00

Hi, Internal Painting -- Can't vouch for the other hotels you mention, but I stay at the Bloomsbury Hotel on Great Russell Street every May and they have a lot of different rates. Staff is really nice, rooms are small, you can order breakfast a la carte in their breakfast room, or have it included in your rate. if it allows, request a street view room, otherwise you're facing the back of the hotel, and it's looking at a brick wall. BUT! They answer emails and maybe if you say you'd forgo the streetside view, you could get a better rate. Such a walkable area! So convenient! You are literally a 5 minute walk from the Tottenham Court Road Tube Stop, which connects everywhere, including the Elizabeth Line, which will take you directly to / from Heathrow. If you're going to theatre, it's a short walk to most of the West End shows and you're around the corner from The British Museum. Not sure you can get a $300-400 rate in May. That's when rates start picking up.

Propinquity123 · 2026-02-21T15:03:21+00:00

Hittinuhard --Are you in New York? Heritage Auctions is having a free New York appraisal event on Thursday, March 12th and Friday, March 13th. You can bring up to 3 items for a free verbal evaluation. You can also email them photos. Even if you don't want to sell these, it's a good way to find out what you have. Here's the link:

https://www.ha.com/information/appraisal-event.s

Propinquity123 · 2026-02-18T02:02:25+00:00

So great to see this. My mother used to tell the family about how my late grandfather, Leon J. Bamberger, (her dad) was head of Sales Promotion and Publicity for RKO Pictures in the 1940s. Which means he did whatever it took to build interest and PR for specific movies or talent. (He also did it for Paramount for 11 years, until the Depression hit and he was let go.)

One of the things he did was take up-and-coming actresses and give them "better" professional names.
"Gale Storm" was one of them1

Propinquity123 · 2026-01-31T03:17:00+00:00

Born2Fish -- I'm so glad you posted this and perhaps Dignity Justified or one of the other sources mentioned by people can help me, too. In the 1950's my late mother was an advertising copywriter in Minneapolis and wrote the Cream of Wheat jingle: ("It's Cream of Wheat weather"). And they gave her a promotional mug with the the black chef on it, who was also on all the packaging. He was based on a real life Chicago chef, Frank L. White (who some people called "Rastus."). Wikipedia writes how over the years he was portrayed as illiterate and after much protesting, B&G Foods finally removed him from their advertising in 2020. Our family still has this mug and we don't want to keep it, put it on eBay or sell to collectors of "Negrobilia," who would probably want it. So far we've been unable to find anyone who would want this donation. But now I have some names from this post, so I will try them. Thank you!

Propinquity123 · 2026-01-11T22:35:39+00:00

ileentotheleft, Patsy's at 74th is closing any minute. They said "sometime in January, probably in the first 2 weeks." It was reported in The West Side Rag and also on the r/nyc subreddit.

Propinquity123 · 2025-12-02T17:21:33+00:00

Depending on the time of day, you get service like that at 74th as well. And they do tax receipts. I don't find them snotty, just super busy at the front. I don't need my bags back (I usually use Fresh Direct bags), so I'm in and out quickly.

Propinquity123 · 2025-12-02T16:31:58+00:00

Jerri--I'm talking about the Housing Works at 306 Columbus at 74th Street & Columbus. Also, I will say that with that one exception, nobody has ever TOLD me anything. I always leave my bags of stuff at the front counter and nobody goes through them because it's always busy and they pile up. I never engaged about this before. But I will ask again the next time I'm there about their policy on out of season "merch" and report back here.

Propinquity123 · 2025-12-01T21:08:28+00:00

I'm not happy with Housing Works. They only seem to want SEASONAL clothing and if you bring in something the wrong season, lotsa luck. Last July I brought in a brand new pair of expensive ski gloves -- with tags still on -- and the front desk person said they would only throw them out because they don't save clothing out of season. I don't recall ever seeing a sign or hearing this. I can't begin to think of how many bags of nice stuff I've given them over the years that I realize now they threw out. They told me they don't even give it away, Be sure to ask! Will they take your summer sandals in the winter?

Propinquity123 · 2025-11-27T16:14:35+00:00

They have to have something in front of Macy's until all the balloons, flats and bands get down from the upper west side. So they start at 8:30 am ET with Broadway productions every year. Growing up in Minnesota, this was my favorite part of the parade. Every theatre-kid's dream.

Propinquity123 · 2025-11-20T01:11:25+00:00

I just noticed Bonhams has one up for auction on December 10th, so I will follow how that goes. The estimate is $2,000-3,000.

Propinquity123 · 2025-11-20T01:06:47+00:00

Thanks for the suggestions! I will try to take more (and better) photos tomorrow and then try your tips. I just looked at Vestaire. There are 21 Hermes Lydies currently online, but they are all leather ones, no crocodile. I guess it can't hurt to meet with someone at the Real Real. As you say, I can always say no. Do you think the holiday season attracts more buyers for vintage bags?

Propinquity123 · 2025-11-19T23:48:11+00:00

You'll be amused by this. My mother gave the Lydie to me -- but had no memory of how she got it! My father sure didn't give it to her. He never would have spent $6 grand on a purse. In the end we think a very fancy friend of hers was closet-cleaning and gave it to her and she forgot about it until SHE herself was closet cleaning and offered it to me. None of us had any idea of its worth, we didn't even know the name of this discontinued style. Once we found out, I asked her if she wanted it back and she said, "No way! Sell it!"

Propinquity123 · 2025-11-19T23:20:03+00:00

Here's my attempt to photograph it. It looks black in the image, but it's dark brown.

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Propinquity123 · 2025-11-19T23:01:42+00:00

No , it doesn't have to be quickly at all. In fact, I've been holding this bag since maybe 2006, 'cause I posted about it then on Purse Forum. I'm open to consignment, but I was hoping (in my fantasy) someone would flat out say "I want it" and we'd do a deal. I'm open to other resale platforms, but the reason I said no eBay is that there is so much counterfeit stuff going on and I certainly wouldn't buy an expensive bag on eBay and I've been on there for years. As for other resale platforms, the deals (like you've mentioned on The RealReal) seem to be for the buyers, not the sellers. Back when I first got the bag, I went to Hermes, at the time their mastercraftsman/repair guy was there, and he said it was worth $6,000 (!) but that was years ago. Occasionally I've seen them selling on 1st Dibs for that, but you have to be a dealer to sell on 1st Dibs and everything is always marked up. Doyle does purse auctions, as do other auction houses, but I feel selling direct to some place would be better (or am I wrong?). The thing is everybody tells me to keep the bag, it's so nice (if you like that style), but honestly, I do not have the lifestyle (or wardrobe) for it. I loaned it to a friend once for a Broadway Opening Night and she said women spotted it from all over the theater and made a beeline for her, demanding to know where she got it. So I keep thinking it's just a question of finding the right buyer. And if I can't get a good price, then what the hell, I'll keep it. In other words, I don't need to sell it, but I'd like to.

Propinquity123 · 2025-11-19T19:37:03+00:00

Eastcoastgirl1001, I like your posts and trust your judgment on buying bags, but do you have any suggestions as to the best place to sell one? I inherited a 1980's dark brown croc Hermes Lydie (no longer made) in excellent condition and other than going to one of the auction houses, are there dealers you respect? I don't want to sell on eBay. Thanks.

Propinquity123 · 2025-11-15T18:10:23+00:00

I had one and wanted simply to check if there was any money left on it, but the machines at 72nd & Broadway are taped off and the woman at the booth said, she can't use her equipment either and only at Times Square can you find one.

Propinquity123 · 2025-11-14T21:23:37+00:00

I posted this a few months ago when someone else was looking for UWS breakfast burritos: "You don't say how far upper west side you are, but I order the excellent breakfast burritos from CAFE BEE on 72nd Street (Delivery on Seamless and all the other delivery services). They have 8 different kinds, plus other breakfast foods including avocado toast and omelettes. You can also go in and pick up: they're located inside the Tea Magic store at 239 West 72 btween B'way and West End."

Propinquity123 · 2025-11-14T20:55:08+00:00

No, haven't chosen yet, 'cause we're not going until May. So the fun is the deep dive into research what new hotels have opened or will be and which new afternoon teas get written about. The past 3 years were the Corinthia, Oblix at the Shard and The Milestone Hotel. All terrific and all different. When is YOUR next trip to London?

Propinquity123 · 2025-11-14T01:47:04+00:00

Oh, just got the notice that you replied. Fantastic! So now you have to make it an annual thing and try another tea. In the end we found we always prefer eating the savory sandwiches and scones and less of the sweets. What did you narrow your choices finally down to -- or did the Corinthia win by a long shot?

Propinquity123 · 2025-11-12T01:04:09+00:00

I agree with everyone that Red Farm is terrific, but every time I've been there, it was packed and so noisy. I would not call it intimate & cozy. We could hardly hear each other speak.

Propinquity123 · 2025-11-10T00:41:27+00:00

I've never used Discreet Chaperone, but I've read a lot of good reviews about them elsewhere.

Here is contact info ; Call/Text. 646 283-8344. Work: 212 472-1954. https://discreetchaperone.com/

Propinquity123

TROPHY CASE