(Photo: Jeremy Liebman)

• Peress

  1006 Madison Ave., 212-861-6336

  Peress is not the place to shop if you’re planning to jump out of a cake or audition for a job at Scores. But if you’re like most women in this town—in need of well-made, comfortable lingerie to hold you in, keep you warm, and work with, not against, what you’re wearing on top—Peress is heaven. At this nicely retro spot on a stretch of Madison Avenue that’s more about global glamour than old New York, the wares ($17 for a thong to $600 for a silk robe) are stored in an endless series of Lucite drawers and doled out thoughtfully by seasoned staff members who’ve most certainly fitted a bra or two. They’ve got all the best brands—enough Hanro to keep you insulated for the rest of your life—and a sweetly protective “this is what you need, honey” bedside manner.

From the 2006 Best of New York issue of New York Magazine