This winter's coziest jackets are also its coolest. Here are five easy ways to perk up your dress-down days.

Autumn in New York -- upstate, that is -- never seemed so inviting. Especially when day trips are this affordable: Time to take your leave to see the leaves.

Alter boys: Alongside NoLIta's fashion boutiques, a satellite industry thrives: the local guys who can make those hip-huggers really hug.

Shave and a haircut: Okay, it costs a little more than two bits -- but these barbers still keep their prices trimmed.

Polish your act: That sleek, pampered look doesn't have to break your budget. This summer, get trimmed, buffed, and tinted in a top salon at barber-shop prices.

Positively 8th Street: The downtown shoe-seeker's mecca, formerly on a downscale spiral, turns on its heel -- and we pay its shops a booty call.

Tea on your tie? Coffee on your cashmere? Don't send those items to the cleaners' when you can scrub them yourself: We got a professional to spill his secrets.

Park prospects: When drive-to-the-Hamptons season approaches, you don't have to choose between your summer share and paying your car's rent.

Nothing fishy here: Madison Avenue's taken to minimalist Asian tableware, but the originals are a better deal -- and they're not just for sushi anymore.