American Eagle Outfitters

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The two-story flagship across from Union Square is pretty much like the label’s 1,000 other stores, which have become standard mall fare. Easy-going high school and college kids with headsets greet customers, while TRL–worthy videos play on plasma screens behind the registers. The focus is on preppy, casual basics like tattered polos and button-downs, branded tees and hoodies, and denim for every shape and size. Though it borrows from the Abercrombie aesthetic, the store delivers its laid-back goods at much lower prices. (And the fresh-faced models in the giant wall photos are, by and large, fully clothed.) — Christopher James Richter