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The Look Book Goes to Zitomer

We spoke to shoppers at the nearly 70-year-old Upper East Side pharmacy–slash–department store.

Lynn B. Goddess, retired, Upper East Side. Photo: Kyle Dorosz

Where are you coming from?
I’m here every Thursday after my standing 11:30 at Serge Normant. It’s a very well-known salon.

What are you buying today?
Chanel eyeliner and a bottle of Opium by YSL, which has been my fragrance for 30 years. The second floor has a wonderful array of greeting cards. I’m a Papyrus woman — do you know what Papyrus is?

Yes.
Well, they have Papyrus here but also have even-higher-end makes. Zitomer is stocked by a woman of taste; that’s why it’s still going strong, unlike Barneys, which is on the block. She is a woman of taste, and the women who shop here are women of taste. Some more than others, of course.

Eliza Asa, housewife, Upper East Side. Photo: Kyle Dorosz
Arlene Levkoff, retired, Rye Brook. Photo: Kyle Dorosz

Are you a regular here?
Yes. I’m very loyal. I’ve been with my dentist for 40 years, my Korean hairdresser, Suki, for 26. When I like something, I like something.

Virginia Coleman, communications director, Upper East Side. Photo: Kyle Dorosz
Elise Ganbarg, fashion representative, Upper East Side. Photo: Kyle Dorosz
Nancy Seltzer, real-estate agent, Lenox Hill. Photo: Kyle Dorosz
Shirley Sacks, writer, Beverly Hills, California. Photo: Kyle Dorosz
Trudy Selib, jewelry wholesaler, Upper East Side. Photo: Kyle Dorosz

What did you buy?
Gifts for my granddaughter, who is at camp. She sent me a note wondering how her parents were doing without her. They’re doing just fine.

Capucine Milliot, publicist, Harlem. Photo: Kyle Dorosz
Ursula Lowerre, empty-nester, Upper East Side. Photo: Kyle Dorosz
Barbara Brous, retired, Upper East Side. Photo: Kyle Dorosz

What else did you do today?
Well, on the walk over from my apartment, I stopped to take a peek at Jeffrey Epstein’s mansion. It’s shockingly large.

Kathryn Vecellio, volunteer, Palm Beach, Florida. Photo: Kyle Dorosz
Delphine Hibon, pilates-studio owner, Upper East Side. Photo: Kyle Dorosz
Lynne Davis, publicist, Upper East Side. Photo: Kyle Dorosz
Rory Shanley-Brown, retired, Greenwich Village. Photo: Kyle Dorosz
Elizabeth Denitto, retired, Upper East Side. Photo: Kyle Dorosz
Donna Nadeau, merchandiser, West Village. Photo: Kyle Dorosz
Arabella Cummings, Bay Harbor, Michigan. Photo: Kyle Dorosz
Wynell Schrenk, philanthropist, Naples, Florida. Photo: Kyle Dorosz

Who is the Zitomer customer?
A certain type of lady of a certain age. I once ran into Lee Radziwill here. I told her she looked beautiful.

*This article appears in the August 19, 2019, issue of New York Magazine. Subscribe Now!

The Look Book Goes to Zitomer