Writer and performer Mark Sam Rosenthal, of the one-man show Blanche Survives Katrina in a FEMA Trailer Named Desire, muses on King cake, critics and the beloved Blanche DuBois. Now playing at the Soho Playhouse through March 15.

Suze Orman is about as likely to tell you to invest in a v-neck sweater as she is to suggest putting money under a mattress. But these days, a Barbour jacket might be a safer investment than say, 100 shares of Google stock. However, with the public and media's increasingly vocal disapproval of conspicuous consumption, it’s best to lay low and stick with the classics (or at least designs that look like them). So go on -- wrap yourself in the certainty of a time-tested brand with a few New York shopping options.