The Mall at Short Hills: Possibly the Most High-End Mall I've Ever Visited!

[@kjquinn7856]

Here's some history: B. Altman closed in about 1990 and the store sat vacant until the owner demolished it and built an entirely new wing in its location in the mid-1990's. That wing is where Nordstrom and Nieman Marcus are now located. Prior to the completion of the new wing, the first level of the mall had a dead-end - there was no entrance to B. Altman on that level; you had to go up to the second level in order to enter Altman's. Bonwit-Teller was replaced by Saks Fifth Avenue which moved from nearby Millburn to the Mall (the old Saks store is still vacant 30 years later). Saks was midway between the Bloomingdale's end and the Nordstrom end and closed in about 2018. The management of the Mall had some very strict (odd?) rules. Prior to the 1995 renovations, there was a Friendly's restaurant on the first level. It was not permitted to sell ice cream cones because the mall management didn't want people dropping the ice cream on the floor of the mall. Management also forced out bookstores because they determined that people who came to the mall to go to the book stores tended not to shop in the rest of the mall and stayed too long, taking up valuable parking spaces. After the 1995 renovation, a small Barnes & Noble opened, but it did not have a cafe for that very reason. The store closed after about three years. There never has been a food court in the Mall at Short Hills. Instead, there are restaurants - again the idea was to prevent "hangouts" for teens and the general sloppiness of a food court area. As for the fountain with the sphere, I recall it being there when the mall was first enclosed in the early 1980's. Then the original anchor stores were B. Altman, Abraham & Strauss, Bonwit-Teller and Bloomingdale's. There were also a two story Brooks Brothers, a Wallach's (men's store) and Roots (a local men's store chain). B. Dalton and Doubleday also had book stores in the newly-enclosed mall.

[@allylee4616]

This is our local mall! I’m so happy you did a video. Thanks for the great vid as always and glad you seemed to like short hills ☺️

[@sharonsalzberg2654]

Lived in Bergen County for 63 years before moving to Va. Riverside Square was my go to luxury mall but not nearly as great as the Short Hills Mall.

[@rachaelgoldman5846]

The Mall at Short Hills was renovated in Fall 1995, with an opening in Sept or October. Worked at the Borders from 1997 - 2001. It was a good place to work for. The glass globe fountain has been there since the 1980s. Thank you for this video.

[@matt.stevick]

i’ve been to this mall a few times. it is truly a sight to see and beautiful. 🇺🇸 new jersey 💰 strong 💪🏼

[@seanannigans]

I always remember a fountain like that in Short Hills. It's different one now, but the old one was bigger. We used to toss coins from the upper level into the opening in the top. Even though I didn't live that far from it, it was way out of our price range growing up. None of my crowd ever hung out there, instead going to Livingston, Willowbrook, or Rockaway. Later, I had a summer job down the street and spent my lunches there. Loved the A&W - perhaps a little too much.

[@tracysills257]

This mall is my favorite mall. No real crowds. Not accessible easily by public transportation. Every visit you will see something new. The layout is cozy, clean, and inviting

[@buzzinbee9463]

You think you're better than others without a car? 😂

[@tracysills257]

@buzzinbee9463 yup! Ya got me! /insert sarcasm here/🙄

[@sharonsalzberg2654]

I visited the mall on two recent visits back to my home state, the most recent one was back at the end of July. It is so high end with the most beautiful luxury designer stores: right up my alley. I think that it is the finest mall on the entire East Coast.

[@brmnyc]

I can remember when this was still an outdoor mall, and the massive reconstruction job from 1979-1980 that transformed it into the mall that you see today. It's remarkable that the interior architecture has held up so well, it does not look dated. It took years for all of the smaller store spaces to be occupied. I ended up working for A&S (Abraham & Straus) in this location from 1989-1991. During that time both B. Altman and Bonwit Teller went out of business, a very sad time, and Bloomingdale's and A&S were the only anchors. Altman's was located about where the Neiman Marcus is, and Bonwit's was where Sak's/Crate & Barrel is. But those structures were torn down and built as new stores. Nordstrom was added on, in the 90's. There used to be a Friendly's restaurant between A&S (Macy's) and Altman's where I would often pick up lunch, and some times an ice cream cone. I recall that the developers intentionally did not want to include any sort of a food court in this mall, only sit down restaurants. By the way, I believe the glass globe fountain goes all the way back to the 1980 opening of the indoor mall.

[@tontonsreview2303]

This is the nicest mall I’ve ever seen. I am shocked places like this still exist!

[@sokiecribbs5881]

South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa, CA definitely gives this mall a run for it’s money. I would say it’s even better.

[@eddiegrapes8704]

I grew up in a Livingston Mall family, which is 5 minutes downn the road from the Short Hills Mall. As a kid I hated the rare trip to Short Hills because all the stores sucked for a kid. The only redeeming virtue back then was getting to go to Friendly's.

[@vincentmiller816]

Same, also as a middle class family, we never fit in in the short hills mall, but with the Livingston malls decline, we honestly don’t fit in there either lol

[@Time2shine11]

I remember going too the CD store in short hills mall , thanks for sharing. Be safe out there

[@Mlink187]

The high end notoriety did not go unnoticed RIP Dustin Friedland who was murdered in the carpark 11 years ago after spending his anniversary shopping with his wife

[@MrSloika]

His POS widow sued everyone after his muder including the municipal ambulance squad!

[@theoriginalr7310]

I have worked at and shopped at the Short Hills Mall. One of the reasons the mall is still doing well is that it is open on Sundays. That may seem obvious, but nearby Bergen County still has a blue law which means the malls there are closed on Sundays. Bergen county is a wealthy area (like Short Hills and nearby Summit). Those shoppers travel to the Short Hills Mall. Though New York is near Bergen County, New york charges sales tax on clothing- 8.875% in Manhattan.

[@kjquinn7856]

Yes, I used to live nearby and on weekends, a large percentage of the cars had New York plates. It was cheaper to drive to New Jersey where there was no tax on clothing and shoes.

[@bonitagantt9267]

Love the Malls. Look forward to seeing your videos. 😊

[@fleabittenadventures]

Glad you like them! Thanks!

[@PatSimmons-g4r]

Ha! Foot Locker was the only store I recognised that we have in Australia. This was a great video - all those high end stores!

[@nigell7299]

That mall is very busy on the weekends especially during the holidays. Shopped there yeaterday.

[@BlackArroToons]

Thanks for the walkthrough, Tom. I heard this Short Hills mall had expensive clothing stores even back in the 1980s and 1990s. Would be nice to walk through, but other than maybe Macy's or a food store, I don't see many stores for me.

[@fleabittenadventures]

Same here. I was thinking that Macy's is the only store I would consider shopping at.

[@Arturo-sm1tb]

@@fleabittenadventures But Ironically, that is NOT one of the better Macy's. This is over a decade now, but the service there was poor, and it was dirty and disorganized. Even the one at Livingston Mall seemed nicer.

[@80sChannel-ij6gi]

Oh it did. We looked at some tshirts back in the 90s and then noticed they were $500! $500 tshirts in 90s money! And the cars they were showing off inside were Rolls-Royce! And I was there a few times in the 80s and fancy stuff then too.

[@laurasutcliffe723]

My favorite mall is Alderwood mall in Lynwood, Washington. It is ALWAYS PACKED though. Parking on a weekend is nearly impossible, even with the parking garage. But it’s the mall I have been shopping at since I was a little kid, so it’s very comforting to shop there (when you can actually find a parking spot!) 😂 I love these videos so I’m subbing :)))) 👍

[@1bluensx]

Agree is a great mall. And doesn’t attract a lot of riff raff. I live in central New Jersey and go there about once a month. True it’s totally high end….but then I went to Singapore, Dubai, and Qatar. Then I saw some MALLS! like nothing that I’ve ever seen. But for the east coast, yea, nice place.

[@lisawilliams8364]

You should visit Riverside Mall in Hackensack. That is a high end mall… Short Hills is sorta a joke in comparison.

[@vincentmiller816]

Went to both this Mall and Livingston mall for Christmas shopping, this mall had all parking lots filled to brim while Livingston had a few cars by the anchor stores like Barnes and Nobel and macys

[@lashiechoax]

great walkthrough, what a place, wow! There's a high-end mall attached to the Aria casino in Vegas, that's the one time I saw something like this personally. But I like Short Hills even better, with the fountains, cars, and weird architecture!

[@defrocker0569]

I went to the Lucid showroom at Short Hills Mall, and I test drove one of their cars. That car is amazing.

[@feliciasingleton4849]

That mall is pretty high-end....it reminds me of the International Mall in Tampa, FL and the Mall At Millenia in Orlando, near the Universal Orlando Resort 💜💜💜💜

[@rachelhamm1843]

I instantly thought of Mall at Millenia too, lots of the same stores.

[@Davids_Hobbies]

Oh yes my local Mall finally gets featured! My parents remember when the mall wasn't enclosed. I really like the unique layout and I LOVE the fountain. I've thrown many coins into the middle of the top of the ball LMFAO. My parents and I eat at the CPK every so often and we basically only go to Macy's and Indigo. Everything else is just so darn expensive. The crazy opulence of most of the stores is just insane. I'm a car guy and I always love looking at all of the cars and dealerships scattered throughout the mall. Every once in a while the valet will have a crazy car parked out front of Neiman Marcus. (Or as my mom loves to call that store: Needless Mark-ups!😂) Also fun fact, this was the mall where there was a krazy Karen who had an absolute meltdown in the Victoria's Secret.

[@Arturo-sm1tb]

I also remember when it was half open and half enclosed...an old man. Bet you haven't shopped in the ORIGINAL version of Abercrombie and Fitch, with upscale safari gear, fly fishing gear and world travel guides....that was something, late 60s Short Hills Mall, before they built Bloomingdales.

[@Synes7hesia]

For about 2 years (2016-2018) I used to live in an apartment complex just over the border in West Orange. We used to swing by here to grab Qudoba for dinner every once in a while and, for a time, I used to go to the Teavana (that I believe used to be near where that Purple store is) to buy loose leaf tea until Starbucks closed them up. Also funny to see that the Tesla location has since been taken over by Polestar. Meanwhile, my ex used to like to come here for Vineyard Vines and Vera Bradley, where I bought her a few holiday gifts when we lived nearby. My ex also got my wedding ring from that exact David Yurman location back in about 2019. Probably one of the nicest looking malls in the state, ranking up there with Garden State Plaza. Always found it kind of funny how fancy this mall was and how close it was in proximity (less than a 10 minute drive barring traffic) to the now decaying Livingston Mall.

[@arosenweig]

Short Hills is a very good mall with lots of upscale stores and restaurants. There are no kiosks! Bloomingdale’s, Macy’s, Neiman Marcus, and Nordstrom are the department stores at this upscale mall.

[@youp9546]

When I lived in East Orange, I would go to Short Hills maybe once a year, go to Bloomies and in a far far away corner there were discontinued items that I could afford.

[@feedme7751]

Lovely mall. Reminds me of king of Prussia mall.

[@_1Brick1_]

Love to hear you say this. I love this mall too.

[@fleabittenadventures]

It's nice to visit, but I'm afraid I can't afford to shop there. Thanks for watching!

[@AJBSONIC]

I worked at this mall through the early-mid 2010s, during that time the globe fountain was enlarged and remade with the infinity edge it has now. Before it had a standard brown stone border. The ‘game’ is to try and flip a coin so it lands on top of the sphere. There was also a ‘spider fountain’ surrounding the elevator that was removed and replaced with seating areas around the same time. It had an element that would flip back and forth with the weight of the water running through it. I’d be happy to answer any other questions you may have for during that time period!

[@fleabittenadventures]

OK, I didn't think it looked 40+ years old. Thanks for the info!

[@myankr3630]

This fountain is ass you should’ve checked out the freehold raceway mall fountain back in the 90s… That shit was dope!

[@mrsjackbauer1]

⁠@@myankr3630 he wasn’t doing this then you dope!

[@iamtheclout1912]

​@@myankr3630 I just went and looked it up and that fountain was gorgeous ❤

[@yolandaponkers1581]

Ferragamo is my favorite designer of all, but I’ve never had the chance to go in one of their stores! I’ve got to visit this mall!

[@markparfett5380]

Amazing that this is in America. I live in South Africa and this cannot compare to our high end malls. Amazing that we beat it hands down

[@tammyblack2747]

I live in Texas. We do have Nordstrom rack down here now. The best purse I ever got in my life came from that store. It’s a Guess backpack purse that was $35, and after all the time that I’ve used it, it still looks perfect. All of my other purses from JCPenney, which are supposedly good brands, got torn up very quickly from normal use, in less than a year. But that Guess backpack purse still looks perfect.

[@BreakTime10101]

This is definitely a higher end mall, reminds me of our Scottsdale Fashion Square mall here. Was that California Pizza Kitchen still open? One of ours closed down here. You are correct, all of the high end stores here have security guards at the doors, they only allow so many people in at at a time, you have to wait to get in, they probably would not let you film inside. Always enjoy your content, thanks for sharing.

[@mr.ksplacekevynmarshall7721]

I live in South Jersey near Philadelphia. If you haven't already, you should visit Cherry Hill Mall here in New Jersey and King of Prussia Mall in Pennsylvania. Also, I agree Foot Locker did look out of place. I really enjoyed your video of this Mall. Never been there myself.

[@brokenglass849]

I first went to this mall in the late 1970s. Abercrombie and Fitch was shuttered as was Tepper's in what was still an open mall. I don't know if many remember Tepper's flagship store was located on Front Street in Plainfield. If I'm not mistaken, Arbraham & Strauss occupied the building that housed B. Altman. Saks Fifth Avenue may have taken the spot previously occupied by Bonwit Teller. Saks was once in its own free standing building in Springfield. Lots of wonderful memories of this place.

[@Ddonna734]

I used to shop there, especially at Abercrombie back in the 90’s. I see it’s coming back. Lol I used to get a ham sandwich at Au Bon Pain back then too.

[@rl8429]

21:45 lol finally something I could afford, Dunkin & Auntie Anne's

[@krazyfan2000]

One of my favorite malls in the NY tri state area.

[@TheWesker1988]

For non holiday weekend, this mall is surprisingly slow, but I believe the mall is profitable due to its high-end status, and the average spending per visit is relatively high. I noticed that during the weekdays, there are a lot of people coming to the luxury stores picking up their special orders.

[@Arturo-sm1tb]

South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa, CA has this one beat just in sheer luxury store numbers and overall scale. I spent literally YEARS in the Mall at Short Hills back in the day, and yes, its pretty upscale, but others around the country have many more luxury stores than Short Hills.

[@fleabittenadventures]

Cool! That gives me something to look forward to!

[@Arturo-sm1tb]

@@fleabittenadventures South Coast Plaza is truly massive. It is mindboggling the variety of Euro luxury stores there, plus so high end restaurants. Largest mall on the West Coast.

[@Arturo-sm1tb]

@@fleabittenadventures If you get to California and you are around Sacramento, another one to visit is the Westfield Galleria in Roseville. Its very popular, always crowded, well kept, clean, mostly upscale and appears to be very profitable.

[@marks1435]

I live about 20 minutes from Short Hills Mall. The mall is a madhouse on the weekends, and busy during the week. I noticed some of the stores weren't even open yet when you went through, so it had to be pretty early in the morning. I have very specific stores I go in (Macys mostly), followed by Williams Sonoma, Pottery Barn and Crate and Barrel. I don't think I've been in any of the other stores, but there are definitely monetary reasons why I don't 🙂 It is a fun mall to window shop through, although a good number of the high-end stores have security at their entrances, and most of the sales associates seem to know if you're serious about an actual purchase of a 4,000.00 item. ;-)

[@NinjaRunningWild]

20:11 Breitling are _very_ high-end watches. My business associate is a surgeon & I learned about them from a ballcap he of them. Med School/MBA dual major; 8 year program! (😳) His brother is a F-15 pilot. Real power-packed family. Also, Indigo is unusual to see. They're basically a Canadian Barnes & Noble. You can buy Kobo directly from them at Canadian exchange rates (at least before this year's Canada Post Strike which screwed the pooch on this year's holiday shopping) & have them shipped to the US which saves a significant amount of money; maybe 25% + no tax.

[@shannonyoast6906]

As always great video 👍

[@fleabittenadventures]

Thanks!

[@ronhoover5516]

11:48 I think those geometric ceiling features are a common thing found in all Taubman malls, if I'm not mistaken.

[@fleabittenadventures]

Yes! I was going to mention that the ceiling looked similar to Westfarms, except for the lack of the cylindrical lights.

[@skagward594]

If you are ever in the Midwest, you should check out the keystone mall around the Indianapolis era. It’s a higher end mall. It’s quite nice

[@karlitop7497]

I lived by this mall for 11 years and yes its high end. A lot of the times ( including my mom) you see women go into the stores to pick up all their purchases from their sales associate then leave. No walking around. In and out . My mother’s SA would call text or email all the new stuff and they would just have it ready for the things she wanted.

[@EagleFang74]

Did a lot of hanging out at SHM back in high school in the 90's. Good times.

[@peterdunlap7126]

Highend shops yes but I prefer Menlo Park which I think is the most beautiful designed mall in NJ

[@shekondog]

As a Short Hills resident, thanks for showcasing our mall here. High end & upscale but visit Icon Siam in Bangkok and Short Hills will feel sub par.

[@alphax4785]

That fountain has been there for 35+ years back when it was a small partly open air mall.

[@fleabittenadventures]

Really!??? It looks so new! Thanks for the info.

[@mikefigures5075]

Great video. Even though I’m local , haven’t been in couple years. Legal Seafood is very good restaurant (prices to match). Don’t recall the stores having manned security guards. Holdups / smash and grab would be challenging as in most cases the perpetrators have a distance to go to get out the mall doors. Mall security is prob doing surveillance on the parking lots and entrances.

[@moravetz]

From all your mall walk videos, I would say the only other mall that is as high end as this one (Short Hills, NJ) was the Copley Place Mall in Boston.

[@PurpleMonkeyDishwasher88]

I live down the road from here. There's usually some Rolls Royce's and Bentleys there, that they bring in to display and sell for prospective buyers besides Porsches. Not sure what time of day or what time during the week you visited, but usually if it's during the weekends, and especially during the holiday season, every single one of those high-end stores will have security guards. In fact there would be lines for you to stand outside the stores to limit how many people are inside at any given time. There's almost always police patrolling the parking lot of the mall. They don't take security here lightly.

[@kjquinn7856]

That added security is in response to a murder and a spate of thefts that began about a dozen years ago. A young man was murdered in front of his wife when carjackers stole his Range Rover. Back when high-end cars had the expensive Xenon headlights, shoppers were coming out to find that the headlights had been stolen from their cars (the advice was to back into parking spots so the front of the car faced out, making theft harder). There were also several incidents at Neiman Marcus and Nordstrom where gangs bolted out with armloads of expensive clothes.

[@PurpleMonkeyDishwasher88]

@kjquinn7856 yeah, I'm well aware living in the area about the murder there. Before the murder the security there wasn't as much out in the parking lots. Actually once the parking lots started getting more surveillance, carjackers ended up scoping the surrounding neighborhoods for cars. It's been so bad that towns have to remind local residents with electronic roadsigns to lock their cars and keep their keys out of the cars.

[@BT-gv7pi]

This mall used to have two fountains. The other one was right in front of the glass elevator. They landed airplanes on jfk parkway for the grand opening when I was young.

[@susangerwien1290]

I worked briefly for the A & S Store. I was sent there to help out for the opening of the store. I was definitely out of my element. I wasn’t used to a high end clientele. It was a beautiful mall.

[@congobongo2009]

The mall opened in 1984. I recall the covered parking lots being there since inception.

[@kjquinn7856]

The enclosed mall opened in 1980. My wife grew up nearby. The parking decks were added when the mall was enclosed.

[@patricianocerabrandy4190]

I went to Short Hills MalI two weeks ago. The high end stores have ropes in front of the entrance.

[@stephensok9927]

Do you remember the water whirlpool at West Farms Mall? So fun!

[@coreycoyle9548]

Very Wonderful Video!!!!! I Love The Fountains!!!! F+L, Corey

[@fleabittenadventures]

Thanks!

[@Slane583]

I'd love to visit some high-end stores like these someday, especially Gucci. But according to Gucci's website you can't just walk in you have to make an appointment. Which is understandable because not everyone is going to flock to a Gucci store. Having to make an appointment to shop may sound like an inconvenience but I can see it as making the experience more personal since it's just you in the store. Because it's just you the staff can help you find a new style easier without being swamped by several customers. If I were to dip my toes into Gucci I'd start with some cologne to add to my collection. It's much more achievable than their other offerings which are pretty eye watering in price. But it's Gucci so it's expected. I'm a nut for high-end cologne, my collection has a mix of Versace, Dolce & Gabana, HUGO/HUGO BOSS, Paco Rabanne, Calvin Klein, Coach, Lacoste, Aqua DeParma and some others. But those are stored away and only used for special occasions. The stuff I have for everyday use is all cheaper stuff so I'm not wasting my good stuff. :)

[@terrysummers6382]

When I was young they had Abercrombie and Fitch at this mall..but it wasn't a clothing store..it had all kinds of.high end gadgets and hunting gear and books and kitchenware...

[@rl8429]

They closed but then came back to this mall

[@parkds]

Both of the parts of the mall housing B. Altman and Bonwit Teller were demolished. One of them, I believe Bonwit Teller, was mid-mall by the elevator and was rebuilt to be a Saks 5th Ave. B. Altman was at the opposite end of the mall from Bloomingdale’s, near where Ferragamo and Bottega are now. Back in the day, the mall ended there and there was a large record store (Record Town), a photo processing store, and a drug store in those spaces. The expansion itself was built in the space beyond B. Altman. Additionally the Macy’s had been an A&S.

[@cynthiaryan2901]

Have you ever been to the King of Prussia Mall in PA? Not far from Philadelphia. Very big & very high end. Gucci, Louis Vouitton, Hermes, etc.

[@greylock2672]

One thing they did during the renovation was to remove wall to wall carpeting it was a teal color. I thought it so fancy to walk through a mall that had carpeting.

[@jefffuller9918]

I used to go to the mall back in the mid 80's. Back then, the only thing I could afford was the free parking.

[@charlesc8461]

Not sure if you’ve been there, but try the Natick Mall in Massachusetts. That’s also extremely high-end

[@fleabittenadventures]

Yes, I did a video there about a year ago. Natick has one wing that is super high-end, then another wing that looks fairly mid-end.

[@markarquero8291]

I worked at that mall when it had a Johnny Rockets, Natural Wonders, and Godiva Chocolate, my Store I was manager in was called Chiasso which was across from the sphere fountain

[@greylock2672]

I believe the fountain was installed in the 1970's. Its has been there since the early 1980's at least because I remember it being there when I was a kid.

[@fleabittenadventures]

Thanks for the info!

[@rudyt1582]

Love that mall ....used to have my favorite watch shop there Orologio,....eataly should be open by now and I will not have to go to NYC to enjoy Eataly

[@rentslave]

Abercrombie and Fitch was there in the winter of 71-72,the last time that I was there.

[@ampersand2001]

You should check out Somerset Mall in Troy, MI. So Fancy!!

[@fleabittenadventures]

Some day!

[@Arturo-sm1tb]

FYI. B. Altman was located on the Southwest corner of the Mall, totally opposite end from Bloomingdales. I THINK relatively close to where Nordstrom is today. Altman's was my mother's go to.

[@pennybennett810]

You must visit North Park Mall in Dallas if you want high end And Plaza Frontenac in St. Louis

[@respobabs]

I got dragged here a lot as a kid in the 80s and 90s. It was higher-end then, but what you've shown in this video is ridiculous! I've never even heard of 3/4 of these stores before. Inequality is real, folks. Also: please do the Bridgewater Mall and the Riverside Square Mall (both in NJ).

[@Iluthra]

Odd to see malls in Singapore and Japan, and all very busy. We have three here in my area and they do have some empty slots but there are still some stores open.

[@jsa8368]

I worked at this mall in 2005 at The Gap. I was there for the Halo 2 midnight release at Gamestop.

[@unifiedmessaging]

I was told that shoppers come in by private aircraft to Morristown Airport a few miles away then hop on a limo down 24.

[@KamalaIsTrash]

Ex Short Hills "Mall Rat" teen here; I grew up in Short Hills, NJ, a great place to be a teenager in the 1980's. Like most suburban teens back then I practically lived in "The Mall at Short Hills." I'm happy to see that it hasn't changed that much aesthetically since the old days; it's still all White marble and chrome, which was considered ahead of it's time in the 80's, when malls were still brown wood and orange and, left over from the 1970's...like the Livingston Mall back then, the "other mall" that us rich kids would drive over too when we wanted a more exciting atmosphere. Back then the Short Hills Mall had a huge record store, called "Record Town." I would get lost for hours there, looking through the dusty vinyl in the "import" section; all those weird, high priced editions of the more obscure New Wave Bands. I would buy anything from "Bow Wow Wow" or "Adam & the Ants." There was a Gucci, a Louis Vuitton, Fendi, Laura Ashley, Godiva Chocolates. The anchor stores back then were Lord & Taylor's and Bonwit Teller I think, then later became Bloomingdales, which had a great toy store. FAO Schwartz was the main toy store though. My absolute favorite store though, had to be Benetton. In those days you were a "nobody" if you didn't own at least a few Benetton sweaters , and every Short Hills kid owned the blue and white striped Benetton rugby shirt. Back then 70 bucks was considered a a lot of money for a sweater...I remember there was a Daniel Hechter, and the Polo Shop was all dark wood and smelled like old money. I think there was a Brooks Brothers for suits too....Also that glass ball fountain was there in the 80's, although it looks like it's on a different mount. And that steel elevator is from the 80's too, the exact same elevator. We used to ride up and down on it because nobody else ever seemed to use it. Noticeably missing from that mall were the more affordable stores like Macy's and Thom McCann, and the tacky stores like Chess King and Wilson's Leather, which were anti preppy and were made fun of by the people of that town. It was kind of a weird place to grow up; not the most fun, a bit stuffy, but like I mentioned, there was always the Livingston Mall that had the fun elements, like the video arcade, the food court, Spencers..and that's where all the "Big Hair" girls hung out lol! Anyway thanks so much for posting this nostalgic video!

[@brmnyc]

Lord & Taylor was never in the Short Hills Mall. They had their own free standing store in nearby Millburn.

[@aliciazambri4237]

Our company rents office space out of Short Hills Mall, in Industrious. It has its own entrance and space on the third floor, which I don't think you can get to inside the mall.

[@opalbeach9626]

You probably went there in the middle of the work week. More crowded on the weekends.

[@GoldmineVideoLoot]

Ooohh, so fancy! Fess up Tom! As soon as you were through with filming you made a bees line for the Omega store and threw down this months youtube revenue on a Seamaster. 😉

[@biffybeans]

I was in this mall one time… I think in the mid 90s? The only thing I’ve ever been able to remember about it is that they had a Mont Blanc store.

[@KylerBorn]

You should do Freehold Raceway Mall next. It's expanding 👍

[@fleabittenadventures]

I'll be there sometime in early 2025.... Thanks!

[@KylerBorn]

@fleabittenadventures Awesome 🔥🔥🔥🔥

[@GailKuzyszyn]

American and foreign tourists make a special trip to this mall. Macy's is the only moderately priced department store here. All the other ones are pricey, especially Neiman Marcus.

[@rachaelgoldman5846]

There was no Brentano's at the Mall, but there was a Waldenbooks. There was a KB Toy Store and then FAO Schwarz in the 1980s and 1990s. There was also a Johnny Rockets.

[@fleabittenadventures]

According to my research, there was a Brentano's there way back in the 60's when it opened as an outdoor mall.

[@ReallifeBambiDeerattheFarm1]

To buy that car at 260K rounded, I would have to work almost 9 years without spending a single dime on anything else. I doubt I could make a single payment without going bankrupted. Yikes! I'll keep my Toyota Yaris. Maybe it's the way I was raised in North Central Missouri, but I will never understand why anyone would buy a "top tier" item at one of these stores when you can get it at a Wal-Mart and pay a lot less too. Still, this is a cool mall and perhaps one day I'll visit it and walk the halls. Thanks for another terrific walk-thru!

[@fleabittenadventures]

Some people have money to burn. Must be nice....

[@Arturo-sm1tb]

@@fleabittenadventures Incredible to spend time in a mall like this, where on a random weekday at 11AM, you'd be hard pressed to find a SINGLE customer in any of the "high end" boutiques. There were always 3 or 4 employees standing near the doorway of every lux shop, chatting away as the old men of the area did their mall walking. My dad was one of them! LOL.

[@shortfuze5685]

Short Hills is big money town. I used to do a lot of work there.

[@tdogg2029]

Of course this mall is doing well. It's in a highfalutin area of north Jersey where all the Jets and Giants wives shop. That being said, it is a very nice mall. The brands of the stores on the second floor make my wallet cry.

[@illuminatiilluminati7344]

my favorite mall of all time and shorthills is the best place to live in the world.

[@97nelsn]

This mall’s thriving while Livingston is on the verge of closing and they’re not even that far apart. Eataly just opened recently and while it’s smaller compared to the ones in Manhattan, I don’t have to go to Manhattan to get my Eataly fix now. This is also where I buy most of my Apple products including the iPad that I used to type this comment.

[@Ballington3000]

I've been to this mall. It's gorgeous and super swanky. It actually made me feel bad for myself it was so high end.

[@anon19086posts]

It’s so strange to me to see so many malls that are empty in the US. I live in the Middle East and malls are always packed with people. It’s our third spaces. People don’t only go to shop. But just to socialise and see other humans lol

[@thekraemer1757]

I worked at 150 JFK for several years was there all the time.when Tesla first debuted they had a store there.

[@Foxonian]

You know a mall is high end if it has a Rolex store in it where the cheapest new watch there is at least $4,000.00

[@azohundred1353]

So expensive it's borderline ridiculous. It does look like a nice mall. The multiple Zendaya Bulgari advertisements were funny to keep counting the more you walked through the mall. All this place needs is an arcade like the SoNo Arcade(you know, nothing but claw machines lined against the wall, lol). Maybe you can swing by and buy that car for the very low, affordable price of 259,000 dollars next time. Heh, I guess I'm not really a high-end kind of person, but this was a lot of fun to see. Thanks for the great videos as always!

[@LisaHill-r5f]

I mean the mall is surrounded by several affluent communities . Short hills is the typical high end designer mall. There are some stores that aren’t ridiculous

[@moneyonfleek1992]

Looks like ‘Aventura mall’ in Miami FL