Switching to an interior view of escalators at a retailer seems like a rather abrupt change after showing an Atlas statue at Rockefeller Center yesterday. But I have my reasons, even though the relationship might be a bit tenuous. As you may recall, I have a repeating pattern of having three pictures that have some kind of relationship to each other. Sometimes the relationship is quite obvious. Other times, it might be subtle. The relationship between yesterday’s picture, today’s, and tomorrow’s will become evident soon enough.

One definite connection is that all three pictures are from 5th Avenue. This picture is of the main escalators at the Uniqlo on 5th. It’s their flagship location in New York. Uniqlo is a Japanese retailer selling decently fashionable basics at modest prices. Rather than constantly chasing trends, they carry a core set of styles from year to year.

It may not be surprising that with my systems-oriented, optimization approach to life, I’ve pretty much standardized on Uniqlo clothing. While I haven’t gotten rid of the rest of my clothing yet, most of what I wear these days is from Uniqlo—from underwear to outerwear. They fit me well, seem low-maintenance enough, and the prices are great.

However, if you buy Uniqlo in Japan, I found that the prices are sometimes 30 to 50% lower than in the U.S. They have bigger sales, and the weak yen contributes to the spectacular deals.

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