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