Tour Fashion Factory & Create a souvenir

New York City, USA

2 hours (approx.)
Group discounts
Mobile ticket
Offered in: English

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Overview

Discover New York’s Garment District, just blocks away from Times Square, and visit a factory to meet artisans who create clothing and theater costumes as well as embellishments and embroideries on this guided tour. Plus, you’ll be able to customize your own souvenir (a tote bag or t-shirt) using embroidery templates.

Visit a factory and learn about New York City’s manufacturing industry
Receive personalized souvenir that you can customize
Depart from a convenient location near Times Square
Enjoy plenty of time to ask questions on a private tour

What's Included

Select a Tote bag or a Tee Shirt for your customized garment industry design

use of the machines
Alcoholic Beverages
Lunch
Breakfast

Meeting and Pickup

Meeting point

551 Fashion Ave, New York, NY 10018, USA
Meet at the needle threading button and the sewing man Manhattan, New York

End point

This activity ends back at the meeting point.

Operating hours
.11:00 am

What To Expect

Garment District

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Wheelchair accessible
Stroller accessible
Service animals allowed
Near public transportation

Infants must sit on laps
Transportation is wheelchair accessible
Surfaces are wheelchair accessible
Most travelers can participate
This is a private tour/activity. Only your group will participate

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Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

Traveler Photos

Gallery picture 1 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 2 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 3 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 4 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 5 (from a traveler's review)

Reviews

4.6

based on 18 reviews

Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor

We perform checks on reviews

Samantha and Jose were...

Christie_D, Mar 2025

Samantha and Jose were great hosts! Enjoyed my time in their workspace and became inspired to swamp out my own sewing room!

High School Fashion and design students in NYC

Lakeisha_M, Mar 2025

Awesome time learning about the industry for the kids. The kids loved having their own unique items that represented them and their time in NYC. They would had preferred being able to do the sewing etc themselves with more design options that truly represented themselves.

Response from Host, Mar 2025

Thank you so much for your thoughtful feedback and for bringing your group to our workshop! We’re so glad to hear the students enjoyed the experience and loved taking home unique items that marked their time in NYC. We understand the desire for more hands-on opportunities like sewing and more expansive design choices. With larger groups like yours and a limited two-hour window, it can be a challenge to give each student individual time for everything—but your feedback is incredibly valuable. As we grow, we’re actively working on expanding our tour offerings to better accommodate bigger groups and create more in-depth experiences. We truly appreciate your visit and hope to welcome you again with even more ways for students to engage creatively! Warm regards, Samanta

Samantha was great! I...

Michelle_M, Mar 2025

Samantha was great! I learned so much, in a fun and interesting way. I would absolutely recommend this tour

Would definitely recommend

Jessica_C, Feb 2025

Unique experience. Different than anything else you can see or do in the city. Very interesting and eye opening to the textile industry.

Fashion tour and more!

Stacey_M, Jun 2024

My daughter is interested in the Fashion Industry and will be starting school in the fall for Fashion Design. I thought it would be cool to get some insight from someone experienced. When we met Samanta we were greeting with smiles and genuine energy. She explained the past and present inner working of the fashion industry. Pointed out the different buildings and identified which garments were housed in which building and also learned why Times Square was named Times Square. An interesting tidbit that we did not know but was pleasantly surprised about. Then we proceeded to a factory for more lessons and review of some of her work. And in the end, we were able to part with a souvenir. Whether you are looking to enter the Fashion industry, or just want something fun to do, this tour is excellent. Keep in mind a tour is only as good as its guide and Samanta was an absolute delight.

Response from Host, Jul 2024

I appreciate your beautiful review and comments. I enjoyed giving advice talking about the industry to her.

Memorable and wonderful

Lindsey_S, Jul 2023

My tour with Samanta was wonderful and I had an amazing time. This was the most personable tour catered to my interests of what I wanted to learn about fashion. Samanta shared so much knowledge and was an incredible host/guide. As someone who is fascinated by fashion and how things work behind the scenes, I loved every part of this tour. Designing my embroidered tote is a forever keepsake I will cherish. I’m so happy I booked this tour and would highly recommend it.

Response from Host, Jul 2023

It was my pleasure, thank you for the beautiful review.

Fun for a fashionista granddaughter

Gail_V, May 2023

My granddaughter loved the tour and really loved designing her tote bag. She was very happy with her keepsake!

Response from Host, Jun 2023

Thank you for the review!

Very enjoyable and informative!

Ruth_Q, Apr 2023

Our guide was engaging and informative. She showed our 14 year old and us many samples of fabric and then photos of the final designer dresses that had been created. We all enjoyed ourselves throughout the tour. It was fun to design the bags and t-shirt.

Response from Host, Jun 2023

I enjoyed giving the tour you guys!

Amazing insights based on real industry experience

Mike_C, Mar 2023

My son is a senior apparel design student and he wanted to learn more about the “real” apparel/fashion industry from a long time professional. We booked the tour with Samanta not completely sure what he would learn but we signed up. We met Samanta at the Sewing Man statue in the garment district right on time and we were excited that we were the only people in the tour that day. We introduced ourselves and explained our son’s goal to understand the industry better as he prepares to start his career. Sam understood our goal and adjusted the tour to help us get the most out of it. She showed us a full embroidery factory and explained how the industry has changed in the last 3-5 years. She was able to speak the same language with my son and show him how sketches are brought to samples and discussed how those samples get mass produced. We visited a couple of specialty shops to understand how you source some of the items to produce a sample piece. We visited a patterns, samples, grading and marking shop and talked with the owner and his team which was amazing. They were so welcoming to us and provided some really great insights. Sam’s 25+ years of experience was so valuable in helping my son get real answers to questions that you can’t learn in a classroom. We ended the tour in a huge, 3 story fabric provider where we talked about fabric sourcing and great ideas for collaboration with large brands. We really valued our time with Samanta and the insights she shared with us. She adapted the tour to provide the most value to my son which was tremendous. In looking back I wish we would have communicated our goal for the tour earlier as I think Sam would have been able to set up even more sites and have more information for us. That said, even with short notice Sam was able to deliver a great tour that really helped my son get some real world apparel industry knowledge. I would highly recommend taking a tour with Samanta if you are an apparel/fashion student looking for insights into the REAL industry.

Response from Host, Jun 2023

I’m happy you enjoyed the tour, as I mentioned to your son I’ll be around if he needs anything .

A peek into the fashion world

Wendy_R, Mar 2023

Loved getting to talk to someone that is part of the industry.... it opened my eyes to how BIG the industry is. Really a niche tour that I enjoyed (and we loved our souvenir!) Our tour guide was fantastic and answered so many of our questions. Would highly recommend for any one interested in thr fashion industry.

Response from Host, Jun 2023

Wendy I’m happy you enjoyed the Tour.

Great tour

Katie_C, Dec 2022

Great time! So informative and interesting. Samanta even waited for us patiently when we went to the wrong location! She was a wonderful guide!

Response from Host, Dec 2022

It was my pleasure, thank you for the nice review.

Bad

Paul_S, Dec 2022

The host was a no show Left us standing at the meeting place with no one to call We are disappointed

Response from Host, Dec 2022

I apologize unfortunately, I confused the date. When I noticed 1 hr later I called you several times to reschedule and never heard back. Hopefully when you come back to New York, I will make it up to you.

A true inside look at the garment district

Jeanette_J, May 2022

Samanta gave us a tour and shared locations of all the best fabric and trim shops…which we loved! She was very patient when we were designing our totes. She has a fun personality and clearly knows her business. We highly recommend her!

Response from Host, May 2022

Thank you for your lovely review. Samanta

History and hands-on experience

Lauren_F, Feb 2022

Samantha was so knowledgeable about fashion. She taught me a lot about the history what's currently happening in the industry and how she's contributed to it. The hands-on aspect was a lot of fun as well. Highly recommend this tour

Response from Host, Mar 2022

It was a pleasure, thank you for the review.

Fabric Embroidery Delight!

Marilyn_B, Oct 2021

We had a grand time learning about the garment industry and embroidery techniques on a variety of fabrics and learning about design

Response from Host, Nov 2021

Thank you for your nice review!

Nice insider experience

Deborah_W, Aug 2021

We loved hearing about how the Garment District has evolved over the years. Samanta was well informed and it was nice to be able to be in the workspaces where the work still happens. As a sewist, it was fun to hear about some of the back story on how designers choose what goes into their work and the talents backing it up.

Response from Host, Oct 2021

Thank you for your review, hope back in NYC soon.

A must for anyone interested in fashion

maria_g, Apr 2021

Samanta was a wealth of knowledge about the fashion industry and NYC’s garment district. She was fun and flexible and answered all out questions. We enjoyed seeing the working factories below Broadway! Our group ranged from 19 to 80 and all enjoyed designing and learning the process. We all received other goodies like a glow in the dark embroidered mask.