The Beretta Gallery of New York City

Beretta employee, Moses Gutierrez with a 20 gauge Silver Pigeon 1 ( $2,240) 

I first bumped into the NYC Beretta Gallery about five years ago.  Town-housed among Manhattan's retail townhouses;  Hermès,  Etro,  Longchamp, Chanel, and so many others…I was actually just looking for a pair of khakis.  I pushed open the Beretta door, walked past security and was slapped in the face with racks and racks of obscenely beautiful apparel.

 

Wool and Waxed Cotton jacket in the Maremmana style ($1,295)

It was a London flashback, what with tweed, moleskin, chukka and waxed cotton.  Gravitas on the order of Jermyn Street,  Cuban cigars and 25 year old single malts drunk from engraved pheasant whiskey tumblers.

Moleskin suit with side vents (Jacket $535 Trousers $165)

Luckily I stumbled onto a sale -- Even better as I had a little money back then.  There was a lot I should've bought that day but didn't and learned a lesson.  Much of what you see in the NYC Gallery is unique to the store.  Once it's gone, you may never see it again.  Of course,  I was here for a pair of khakis.  

Second Floor

Looking back, it seems a shame  shopping for khakis in Beretta --  Sort of like visiting Umbria on the wagon.

Competition Shooting

It's hard to describe just how diverse the gallery is.  Roaming around on my last visit, I heard a man walk in and announce, "I've been invited to a shoot in Spain."  I looked down from the second floor balcony and watched as the salesman sprung into action while those words, "I've been invited to a shoot…" bounced jealously between my ears.

Main Floor

While outdoor retailer's, Kevin's and Cabela's offer over the top decor, Beretta manages to pull off the outdoors aesthetic with understated elegance.  Chalk it up to to Beretta's hometown of Brescia 'cause this ain't meatballs and gravy.

In store Italian made checks ($155)

Much of what is in the NYC Gallery is not on line and much of what is on line is not in the NYC Gallery.  Still, a past visit to the Beretta website found an olive moleskin maremmana hunting jacket, sadly long gone,  for a surprising  $99.

In store Suede chukka ($423)

A women's wool felt cap made by Pennsylvania's Bollman Hat Company is currently on sale for $37.50 marked down from $75...

Beretta Sole

And a men's quilted waxed cotton biker jacket has been reduced from $595 to $279.

Khakis ($75)

But I was looking for khakis.

And at $75, they're made in the US and something of a surprise.  I had mine cuffed and there was no extra charge.

That's the thing about Beretta.  You can find a $20 ball cap...

Or, there's a $140 number that looks like a Vietnam boonie hat I lusted after when I was in the Army.

Field watches are reasonable…

Field Watches (Quartz $229 Automatic $389)

Women's Quilted Shooting Jacket ($875)

Women's Scarves ($895)

Carafe Gift Set ($149)

The engraved carafe and glasses are available in store and on-line... 

Martini Pitcher $200

While the best looking cocktail pitcher I have ever seen is only in the store.  A steal and you're only seeing it because I gave up martinis.

Ice Bucket $2,200

I haven't given up ice but the elephant foot ice bucket is a good example of Beretta's price swing.

And like the 32" barrels on the $2,000 Silver Pigeon, there's value in Beretta.  It's under the radar for most NYC  residents.  Save those types who go shooting in Spain.

Murphy's Law: Guns

"This is my rifle. This is my gun. This one's for shooting. This one's for fun."

Pardon me while I dig through old boxes of slides but I'm amazed how well they scan. These were taken in the army. That's not me but it's my watch. I had all the instincts of Madison Avenue as a buck sergeant. I shot these with a P.X. purchased Olympus OM-1. Sgt. Murphy was the model and while I thought I was too creative for the army - - Sgt. Murphy was an artist.

As sergeants we carried .45s in the field. Problem was they were a pain to clean after 30 days in the woods. Depending on how big a jerk the guy running the arm's room was - you could spend a life time cleaning the damned thing before it ever passed inspection. This caused great anxiety because all you wanted to do was get a hot shower, change into civies and head into town for lemonade and cookies at the Methodist church social.

Almost everybody wrappped their .45's in OD green plastic and stuffed them in the holster. We were playing war in the woods of North Carolina so no one really cared. Murphy had a brilliant idea that. It involved the purchase of a Daisy BB gun from K Mart ($19.99) that was a dead ringer for a real .45. We'd wrap it in the same OD plastic and no one was the wiser. Plus, we had he added enjoyment of shooting at each other with BB's or playing darts with a board we took to the field (the Daisy fired pellets and darts as well as bbs).

When we got back to the barracks after the exercise we'd run up to our rooms, unlock our lockers, take the real .45 out and swap it for the BB gun. Run downstairs and turn it in while the arm's room guy wondered how it had been kept so clean - or was cleaned so fast. Like I said, Murphy was an artist. God, I hope men like him are in the army today.

Tomorrow - Murphy's Law: The Tank