Retailing in Manhattan: the beat goes on.

Old rules no longer apply. As 1998 draws to a close, many of yesterday's retail institutions no longer dominate the playing field like they once did. New concepts have come into existence, out-of-touch retailers have gone out of business, and declining neighborhoods are on the rise as new shopping corridors emerge.

Fashion retailing, the most fickle of all categories, had a tough time in the late 1990's. Charivari, the 1980's champion of the new and off-beat, for example, has closed all but one of its stores.

Today's fashion customer is no longer loyal to department stores or even designer boutiques, going further afield to find the new and different. Many prefer to shop less frequently for clothes, since the uniform for the last decade has been mostly black attire anyway. There still is, of course, the young hipster who seeks out interesting merchandise in neighborhoods like NoLita and the Lower East Side. Even the Upper East Side customer who frequents Bloomingdale's now goes to Uptown spots that seem more Downtown in attitude boutiques like Scoop, Intermix, and Olive & Bette's - or to less expensive yet trendy designer alternatives like Club Monaco and Zara International.

SoHo in the 1980's was about the art scene, but the 1990's is now about the emergence of Chelsea as THE art gallery district, supplanting SoHo, which has evolved into a mainstream shopping neighborhood. While there still are galleries left in SoHo, the more avant-garde ones have moved to Chelsea. It certainly didn't hurt that the gay community embraced Chelsea as the lifestyle successor to the West Village. This change has attracted trendy retailers, restaurants, and nightspots to the area. Even classic Banana Republic opened a store on Eighth Avenue and 15th Street, while hot new restaurants like Cafeteria, Lot 61 and restaurant 147 have opened nearby.

Uptown, even the grand old hotels like The Plaza, The Pierre and the St. Regis have witnessed Downtown evolve into an urban oasis for the young, hip and sophisticated traveler. Demand exceeds supply at the newer spots like The SoHo Grand and The Mercer.

Up until recently, department stores were king when it came to the sale of cosmetics. However, in the last 10 years, many cosmetic brands opened their own free-standing stores, a number of them in SoHo. Sephora, the European cosmetics and perfume retailer, single-handedly revolutionized the way cosmetics are sold. Instead of going to a number of different cosmetic counters in department stores, one can choose from a variety of brands that are sold from open stock, doing away with overly aggressive salespeople.

If consumers are not spending money on fashion the way they did in the 1980's, these days they are certainly indulging themselves in personal care. The number of day spas and treatment centers in the city continues to grow. Whereas Georgette Klinger at one time was the name to know for facials, newcomers like Bliss in SoHo, Carapan in Flatiron, or Ajune on the Upper East Side offer a variety of treatments in soothing settings. Even Avon is getting in on the act with a combination day spa, salon and retail store in Trump Tower.

when it comes to exercise, it's not as inconvenient as it used to be because of the proliferation of Equinox, New York Sports, and Crunch health clubs in a variety of locations.

Food is always an important part of retail, and tastes have changed here, as well. No more muffins, croissants, bagels and additional carbohydrates like David's and Mrs. Field's cookies. Today, liquid foods are in, and retailers like Starbuck's and soup stores like Daily Soup and Hale & Hearty all complete for scarce, high traffic locations. If regional Italian restaurants were popular in the 1980's, today there is more of a cross-pollination of Pan-Asian cuisine at restaurants like Vong, Republic and Indochine.

Only a few years ago, everyone toted around a Walkman, but today the accessory of choice is a cellular phone. New Yorkers never like to be out of touch, so Bell Atlantic, Sprint or any number of local cellular phone retailers seem to be the beneficiaries.

But many of us still prefer the more gracious way of communicating: we like to write. Cards, stationery, note paper and writing instruments are a hot category. Swedish import Ordning & Reda, local purveyor Kate's, and national chain Papyrus are all extremely popular retailers in this category.

In the 1980's, going to the movies wasn't nearly as fun as it is today. Now we have the multiplex. In fact, the Sony Lincoln Center multiplex is the single highest grossing movie theater in the country. More exhibitors are set to open in Times square, on 125th Street, in Tribeca and Union square.

Despite some casualties, however, many resilient retailers have indeed survived over the years, and are still going strong The Gap, Barnes & Noble, Tower Records, Zabar's, Fairway, Pottery Barn and a newly revamped Brooks Brothers are doing free. And with so many more retailers and manufacturers setting up Web sites, it remains to be seen how many consumers will still shop in person in the coming years.

One thing is for certain, there are some senses which can never be satisfied on the computer. One still has to walk into Sephora to smell a new perfume, go to Bliss for a facial, or sip a coffee at Starbuck's.