What's hot--and what's not.

We've all read at one time or another lists made up by experts that report to us what's in fashion, now; what was in fashion, then; what's hot and what's not; what's in and what's out, etc.

The lists are about food, clothing, art, music, just about anything that the experts decide upon.

Well, I guess I'm just about as much of an expert as those others and I have also done a list for retail real estate in New York City: what were considered the most important locations this time last year and what are considered most important now.

It's interesting, what a difference a year makes ... It's also interesting to note that, although the spotlight is no longer focused on last year's favorites, they are still going strong and haven't disappeared off the screen.

Last year, at this time, it was the Upper East Side. There was a lot of luxury residential construction. As the new buildings opened and more and more people set up housekeeping, the demand for home furnishings, home improvement supplies, etc., increased.

To meet this demand, more stores opened, others expanded. Gracious Home expanded again, adding three other stores; Ralph Lauren opened Ralph Lauren Home.

As the population grew, retailers of every kind opened on the Upper Eastside to meet its day to day requirements. The Upper Eastside became a shopping destination in its own right.

Still to come next year: the opening of the Vornado/Bloomberg Tower with retail, office space, and 100 luxury condominiums. It will be the first address of Expo Home Depot in the city, to be joined by yet another H&M.

The Upper Eastside will probably be "in" again ...

Next on the list last year was the Upper Westside. The big attention-getter, of course, was the AOL Time Warner Center at One Central Park. Retailer after retailer signed up for space in the new center. Columbus Avenue and Broadway both benefited from proximity as more and more stores expanded West for the new customers the Center would attract and provide.

Then there's Harlem, which is actually going through a rebirth as a not-to -be-ignored area in Manhattan.

Retailers suddenly realized that shopping doesn't stop at 110th Street and that, beyond that, there is an enormous customer base yet to be tapped in its own territory.

And last but not least, the Meatpacking District as leading names in the fashion and beauty industries opened shops and boutiques and joined in the fashion party of year amid the grit and gristle of the new, hyper-chic place to be.

All the "in" spots were uptown, away from the sorrow that still shrouded the downtown section of New York.

No one wanted to, or couldn't, deal with it as yet.

I feel that much of the emigration to Meatpacking was not so much because of cheaper rent and the "difference", but more of a flight from sadness.

This year, all that changed. The top six were all downtown--first of all, Soho.

Yep, that's right, poor, devastated Soho, which it was said, was condemned to become abandoned and forgotten after 9/11. No one would ever shop there again ...

Well, that's not so. New stores are opening up so fast in Soho, that, if you look away for an instant, you'll miss one. The list of new openings is almost as long as my arm and include Work in Progress, Vosges Haut-Chocolat, the Delta Airlines store, Song in the City, Robert Danes, Sublime, Liora Mannes, Jurlique, Linus, Vice, La Perla, Levi's, Alice Temperley, Bagutta, the new L'Occitane lifestyle shop, and--ta-rah--Bloomingdale's!

Next is Chelsea. There has a lot of residential development in the area lately, attracting an esoteric roll of new retail from Balenciaga and Comme des Garcons to The Container Store to Home Depot and the rumor is that Target will soon be joining.

Then, there's Nolita. Another area that we were assured would cease to be.

Again, not so. New and wonderful retailers are in Nolita, making it even more special and exciting than before: Objets du Desir, Pipsqueak, Nike, Saigoniste, Me & Ro, and Daniel Espinosa are but a few of the new Nolita crowd.

Another list member is The West Village, where excitement is slowly building. Ralph Lauren is opening a Blue Label store in the Village.

Elizabeth Charles, Annelore, Disrepectacles, and WoofSpa are new arrivals, with many more to come.

Downtown New York, the Financial District, follows. It's as though the mourning is over, the pieces have been picked up and Downtown is once more becoming the shopping, dining, and tourist mecca it was before the disaster of two years ago.

Borders has opened, as has Ann Taylor Loft, Nine West, Christopher Norman Chocolates, Archipelago, soon to be joined by Banana Republic and Barnes & Noble.

The real sleeper, however, is the Lower Eastside. Great little restaurants and bistros such as Brian McNally are opening up all over, and are being patronized by the chic, the social, the right people.

And as you know, where one finds great dining and fun, fashion is sure to follow. Watch for more names to pop.

One area didn't change. It always is, and was, at the top of the list: the area that is encompassed by the Golden Mile of Madison Avenue, Luxury Walk of Fifth Avenue, and the Crossroads of Luxury--57th Street and Fifth Avenue.

Prominent designers, jewelers, and furriers have recently either expanded or leased new retail space there, adding to its already overwhelming abundance of glitter, glamour, elegance, and richness.

And that's my list!