Here's a neat trick I discovered purely by accident. Position yourself at the southwest corner of Houston Street and West Broadway in NYC's Soho neighborhood. Then, as you start to make your way south along West Broadway, place some headphones on and cue The Professionals' "Mods, Skins, Punks." Make it nice and loud to drown out the loud clanging of tourists' gold and diamond jewelry.

By the time you pass MAX MARA, and The Professionals demand to know, "ARE YOU A MOD, ARE YOU A SKIN?" you will need to either laugh out loud like a crazy person (as I did) or sit down and rest, because you're going to be sweating irony out of your pores like all get-out.