"There is no question the customer is out there. New York had very, very good traffic," Sadove said.

Bob Mitchell, president of Mitchells, Richards and Marshs in Connecticut and Long Island, said: "The traffic was steady, but not crazy and sales were good, not great. We are ahead mid-single digits but those two days [Friday and Saturday] are not great indicators for us for holiday. Our real busy period starts 12 days before Christmas . Our customers are scared away by the media hype of crowds. We are not opening at 4 a.m. or giving things away at 50 percent. The luxury customer is usually home with the family for these couple of days.

"In women's, our shoe business continues to be strong; women's designer has come on strongly again, and we are finally seeing our outerwear business kick into gear in both women's and men's. Luxury casual, which is Loro Piana, Brunello Cucenelli and Agnona all have been standouts for the fall and we expect that to continue for the holiday."

Upscale shops tend to be quieter around Black Friday, and see quality shopping rather than quantity traffic. "Our customers‚ shopping gets done two weeks before Christmas not now," said Louis Boston owner Debi Greenberg. "Last year, which was a good Christmas shopping season for us, Friday and Saturday [after Thanksgiving] were weak at best."

She said gift items such as Mrs. John L. Strong engraved stationary, vintage Christmas tree ornaments and Francis Palmer handmade pottery vases were selling well.

Leslee Korff, owner of Serenella on Newbury Street in Boston, which sells Versace, Bottega Veneta and other international labels, said her customers lined up holiday outfits last week and fled town as soon as schools let out.

A Brioni cocktail dress with internal corseting, at $2,955, a half-moon shaped Bottega Veneta clutch, $1,980, and a filmy Alberta Ferretti dress, $1,895, were top sellers. "We have been selling a lot of dressy holiday merchandise," she said.

Mario's in Seattle and Portland said clear skies and temperatures in the 30s and 40s brought out shoppers seeking outerwear, boots and scarves for themselves. And they weren't bargain-hunters: Hot sellers included coats by Jil Sander, Prada Linea Rosa and Loro Piana that retail between $1,500 and $2,500 and Lanvin patent leather boots for $890.