(MONEY Magazine) – A sameness has invaded the world of fashionable department stores, from the % pesky people spritzing perfume in the aisles to the racks of lookalike clothes to the indifferent sales help. But shopping doesn't have to be an ordeal. If you're looking for distinctive clothes and special treatment -- and you're willing to pay top dollar -- then you may want to head to an unlikely block in Manhattan's Chelsea district and spend some time at Barneys New York. Far from the stately midtown Manhattan preserves of Brooks Brothers, Bloomingdale's and Saks, Barneys has created its own special world. A family- owned store that opened more than 60 years ago as a tiny discounter, Barneys has grown into a 170,000-square-foot clothing colossus with more than $100 million in annual sales, with men's apparel accounting for about two- thirds of the total. Decorated in marble, brass and polished hardwoods, it draws everyone from downtown fashion fiends to Wall Street dealmakers to celebrities like Cher, Michelle Pfeiffer and Bruce Willis. What makes Barneys MONEY's Store of the Year is a combination of many things: its unique mix of haute and hip; its bravura architecture; its emphasis on customer service; and the devotion to exquisite detail evident in everything from its antique jewelry to its witty window displays. It all comes together to make Barneys a must-stop for serious shopping trips. Indeed, store research shows that visitors from Los Angeles make up Barneys' second largest group of customers. ''This is an innovative modern retailer with a wonderful, personal sales concept,'' says Bill Blass, the designer, who shops at the store for accessories. ''It's a great store to browse in for something to catch your eye.'' ''Barneys has absolutely led New York retailers,'' says Peter Arnell, executive creative director of Arnell/Bickford Associates, a design and marketing agency (which does no work for Barneys). ''There is a level of finesse in that store that no one comes close to in America.'' Standing out from the crowd is an obsession with the Pressman family, which owns Barneys. ''With all the retail consolidations that are happening, things are becoming homogenized out there,'' says Robert Pressman, Barneys' executive vice president of finance and operations, and a grandson of the founder. ''If a person were blindfolded and parachuted into a store, chances are he wouldn't know what store he was in.'' Now the Pressmans want to make Barneys a national phenomenon. At a time when large, debt-burdened retailers like Campeau Corp. are faltering, Barneys is in the midst of a cross-country expansion, partly funded by a joint venture with a Japanese company, that could lead to sales of more than $400 million by 1994. In the next five years, 25 to 30 smaller stores of about 6,500 square feet will go up. Three are already open: in Chestnut Hill, Mass., Short Hills, N.J. and Manhasset, N.Y. Three more are scheduled to open early next year in Costa Mesa, Calif., Seattle, Wash. and Westport, Conn. In 1991 a 25,000-square-foot store will open in downtown Chicago. The satellites will focus on women's sportswear because women's stores tend to need less space than men's, and market research has convinced the Pressmans that there is a large appetite for their style of high-fashion goods. ''Stores outside New York insult their customers with the merchandise they offer them,'' says Robert Pressman. In addition, there will be a 100,000-square-foot store opening in Beverly Hills in 1993 and a major Asian expansion beginning with a 30,000-square-foot Barneys New York in Tokyo in 1990. The expansion is being partly funded by a recent $250 million joint-venture agreement between the Pressman family and Isetan Co., a $4 billion Japanese retailer. (The family will maintain exclusive ownership of the New York and Beverly Hills stores.) Barney's distinctive appeal begins with its huge selection of uncommon clothes. (See the samplings on these pages. Barneys does not have a mail-order business, but these items can be ordered by calling 212-929-9000.) Barneys boasts that almost 70% of its inventory is exclusive -- much of it created by Barneys under its own label. In addition, Barneys has earned a reputation over the years for discovering and nurturing talent. Among the designers it introduced to the United States are Giorgio Armani, Azzedine Alaia, Comme des Garcons and Gianfranco Ferre. ''A Barneys buyer will buy my collection totally differently than a buyer from another store,'' says Louis Dell'Olio, the designer for Anne Klein. ''All the others are worried about what is commercial, and what is commerical is usually mainstream, basic fashion. Nobody goes to Barneys to buy a basic skirt.'' Staying ahead of the pack takes constant vigilance. Barneys recently stopped carrying Fendi goods because they were showing up in too many other stores. This exclusivity comes at a price -- a high price. Men's suits run from $375 to $2,000. Women's suits range from $550 to $3,750, dresses from $280 to $4,000. Also, Barneys sometimes charges more than other stores for identical goods. For example, a Chanel coat that recently sold for $2,400 at Barneys was available at $2,125 at the Chanel boutique on 57th Street. Once a year, Barneys harks back to its discount roots with a warehouse sale, featuring mostly men's clothing, held in a building across the street from the main store. Men line up on the sidewalk for hours waiting for a chance to buy clothes at up to 50% off regular prices. In the main store, goods go on sale only twice a year, at the end of the spring and fall seasons. Still, Barneys has its own way of catering to the frugal impulses of its customers. For example, it carries Gaultier Junior (the lower-priced line of designer Jean-Paul Gaultier). A woman's jacket from Gaultier Junior can run $325 to $425. True, that's not cheap, but one from Gaultier's premier line costs $700 to $1,400. A shopping trip to Barneys begins with a touch of class: a doorman helps you out of your taxi or limo (he does not accept tips). Receptionists on the main floor can direct you around the building. There is a checkroom too, so you don't have to drag your coat and packages around while you try on clothes. The main floor is dazzling. Exotic tropical fish glide back and forth in aquariums behind the jewelry collection. In the Chelsea Passage, customers swim through a series of gift and antique shops featuring exclusive collections of china, silver and home furnishings. A sweeping marble staircase anchors the women's store. For men, the serious business begins on the second floor. The floors carrying traditional clothes, including such hard-to-find labels as Oxxford, are furnished with dark walnut and mahogany, and the music is quiet. For the collections of European designers like Giorgio Armani and Gianfranco Ferre, the lighting is bright, the fixtures modern, the music loud and the salespeople young and hip. The elegant and airy 70,000-square-foot women's store is located in six connected turn-of-the-century brownstones adjacent to the main store. The standard practice is to take the elevator up to the sixth-floor, home of the most expensive collections -- Chanel, Armani and the like -- and then work your way down flight by flight; prices descend with you. In a separate building, an area called the Co/op offers less expensive, contemporary clothing, accessories and beauty products. A Co/op suit averages $200 to $250. There is a hair salon run by Roger Thompson, former creative director of Vidal Sassoon in England. A haircut by Mr. Thompson himself costs $125. Finally, there is a restaurant one flight down from the main floor where the food is as stylish as the clothing. A plate of Chicken Saltimbocca is $14.50. To help customers take advantage of all this, Barneys places great emphasis on personal service. ''We teach the salespeople that whether or not the customer buys something on each visit is not important,'' says Gene Pressman. ''What is important is that they come back.'' To further this end, the commissions paid to the sales staff are structured to include a special bonus for repeat sales. This helps explain an experience that recently intrigued Jay Margolis, a top executive of Liz Claiborne Inc. When Barneys didn't have a jacket he was looking for, his salesperson called several other stores, locating it at Charivari. ''We don't want to give our competitors the opportunity to meet you,'' says Frank Ball, senior vice president for sales and operations. For all its efforts, Barneys still has a few uninformed salespeople and daydreaming clerks. But overall, the customers seem satisfied. Says Mary Erger, a New Yorker who shops at Barneys with her husband and their 16-year- old son: ''My son, like most boys, hates to shop. If I can find a knowledgeable salesperson, it becomes easy as opposed to torturous.'' The fact that Barneys is still a family affair has a lot do with its success. The original Barney was Barney Pressman, who founded the business in New York in 1923 as a 500-square-foot discount retailer. Barney's son Fred joined the business in 1946 and expanded it to a large men's retailer. Fred is now president. Fred's sons Gene and Robert came on board in the 1970s. Today, eight members of the Pressman family are involved in running the store. The Pressmans and other executives get deeply involved in every aspect of the business. Key managers spend much of their time out on the sales floor. ''Our executives are very hands-on,'' says Simon Doonan, vice president and creative director. ''You'll find me inside the window displays working on them. The buyers are out on the floor.'' Indeed, one reason the Pressmans concentrated on expanding their main store rather than opening branches was so that they could keep their eyes on every detail. In fact, Barneys' first move beyond its original location came just last year, when it opened a 10,000- square-foot men's store in the World Financial Center, near Wall Street. Now that they are breaking with that tradition in a big way with their expansion, the challenge will be to make sure the new stores have the distinctive Barneys touch. The Pressmans are approaching the task with their customary fastidiousness. ''You know how people say, 'God is in the details?' '' says Peter Arnell. ''I think the Pressmans are in the details.''