Jewelry and Textiles
Mociun
Caitlin Mociun’s Williamsburg storefront epitomizes a style many Brooklyn shops only aspire to—lovingly worn farmhouse meets sleek urban loft. In the sun-filled space, the jewelry and textile designer curates an ever-shifting array of handmade housewares and accessories, with a focus on clean lines and earth tones interspersed with pops of color.
224 Wythe Ave., at N. 4th St., Williamsburg; 718-387-3731; mociun.com
Cutting-Edge Retailer
Opening Ceremony
Like a high-fashion version of a cultural-exchange program, Opening Ceremony features fashions from a different country each year. Luckily for New York shoppers, owners Carol Lim and Humberto Leon’s taste is impeccable, skewing toward the type of playful avant-garde pieces that befit girls who hop from gallery opening to tapas bar to packed downtown club.
35 Howard St., nr. Broadway; 212-219-2688; openingceremony.us
Brooklyn Hipster
Bird
Owner Jennifer Mankins handpicks womenswear from around 50 labels, including Tsumori Chisato, 3.1 Phillip Lim, Rachel Comey, and Steven Alan. She also ventures into high-end designer territory, stocking upscale items from Thakoon and Yigal Azrouel.
Various locations; shopbird.com
All Things Cool
Steven Alan
Steven Alan’s fine-tuned selection of the coolest downtown threads means that women can breeze through this wisp of a store without missing the latest from established labels like Mansur Gavriel, No. 6, and Filson.
Various locations; stevenalan.com
Plus:Stop by the Steven Alan Home Shop, where Alan hand-selects textiles, plants, ceramics, and food, plus an impressively well-curated selection of home goods from around the world.
158 Franklin St., nr. Hudson St.; 646-402-9661
Party Girls
Intermix
Packed with bright, tight fashion from Missoni, Hervé Léger, and Stella McCartney, these shops have everything a young society girl needs to get through a season full of brunch dates and party hopping.
Various locations; intermixonline.com
Socialite-y
Scoop
Pretty publicists and their well-heeled friends swear by this shop’s trendy staples: designer jeans, Stuart Weitzman boots, splashy handbags, and much more.
Various locations; scoopnyc.com
Seasonally Minded
Warm
This effortlessly cool seasonal concept store is the brainchild of longtime surfers and husband-and-wife duo Winnie Beattie and Rob Magnotta. In the summertime, they turn the space into an ode to seaside aesthetics, peppering the shop with vintage surf magazines, travel books, and found objects to create an urban-hippie vibe. They turn the shop into a ski lodge when the cold weather hits.
181 Mott St., nr. Kenmare St.; 212-925-1200; warmny.com
Designer Digs
Otte
This bright, cheery store has 3.1 Phillip Lim underwear, as well as cool stuff from designers like Vanessa Bruno, Suno, Loeffler Randall, Band of Outsiders, and more.
Various locations; otteny.com
Neutral Territory
Oak
This downtown-chic store delivers an unexpected mix of established and up-and-coming designers for men and women. The racks are brimming with reliable basics, from Unis for guys to feminine, handcrafted pieces from Vena Cava for women. A trendy mix of Jeffrey Campbell shoes, 3.1 Philip Lim bags, and Giles & Brother jewelry rounds out the selection.
Various locations; oaknyc.com
Flirty Fashionista
Wink
Whether you’re shopping for the club or the cubicle, this playful, pink-accented store is a treasure trove of trendy apparel for flirty fashionistas. Wink prides itself on carrying pieces that have been seen in celebrity glossies.
Various locations; winknyc.com
The Next Opening Ceremony
American Two Shot
This schizophrenic space sells everything from Joan Didion books to freshly brewed Nicaraguan coffee. On the racks, floral midriffs by Shakuhachi hang alongside sparkly Novis party dresses and Chromat zip-on harnesses.
135 Grand St., nr. Crosby St.; 212-925-3403; americantwoshot.com
Fit for Broadway
Darling
Former Broadway costume designer Ann French Emonts’s small shop mixes fun clothing she makes herself with pieces by Mary Green, Sophia Reyes, and Luna.
1 Horatio St., nr. Eighth Ave.; 212-367-3750; darlingnyc.com
Small Shop in the Big City
Legacy
Since 1978, this narrow boutique has been a destination for unearthing talented new designers. Buyer and designer Rita Brookoff showcases feminine, quirky vintage and current apparel and accessories in the lean railroad space.
109 Thompson St.; nr. Prince St.; 212-966-4827; legacy-nyc.com
Best Indie Shop
Pas de Deux
The trendsetting duo behind menswear store Odin and the enduring pop-up Den opened this adjacent women’s boutique. Don’t be fooled by the square footage; the shop is well-curated, with pieces from rag & bone, Isabel Marant, Thakoon, and more.
328 E. 11th St., nr. Second Ave.; 212-475-0075; pasdedeuxny.com
A New Standout
Owen
Owen’s thoughtful compilation of men’s and womenswear in rich jewel tones, dark neutrals, and complex, highly textured knit, leather, and fur make it a worthwhile addition to the high-end boutiques in the meatpacking district.
809 Washington St., nr. Gansevoort St.; 212-524-9770; owennyc.com
Vintage Showroom
What Goes Around Comes Around
When you’re ready to leave the ranks of the merely hard-core vintage hounds and join those of the professional vintage fiends (editors, stylists, and film costumers), this 7,000-square-foot showroom stocked with over 100,000 pieces awaits.
351 West Broadway, nr. Broome St.; 212-343-1225; whatgoesaroundnyc.com
Philanthropic Venture
Treasure & Bond
All profits from the store’s unique and well-designed jewelry, homewares, clothing, stationery, and accessories are sent to local charities. Expect jewelry by Gamine, Giles & Brother, and Melissa Joy Manning; quirky coffee table books; high-end scented candles; and stuffed leather bookends shaped like animals.
350 West Broadway, nr. Grand St.; 646-669-9049; treasureandbond.com
Luxury Goods
Elizabeth Charles
The Australian-born Charles packs her boutique exclusively with fashions from her native land and New Zealand—but just a couple of pieces in each style, to guarantee you won’t see your outfit trotting around the meatpacking district on someone else.
639 1/2 Hudson St., nr. Horatio St.; 212-243-3201; elizabeth-charles.com
Bowery via the Hamptons
Blue & Cream
This go-to East Village store stocks designers like 3.1 Phillip Lim, A.L.C., and rag & bone.
1 E. 1st St., nr. Bowery; 212-533-3088; blueandcream.com
Vintage Redux
The Reformation
The store is named for both Martin Luther’s Reformation and for the idea of reforming clothes. The designers find outdated vintage pieces like slips and blazers and revamp them in their backroom sewing shop.
Various locations thereformation.com
Unabashedly Prep
Olive & Bette’s
At this cheerful boutique, you and the prep-school crowd will find sassy, figure-hugging styles from AG, Nanette Lepore, and Rebecca Taylor.
Various locations; oliveandbettes.com
One-of-a-Kind Style
Albertine
Owner Kyung Lee has stocked her retail space with moderate-to-high-priced original pieces from emerging artists. The store will even make items to order, since each piece is one or two of a kind.
13 Christopher St., nr. Gay St.; 212-924-8515; albertine-nyc.com
Eurocentric
Spiritual America
Owner Claire Lemétais has an eye for subtly cheeky décor, but the clothes and accessories are seriously hip. European designers such as Vanessa Bruno, Surface to Air, and Wood Wood are mixed with established local lines like Vena Cava and United Bamboo and emerging New Yorkers.
5 Rivington St., nr. Bowery; 212-960-8564; spiritualamericanyc.com
On the Bowery
Dagny + Barstow
The selection skews young and strange at this airy shop. Think alien-print blouses from Australian designer Emma Mulholland and forest-motif trousers by Mother of Pearl. Rotating art exhibits drive home the youthful, creative vibe.
264 Bowery, nr. Houston St.; 212-675-2346; dagnyandbarstow
Always Classic
Castor & Pollux
This intimate womenswear boutique favors classic pieces over anything trendy or fashion forward. The result is an eclectic mix that looks simultaneously contemporary and vintage.
238 W. 10th St., nr. Hudson St.; 212-645-6572; castorandpolluxstore.com
More Shopping Recommendations
Best of New York Shopping
View the slideshow to see the best shops for designer deadstock, vintage everything, housewares, hoodies, and more.
Hoodies
The Hoodie Shop
181 Orchard St., nr. Stanton St.; 646-559-2716
You can thank Mark Zuckerberg for foisting the hoodie onto corporate America”or at least making it acceptable on casual Fridays. Find one in every style, vintage, and color at this one-track shop from Brooklyn Bowl honcho Peter Shapiro and former Bowl bartender Aleah Speranza. The place is chockablock with hooded swag, including purple Aforism jackets ($110), Nicholas K draped terry wraps ($385), and electric-pink OnePiece jumpsuits ($159). It’s as much a performance space and rec room as it is a retail anomaly. Lignet Roset sofas and an intermittently manned D.J. booth (Questlove spun their Fashion’s Night Out party) encourage hanging out, as do Me Decade amusements like a Wizard! pinball machine.
Photo: Courtesy of the vendor
Designer Deadstock
Graymarket
242 Wythe Ave., nr. N. 3rd St., Ste. 7, Williamsburg; 718-384-4984
Founders Wei Du and Alex Kasavin collect artisanal drop-crotch pants the way Rachel Zoe collects Birkin bags. Their six-plus racks of men’s, women’s, and unisex deadstock, culled from collector friends and indie boutiques as far away as Japan and Australia, include both renowned and obscure avant-garde designers. A Rick Owens crushed-velvet tuxedo blazer and Givenchy gladiator wedges commingle with an inky zip hoodie by Lost & Found and $1,700 Carol Christian Poell leather trainers (a single piece of latex-covered kangaroo leather, to be precise). The icing on the subversive cake: Everything is new with tags and discounted up to 60 percent.
Photo: Courtesy of the vendor
Curios
Creel and Gow
131 E. 70th St., nr Lexington Ave.; 212-327-4281
Whether you’re in the market for a $15,000 stuffed lion or a $20 pewter wishbone, Creel and Gow has the uptown natural-wonders market cornered. Globe-trotting partners Christopher Gow and Jamie Creel travel from Mongolia to Mozambique seeking ephemera and antiques and commissioning artisans to create nature-inspired décor. Located on the ground floor of a stately Upper East Side townhouse, the shop features several rooms, each dimly lit and meticulously merchandised so as to feel like a cross between a decorative-arts display at the Met and the drawing room of a European heir with a “von” in his surname. Like Soho stalwart Evolution, it’s worth making the trip just to ogle some of the more outlandish wares.
Photo: J.M. Kucy/JMK Gallery
Vintage Everything
Grand Street Bakery
602 Grand St., nr. Leonard St., Williamsburg; 718-387-2390
Don’t let the signage fool you: The bakeshop that anchored this Williamsburg block for a quarter of a century is gone; in its place is a vintage store that, unlike most of its super-specialized neighbors, is truly a one-stop shop. Neal Mello, former buyer for What Goes Around Comes Around and Urban Outfitters, converted the bakery’s metal ovens into fitting rooms and used its pastry racks to display scads of heritage-leaning men’s clothes”de rigueur Pendleton, of course; sturdy Carhartt jackets; heavy-duty logging boots. In the ladies’ ward, Mello stocks hip Navajo coats and chunky costume jewelry. A sprinkling of vinyl, graphic blankets, reworked miners’ jugs, and L-train-commuter-approved sundries round out the selection.
Photo: Kyle Knodell/Courtesy of Grand Street Bakery
Gifts
The Front Room
Underline Gallery, 238 W. 14th. St., nr. Eighth Ave.; 212-242-2427
Emerging artists dominate this contemporary gallery, but the real draw is the boutique up front, where you can shop a dazzling assortment of gift-worthy odds and ends. Sequin-embellished Moroccan textiles give way to graphic Fredericks & Mae board games and studded sculptural vases in icy pastels. Peek into the alcove for a display case of Robin Mollicone’s neon-accented moonstone brooches and Abby Goodman’s animal-shaped sterling-silver rings, or select a present from the gallery’s handful of limited-edition surrealist screenprints by artists like Inka Essenhigh ($350).
Photo: Courtesy of Underline Gallery
High Fashion
18 E. 69th St., nr. Madison Ave.; 212-288-1338
Fivestory
This skillfully curated Upper East Side boutique features the latest eccentric trends and designers. Despite the name, the boutique has only two floors, but each is packed with brightly colored clothes, home furnishings, distinctive jewelry, and shoes. Men can find seasonal attire, much of it with a preppy twist, such as DelToro’s famous mustachioed velvet slippers, patterned and classic suits and dress shirts, straw hats and limited edition Nike sneakers. For women there are brightly colored party dresses, stacked platform heels with daring designs, and an ornate collection of jewelry. A range of bold accessories are displayed together”vintage Hermès, Maison Michel and then jewelry from newer designers like Dannijo are all featured side by side.
Photo: Evan Sung
The Next Opening Ceremony
Dagny + Barstow
264 Bowery, nr. Houston St.; 212-675-2346
The selection skews young and strange at this airy shop. Think alien-print blouses from Australian designer Emma Mulholland and forest-motif trousers by Mother of Pearl. Rotating art exhibits drive home the O.C. vibe.
Photo: Jessica Chou
Eco-Fashion
Embody
ABC Carpet & Home, 88 Broadway, at 19th St., mezzanine level; 212-473-3000
Earth-friendly fashion comes in many forms: organic fabric, handsewn details, local production. But rarely do you see them all in one place, as with the new bazaarlike apparel floor at ABC Carpet & Home. Here, embroidered vintage caftans top driftwood tables, handcrafted Pamela Love pendants and Artemas Quibble leather messenger bags fill antiqued cabinets, and eco-luxe John Bartlett striped shirts hang near crystal chandeliers. Naturally, there’s a premium on sustainability: Prices hover at the steep end with the shop’s bigger-name labels, including Libertine and Donna Karan’s Urban Zen.
Photo: Andrew Karcie
Shoe Mecca
Barneys New York
660 Madison Ave., at 61st St.; 212-826-8900
The luxury retailer has been luring shoe obsessives for years. But it wasn’t until last summer’s shoe-floor overhaul that resistance proved truly futile. The renovation more than doubled the size of the salon to 22,000 square feet; its new gallery-like layout, a brainchild of Barneys creative director Dennis Freedman and high-end design firm Yabu Pushelberg, showcases exclusives from Narciso Rodriguez and Manolo Blahnik on literal pedestals. Most notably, the atmospherics”mohair-and-velvet seating, Italian marble walls, Macassar ebony tables”offer a shopping experience as chic as the shoes themselves.
Photo: Courtesy of Barneys New York
