Fast moves fast in New York. What may be your favourite boutique one year, could be easily closed the next. Leaving you searching for another suitable lifestyle shop, going to Barneys, or resorting to online shopping to meet your styling needs.
Fear not modern minimalist APCer’s, tech streetwear goths, and Japanese denim enthusiasts, New York has the lifestyle shop for every type of guy out there. From seven story marketplaces to small boutique shops, here are the coolest menswear stores in New York City and why you should visit next time you’re in area.
Idol Brooklyn
Idol does a good job keeping you guessing what they’ll come with next at their shop in North Williamsburg near Nitehawk. Owners Daniel France, Wei Du, and Alex Kasavin curate a mix of rare, high-end technical streetwear brands such as Takahiromiyashita The Soloist, Cav Empt, m.a+, Label Under Construction, and more.
The guys are usually manning shop themselves, are extremely knowledgeable and willing to chat you up about streetwear until you remember brunch is ending soon at Sweetchick, and you really wanted to try their Smoked Pork Hash.
101 Metropolitan Ave, Brooklyn
Goose Barnacle
Leave it up to Brooklyn to marry a Nordic-edge menswear shop with rotating modern art exhibits on off Atlantic in Brooklyn Heights. What stands out about Goose Barnacle is the lesser known brands they offer compared to other menswear stores in the city.
Shop the threads of Danish designers Han Kjobehavn, local artisanal brand HANDVAERK, and whatever fine art pieces are featured on the day. The layout is handsome, organised, and offers a selection of pieces any guy who wants to up his casual weekend wardrobe.
Hotoveli
New Yorkers wear a lot of black. It’s the easiest of “colours” to throw together regardless of the weather. It doesn’t show the dust, dirt and grime that comes with living the city life. And hell, black looks classy.
Hotoveli embodies the spirit of black with a healthy range of high end streetwear brands like ACRNYM, Rick Owens, Daniel Anderson, and carry some seriously cool womenswear as well. All in an exposed brick, handsomely lit atmosphere that’ll keep you browsing and chatting up the knowledgeable staff for an hour after an inebriating brunch in West Village.
Dover Street Market
Originating in London, Comme des Garçons founder Rei Kawakubo brought this 7-story fashion retail powerhouse to New York in 2013. DSM curates the latest high-end trends in the industry, offering an array of brands from Raf Simons to Supreme, and all the CDG you could imagine.
Each floor proudly showcasing clothes with exquisite detail and innovative creativity, turning mundane shopping trips into a journey of luxurious fabrics one must experience when shopping in NYC.
Atelier
The Village is home to one of the coolest menswear stores in NYC with little mention, Atelier. If you’re seeking high quality technical garments in an unfussy, minimalist atmosphere, here’s the shop for you. Browse the apparel of luxe German designer Leon Emanuel, Greg Lauren, Rick Owens, and various streetwear kingpins. All in a carefully curated, black and white fit out on 8th street.
Odin
Odin is a staple for any well-dressed man and was one of the first lifestyle shops dedicated to men only. Located in SoHo (and one in West Village), the shop is a hidden gem amongst the popular stores you’ll find along the beaten paths of Mercer and Broadway.
They carry familiar brands such as CDG and ACNE Studios, while surprising you with some lesser known brands like Childs, Officine Generale, and Nopasanada, in an attractive, well designed store.
Give their house fragrances a spray or two while you meander through the shop. Since 2009 they’ve teamed up with Parisian perfumiers like Jean Claude Delville and Corinne Cachen to develop invigorating scents for both men and women.
Saturdays NYC
Saturday on Crosby Street will be on your list for a variety of reasons – you’re looking for on-trend basics, you want to surf (yes it’s possible outside the city, rent a board here), or you need a cool spot to meet your Tinder date for a coffee.
The shop offers a refuge from the busy SoHo streets on the weekend. Where a quiet back deck allows shoppers to leisurely sip, chat, and scroll until you’re ready to make the next move.
Shop the latest tanks and board shorts from Saturdays for a relaxed, casual summer style. The humidity is near in New York, meaning my black fall get up won’t last much longer.
Blue In Green
If the lure of G-Stars militaristic style and raw denim captures your attention, stop. Turn back to Broadway, swing two blocks over to Greene St and find yourself at Blue in Green (BiG), the leading raw Japanese denim shops in NYC.
BiG is a classy men’s lifestyle store carrying apparel brands you probably haven’t heard of unless you’ve shopped in Tokyo. It’s welcoming, detailed layout and coffee shop easily makes you forget you’re in New York. Until you leave, make a wrong turn, and end up in Chinatown. Then you’ll remember you’re in New York.
R by 45RPM
For those with the credit limit to shop, the deconstructed style and unique fabric varieties R45 offers are a fashion treasure to be appreciated. Their organic, versatile apparel are designed with materials like Zimbabwean cotton, hand-dyed Indigo, and hand-spun Khadi fabric.
You can sport their garments anywhere from high-end restaurants to weekends in Capri, or Happy Hour with the mates. The shop itself reflects a Zen temple with a stone pathway, wooden pillars, and limestone dressing rooms. Embodying the brands aesthetic and dedication to the Earth that goes into every article of clothing produced back in Japan.
C’H’C’M’
Clinton Hill Classic Menswear (C’H’C’M) began as an online shop until owner Sweetu Patel opened up the 2 Bond Street basement brick-n-mortar near NYU. Since its induction New York, it hasn’t been given the hype compared to its neighbours down in SoHo . And it’s just the way it’s loyal shoppers like it.
The long lines and young hypebeasts are busy around the corner at Kith, leaving you with a peaceful, easygoing shopping experience. Patel and his CHCM crew curates domestic and international brands from Kazuki Kuraishi to Stone Island and local designers like Abase Rosborough and Adsum making them one of the coolest menswear stores in NYC.