The Best Clothing Stores in New York
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New York is, was and always will be a shopping town. This is where America’s first department stores, long-gone retail monoliths, reached up to the heavens. It was home to boutiques that introduced names like Giorgio Armani, Yohji Yamamoto and Azzedine Alaïa to stateside shoppers. It has been, over its history, fertile ground for hole-in-the-wall sneaker stores, concrete temple cubbyholes specializing in rare Japanese brands and mammoth half-a-block flagships for European fashion juggernauts. It is also a shopping city that is ever in flux.
From Bonwit Teller to Barney’s, from Charivari to Alife, from Dapper Dan to Tent & Trails, we could spend hours tabulating the New York shops that are just a memory now. This is a city altered by gentrification and an industry upended by online shopping. Clothing shops in Manhattan have become clustered, and fewer intrepid boutiques can arrive and thrive in other boroughs. That is not to say that the city’s shopping landscape has become stale. Far from it. There is always something new to discover, to find that shirt that might just change your life. — Jacob Gallagher
Methodology Readers’ Picks The 50 Best Clothing Stores in America
Kotryna Jukneviciute and MJ Perez serve Gen Z women seeking unique and well-made pieces by up-and-coming young female designers from around the world who often struggle to be discovered and lack U.S. distribution. At Arete, shoppers can find studded leather handbags from Battló, a Buenos Aires-based brand; plaid asymmetrical dresses from Taottao in Shenzhen, China; and lace cardigans from Campbell & Kramer in Los Angeles. Next to each designer’s collection is a description of the brand and its story. — Sadiba Hasan
116 Suffolk Street Lower East Side
Opened in SoHo before the neighborhood became a luxurious cobblestone strip mall, and long owned by Yuji Fukushima, Blue in Green brought premium Japanese denim to New York City’s shopping scene and remains a Mecca for sumptuous selvedge to this day. Up a flight of black metal stairs and past its buzz-in door are floor-to-ceiling shelves filled with hundreds of jeans from coveted Japanese brands like Kapital, Fullcount, Pure Blue Japan and Samurai. Browsing the indigo heaps is made more soothing by a soundtrack of Miles Davis, whose tune “Blue in Green” inspired the store’s name. — Alex Vadukul
8 Greene Street SoHo
C’H’C’M’ is the rare men’s wear boutique to survive toddlerhood because of the way it meets customers in the moment. In its early years, the owner, Sweetu Patel, stocked the basement-level store with toggle coats and Danish cardigans. These days, the pickings are eclectic and avant-garde, embracing the shifting tastes of inquisitive (and deep-pocketed) dressers. Hoodies from Lady White Company share space with dusty Auralee corduroys and rakish suits from the British brand Sono. An arena of discovery, the Hobbit-hole-like store is also a place to find a reliable hat, like Evan Kinori’s cozy tweed beanie. — Jacob Gallagher
2 Bond Street NoHo
On the spacious ground floor of a cast-iron building, Dave’s offers a wonderland of workwear: Carhartt canvas pants, Levi’s jeans and work boots from brands like Red Wing and Thorogood. Various styles of outerwear, T-shirts and accessories hang on racks throughout. In addition to mechanics and construction workers, Dave’s has a cult following of younger hipsters, attracting visitors from around the world. A third-generation family business, the store employs a staff that is knowledgeable, friendly and attentive. — Miya Lee
581 Sixth Avenue Chelsea
Founded by Rei Kawakubo, the designer behind Comme des Garçons, and Adrian Joffe, DSM is a fashion person’s playground. You’re likely to run into fashion editors, designers and stylists among the store’s eight floors. Its wide selection allows shoppers to discover emerging brands like Chopova Lowena and Martine Rose, which don’t have stores of their own in the city, and see old favorites like Prada and Balenciaga in a new light. — Yola Mzizi
160 Lexington Avenue Kips Bay
Front General Store is well known for French workwear and Levi’s. But its owner, Hiro Yonekawa, packs way more into its two rooms, which are full of mostly vintage clothes like mint Burberry trenches (for around $300), graphic tees, men’s dress shirts and women’s tops, hats and handbags. Peppered in is select new clothing, like Thai fisherman trousers, along with home and beauty goods. The shopping can be elbow-to-elbow, which is typically not the case at a sister outpost down the block, where 1980s pieces from Issey Miyake and other luxury designers are sold. — Steven Kurutz
143 Front Street Dumbo
Hat Club on Broadway, founded in 1992, may be small, but make no mistake: It’s a hat emporium. Caps reach from the floor to the ceiling and are organized by color, league and team (including some college teams). Visitors are greeted by sales associates happy to help seasoned snap-back wearers as well as novices find their look. There are also plenty more adventurous hats, some lined with fur, finished with sequins and bold patterns like leopard print. This is the place to get fitted. — YM
657 Broadway SoHo
Tucked away in an antique mall in Midtown East, this hidden gem is a link to a lost world of exquisite silk and rayon gowns and lacy garments from the 1880s to the 1940s in impressively pristine condition. Illisa, the proprietor, has been collecting these items for four decades and washes and irons them herself. Neatly displayed throughout the store are coin purses, perfume bottles, handheld mirrors, bangles, shoes, pillows, scarves and other gems. Not surprisingly, much of the clientele consists of stylists and costume designers. — SH
1050 Second Avenue Midtown East
Manhattan was once lousy with deep-cut sneaker spots and streetwear boutiques, now long gone. Kith now feels like the last one standing. The first floor holds the store’s logo tees and beach-club streetwear; above that is an impressive array of global designers like Marni and Visvim. But the real reason to visit is the top floor’s mammoth wall of shoes, including Wales Bonner Adidas, bright Salomons, Rick Owens mules and specialty Wallabees. Word to the wise: Patience will be needed for the long wait to get in. — JG
337 Lafayette Street NoHo
Filled with practical yet special women’s basics, La Garçonne’s loft-like store in Lower Manhattan is the type of place that might inspire paring down a wardrobe to three T-shirts, two pairs of pants, a cocoon coat and statement earrings. The owners, Da Kim and Kris Kim, who have another location in the Hamptons and a men’s store next door, offer labels like the Row alongside “if you know you know” brands like Minä Perhonen, Casey Casey, Dusan and Bergfabel. A premium is placed on comfort: Waists are often elastic, dresses are voluminous, cashmere abounds. And the shoe and bag edit, while tight, has styles for most every occasion. — Stella Bugbee
465 Greenwich Street TriBeCa
In an increasingly congested Lower East Side vintage market, this compact space is a Mecca for broken-in Comme des Garçons work jackets, pre-Y2K Prada blouses, sinuous gold jewelry that could’ve belonged to your quirkiest aunt and zesty ’80s Italian knits. The selection is sharp, but not static. Over the years, its inventory of vintage designer goods has stretched to include streetwear pioneers like Stüssy and Gotcha. Credit as well to the staff members, who are honest about whether that shirt works for you or is best left on the rack. — JG
70 Orchard Street Lower East Side
There are two camps of baby gifting: Give them what they need or what they may not know they want. Makie, arguably, rests in the latter. Bloomers for $60; $88 for tees; and close to $200 for a dress made for a newborn who will likely outgrow it in a few weeks. Splurging on finery here even extends to exhausted parents — Makie also has designs for adults. Makie Yahagi, who opened the minimalist, serene store in Soho 27 years ago, offers clothes that are not only beautiful and well made, but are pieces worthy of a keepsake box. — Minju Pak
109 Thompson Street SoHo
In Senegal, marchés are popular marketplaces for clothing, housewares and furniture. In Crown Heights, Marché Rue Dix, the sister shop to the French-Senagalese restaurant Cafe Rue Dix, reimagines the lively West African shopping strip as a lifestyle concept store selling modern luxury African apparel, vintage items, vinyl LPs, skincare, homeware and handbags made of woven, upcycled materials. Inside you can also find braiding and nail salons. Eat at the cafe, then get some retail therapy to walk off your thiebou jen and fataya. — Gina Cherelus
1453 Bedford Avenue Crown Heights
If you’re looking for an intro to Japanese fashion on U.S. soil, Nepenthes’s New York location has two floors packed with apparel unlike anything you’ll find outside of Japan. Founded in 1988 by Keizo Shimizu in Tokyo, later joined by Daiki Suzuki, the retailer features clothing and accessories across workwear, sportswear, outdoor and military-inspired garments, as well as classic tailoring with a twist, and its own brands like Needles, a streetwear brand based in Tokyo, and Engineered Garments, which is produced in New York. — YM
307 West 38th Street Midtown West
It’s hard to believe New York didn’t get its flagship Nordstrom store until 2019. This seven-floor fashion amusement park has quickly established itself as a must-visit staple. With dedicated boutiques in store for CDG, Acne Studios, Nike and more, as well as six restaurants and bars to be found throughout, it has become a one-stop shop where you can walk out with a new head-to-toe wardrobe. The store also offers tailoring and alterations, shoe shines, monogramming, engraving, eyebrow waxing and so much more. — Kellina Moore
225 West 57th Street Midtown
A warm storefront on a shoppy stretch of Atlantic Avenue, Outline has the feel of a friend’s living room. Unexpected garments sit beside each other, like a scrunchy, candy-colored set from Super Yaya and a prim, high-necked cardigan by the uptown brand Attersee. Could the same shopper who dropped in to touch a girl-bossy pair of High Sport pants also find herself drawn to metallic Margiela tabis? At Outline, sure. It is among the few multibrand boutiques that have defined a sensibility. — Marie Solis
365 Atlantic Avenue Boerum Hill
Founded by the eccentric Milanese stylist Luxor Tavella and her painter husband, Jeffrey Norfolk, over 50 years ago in a then-bohemian and desolate SoHo, this downtown bazaar, with its bright yellow storefront, is devoted to the exotic, florid and psychedelic. It offers racks of Tunisian tunics, mirrored Afghan kuchi dresses, Colombian macramé shawls and Japanese kimonos. Labels are cut off the clothing, not merely to deter competitors from cribbing their inventory, but to ensure the focus remains on the wondrously eclectic pieces, and not on who might have designed them. — AV
510 Broome Street SoHo
City dwellers have long relied on Paragon Sports, a Union Square institution, for practically every athletic-apparel need imaginable. You’ll roam its three floors that stock everything from Wilson duffels and Knicks jerseys to North Face coats, Salomon hiking boots and Callaway visors. Beneath its upper floor’s pressed-tin ceilings, you’ll encounter department-store-like displays of mannequins hiking in Arc’teryx jackets and camping out with Yeti gear. Paragon has also remained family owned since its founding in 1908, which is no small feat in New York. — AV
867 Broadway Union Square
Ever wonder where Bill Nye gets his quirky bow ties? The answer awaits at a tiny, magical shop on the Upper East Side. Its owner, Seigo Katsuragawa, guides shoppers through an array of handmade neckties and bow ties lining the walls and nestled like jewels in rows of wooden drawers. The exquisite silk from Kyoto comes in every imaginable pattern: plaid, polka dot, cats and dogs — even skulls and crossbones. Prices are from $95 to $105, quite reasonable for a collector’s item. — KM
1248 Madison Ave Upper East Side
Shopping for fashionable plus-size clothes is no small feat. This new-ish shop on the Lower East Side makes shopping fun for people sizes 0 to 36. While Malas has her own line, the shop also sells Tyler McGillivary, Kina & Tam, Lauren Perrin and more, sometimes with extended sizes made just for Malas. The selection is wearable but whimsical, including brightly patterned skirts, upcycled button-ups with added frills and T-shirts with Carrie Bradshaw’s New York magazine cover screenprinted on them. — KM
143 Ludlow Street Lower East Side
A few years after his vegan leather shopping bags blew everyone away, the designer Telfar Clemens opened his namesake label’s first store, a 10,000-square-foot hybrid retail and in-house broadcasting studio in TriBeCa. Prepare for a full Telfar experience,like the floor-to-ceiling screens playing videos on a loop and the white space that makes the brand’s unisex apparel and denim pop from under clothing racks. Above and below the cash registers you’ll find the brightly displayed “bag bar,” which features a complete menu of Telfar bags. — GC
408 Broadway TriBeCa
A holy site for disciples of men’s wear blogs, the Armoury was founded by Mark Cho and Alan See in Hong Kong as a haberdashery bringing a modern touch to Savile Row suiting. Its petite Lower Manhattan outpost has become a taste-making institution stateside, and a second location was opened uptown in recent years. The downtown store regularly hosts Japanese tailors for trunk shows, and its unpretentious staff warmly guides customers through suits from a house line made by Ring Jacket. Visitors will also find goods like tasseled Spigola loafers, Ascot Chang shirts, Frank Clegg tweed duffels, Fox umbrellas, Drake’s ties, Panama hats and pocket squares. — AV
168 Duane Street TriBeCa
Founded in 1940, Tip Top Shoes is an old-school, family-run store on the Upper West Side. Its tie-wearing salesmen know not only shoes, but generations of New Yorkers’ feet. The store’s décor may consist of old rugs and retro light fixtures, but Tip Top’s luster comes from its devotion to customer service. No heap of boxes is too high if it means finding the right shoe. The shop specializes in classic comfort-wear brands like Mephisto, Birkenstock and Hokas, even everything-bagel-patterned socks from Old Jewish Men. — AV
155 W 72nd Street Upper West Side
Over the past 30 years, this popular consignment shop a block from Tompkins Square Park has built a reputation for its frequently refreshed collection of vintage and designer items including men’s and women’s shoes, apparel, accessories and jewelry. Prices aren’t low, but deals can be found, like a $470 Miu Miu skirt, which sold elsewhere for $2,470. And patient shoppers will be rewarded further with Tokio7’s policy of lowering prices by 20 percent after one month on the rack, and 50 percent after two. — ML
83 East Seventh Street East Village
When the men of South Brooklyn want to avoid the subway, they can get their fix of the Row jeans, Salon C. Lundman sweaters and French-made Paraboot lace-ups at this Carroll Gardens spot. For everyone else, it’s worth a trip. Brace for an arm workout as you push through the racks stuffed with a bounty of the best Japanese labels like A.Presse’s workwear and Comoli’s pleated trousers. Prices are not displayed front and center, but you can bet they are always on the high end. — JG
369 Court Street Carroll Gardens
Methodology Producing this list began with identifying criteria against which stores would be judged, including inventory, curation, proprietorship, customer service, ambience, location and payoff — would visiting be worth it, even if nothing was bought? After scouring recent and archival shopping coverage in The Times, and seeking recommendations from Styles reporters, editors and contributors, nearly 90 stores across the five boroughs emerged as contenders.A team of eight Styles reporters and editors first eliminated stores that did not meet the criteria. Then, over months of deliberation, we whittled down the rest by visiting them all in person, sometimes more than once. The 25 stores chosen were all visited by reporters and photographers. No businesses paid for promotion or inclusion.
Produced by Michael Beswetherick, Kera Bolonik, Chevaz Clarke, Tanner Curtis, Antonio de Luca, Jacob Gallagher and Kellina Moore.Video Credits Gina Cherelus, Jacob Gallagher, Adam Gray, Sadiba Hasan, Miya Lee, Kellina Moore, Yola Mzizi, Marie Solis and Alex Vadukul.
Transporting, surprising and specialized, these stores keep alive the thrill of in-person shopping and are worth the trip — even if nothing is bought.
By Steven Kurutz, Misty White Sidell, Jon Caramanica, Gina Cherelus, Miya Lee, Alex Vadukul, Jacob Gallagher, Stella Bugbee and Sadiba Hasan
Nov. 30, 2025
Where do you love to shop? We asked and you came through, offering hundreds of thoughtful responses. Here are 25 of your choices.
By Steven Kurutz
July 31, 2026
As The Times compiled its list of the 50 best clothing stores in America, we asked 16 tastemakers about the stores they like.
By The Styles Desk
Nov. 30, 2025
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