The 50 Best Clothing Stores in America
Walking into a great clothing store is like taking a vacation. A spell is cast. You are transported to a different world, if only for 10 minutes. A great store will make you think about who you are — and may change that perspective in real time. Much like the visitor to Paris feels they could wear a beret, the customer browsing a great store suddenly envisions themselves in pony-hair knee-high boots or an Italian power suit.
This list comprises stores that are distinctive and inspirational (most are independent small businesses). Stores whose proprietors deserve praise and exposure. Stores intently focused on the customer experience. Stores that are surprising and satisfying and, above all else, keep alive the thrill of in-person shopping in this age of e-commerce. — STEVEN KURUTZ
Methodology Tastemakers’ Picks Suggest a Store
Scottsdale, Ariz. | Est. 1977
A skate shop for all skaters
There may be buzzier skate shops, but few if any are as dedicated to the pastime than Sidewalk Surfer. For 48 years, it has outfitted both rookies and pros with a selection that has largely resisted the influence of flash-in-the-pan trends. Instead, its owner, Sandie Hamilton, has filled the basketball-court-size store with standby brands like Vans and Etnies, along with everything needed to get rolling, from hundreds of sneakers, T-shirts, board shorts and safety gear to boards, wheels, tape and more. — MISTY WHITE SIDELL
Newport Beach, Calif. | Est. 1976
An oceanside temple to elite taste
Through the arched windows of A’maree’s, customers can watch the coming and going of yachts. Portholes in the floor of the store, which is on a pier, offer glimpses of the turquoise waters below. But the real draw is the inventory curated by the sisters and second-generation owners Dawn Klohs and Denise Schaefer. Thoughtfully chosen items from brands like Alaïa and the Row are mixed with pieces from harder-to-find labels like Luisa Cevese Riedizioni and Daniela Gregis. Browsing is further fueled by a selection of unfussy fine jewelry, artful straw hats, fancy flip-flops and Astier de Villatte porcelain. — M.W.S.
Los Angeles | Est. 2018
Where eccentric playboys go to flex
Rumpled gentlemen, sensual flâneurs, wealthy dirtbags, curiously-well-coifed burnouts: Departamento serves them all. Its owners, Andrew Dryden and Joseph Quinones, offer clothes that are men’s wear leaning, but often gender fluid, from progressive classicists (John Alexander Skelton), classicist progressives (Taiga Takahashi) and avant-lite brands making louche and provocative attire that isn’t gauche (Gabriela Coll Garments, Takahiromiyashita Thesoloist, Edward Cuming). It’s a place to try out new ways of peacocking, with an entrance hidden in the back of a streamlined, aspirationally sleek coffee shop (and an outlet store nearby). — JON CARAMANICA
South Gate, Calif. | Est. 1928
Casual wear for rappers and hot steppers
Just southeast of Los Angeles, Greenspan’s is as much a store as it is a living museum. Specializing in vintage, deadstock and newly made American men’s casual wear, it has served generations of Mexican Americans, rappers and weekend hot steppers. Unearthing gems takes some patience, but there are many in its array of richly colored Pendletons, Ben Davis pants, guayaberas, spiffy Oxfords, lowrider straw hats and other stylish-uncle staples spanning styles from the 1940s to 1990s. In its fourth generation of Greenspan family ownership, the store’s archives run deep, so ask to see what’s in storage if you don’t find something you like. — J.C.
Beverly Hills, Calif. | Est. 1976
A suit maker for Oval Office holders
Power dressing is a specialty of House of Bijan, an appointment-only suit maker that has outlived many of its peers. Located in one of the country’s most rarefied ZIP codes, the business founded by Bijan Pakzad has outfitted Presidents Donald J. Trump, Barack Obama, George W. Bush and George H.W. Bush. (Silver-framed photos of each hang inside; there’s also a signed poster of the younger Bush in a dressing room.) Closets of sample suits in luxurious fabrics, which are organized by color, offer customers inspiration. — M.W.S.
Los Angeles | Est. 2011
Rare finds and the finest cashmeres
An airy and precious store, Just One Eye is full of delicate men’s and women’s clothes displayed with care and maybe even a touch of awe. It is the epitome of modern ostentation, which is to say: nouveau riche but not gaudy. The owner, Paola Russo, stocks multiple brands that specialize in cashmere — Extreme Cashmere, God’s True Cashmere — along with taut edits of the Row, Lemaire, Dries Van Noten and rare pieces from Yohji Yamamoto’s experimental line, Wildside. Sprinkled throughout are jewelry, fragrances and artworks. For good measure, there is also an upstairs movement studio. — J.C.
Los Angeles | Est. 2022
The place for secondhand luxury grails
Ever feel anxious about not acquiring a men’s wear grail from Balenciaga, Chrome Hearts or Rick Owens? Just wait, it will probably arrive in the daily dump at Luke’s soon enough. An early mover in men’s luxury resale, its owner, Luke Fracher, has an expansive imagination about what constitutes style. It could be recent season Bottega Veneta, O.G. Maison Margiela, early Hood by Air and Supreme, Prada America’s Cup footwear or Louis Vuitton employee uniforms — all of which have been offered, often at a steep discount. The flagship is in New York City, but the Los Angeles location is bigger, with slightly more variety. — J.C.
San Francisco | Est. 1980
Refined attire for highbrow people
Over many decades, Modern Appealing Clothing’s brother-and-sister owners, Ben and Chris Ospital, have cultivated its reputation as a place to find thought-provoking attire that telegraphs a certain level of sophistication. Pieces from brands like Comme des Garçons and Walter Van Beirendonck are arranged on sculptural displays alongside accessories from labels rarely seen stateside — the Korean brand Gajiroc, for instance, and the Japanese brand Nooy. Complementing the capital “F” fashion on offer is a space enlivened by bright artworks that cover the store’s the walls and further its associations with the style intelligentsia. — M.W.S.
Los Angeles | Est. 1995
For decadent casual dressing
Noodle Stories takes a polished, even decadent, approach to quiet casual. In a gallery-like space with poured concrete flooring, its owner, Caryl Lee, offers clothes in an array of materials (slub linen, slouchy fine-gauge cashmere, heavyweight denim), which, when paired together, make sense for Southern California weather. There are artisanal European labels along with brands like Issey Miyake and Yohji Yamamoto, a mix united by an emphasis on craftsmanship and quality. This attention to detail is also reflected in the store’s customer service, which includes offering hand mirrors to people trying on items in dressing rooms. — M.W.S.
San Francisco | Est. 2011
An excellent place for cool pants
Few stores solve the specific problem of finding trendy pants better than Reliquary. The selection by its owner, Leah Bershad, is plentiful, but not overwhelming. Designs from labels like orSlow, Evan Kinori and a house line are often available in multiple colorways and sizes. When a customer is trying things on, an attentive staff member will retrieve options without a whiff of irritation. Pants might be the draw, but also of note are accessories like sculptural straw bags and antique glass-bead jewelry from a house line. — M.W.S.
Los Angeles | Est. 2003
Where vintage sellers get luxury vintage
It’s not uncommon to see people waiting inside Scout to grab vintage pieces from the likes of Issey Miyake, Romeo Gigli and Alexander McQueen as they are brought onto the sales floor. That’s partly because Joey Grana, the store’s owner, has honed a reputation for identifying clothes that are refined, wearable and distinct. It’s also because at Scout, the prices never seem too unreasonable, which might be why the store is known to supply stock to other popular vintage sellers. — M.W.S.
Vail, Colo. | Est. 1966
European ski wear in the Rockies
If Gorsuch’s inventory of Swiss and German cashmere sweaters, Piedmontese-linen baseball caps and luxurious winter jackets from brands like Bogner and Moncler does not transport visitors to the Alps, visiting the lower level of its flagship store in Vail might. The space, stocked with Austrian crystal products and other home goods, has wood-paneled interiors that its founders, Renie and David Gorsuch, acquired from a home in Austria and reassembled on site. The flagship also rents skis, an amenity offered by the family-run business’s other locations in Colorado and Utah. — M.W.S.
Boulder, Colo. | Est. 1975
Japanese style for the great outdoors
Montbell, the Japanese cousin of Patagonia founded by Isamu Tatsuno, has only one store in the United States. Wardrobe gems like fleece tabi slippers, down pants, ripstop tote bags and outdoor hats for a variety of face shapes are among its hundreds of products, which also include tents, glow-in-the-dark zipper pulls, camping chopsticks and watercolor painting sets. Even those not into roughing it might enjoy the house line of sandals, which are a stylish alternative (and priced comparably) to Tevas. — M.W.S.
New Preston, Conn. | Est. 2015
Quiet luxury in an old town hall
A stark 19th-century town hall on the National Register of Historic Places is an apt setting for the array of understated (yet expensive) clothes curated by Plain Goods’s owners, Michael DePerno and Andrew Fry. Andersen Andersen polos, Brady canvas bags, orSlow jeans, Fujito chambray shirts and an extensive selection of Margaret Howell clothing are among the items displayed on wooden tables or inside weathered cabinets at its flagship. (A second location recently opened in Maine.) Mixed in are jewelry, beauty products, home goods and vintage pieces, along with a house line of products including cotton shirts and patent leather flats. — S.K.
Washington, D.C. | Est. 2014
A streetwear empire’s crown jewel
A Ma Maniére is the luxury tier of the entrepreneur James Whitner’s retail empire comprising 27 sneaker and streetwear boutiques across 11 states. The D.C. store is one of three (the A Ma Maniére flagship is in Atlanta, and there’s another branch in Houston). Occupying a modern three-story building, its main floor has designs by Rick Owens and Jacquemus hanging opposite bright leisure wear by Satoshi Nakamoto, Enfants Riches Déprimés and Paly Hollywood. More luxury labels (Celine, Bode) are in the basement, while the top floor contains private areas where V.I.P. customers are pampered with chef-prepared meals and more. — S.K.
Palm Beach, Fla. | Est. 1970
Rich people’s clothes at bargain prices
A perk of thrift shopping in a wealthy enclave is the chance of big discounts, which is exactly the Church Mouse’s draw. Inside the powder-blue Georgian Revival-style building are racks full of designer items that have been donated to the local Bethesda-by-the-Sea church. Sifting through the clothes requires some patience, but can unearth such treasures as a Burberry trench (for around $300), a jacket from the Row or a Sara Roka dress (both for around $400). The place is also teeming with vintage designer heels, ties and bags, along with vintage décor. — GINA CHERELUS
Atlanta | Est. 2007
Milanese tailoring meets Southern hospitality
In the 18 years since the designer Sid Mashburn started his namesake business, he has become something of an old guard men’s wear purveyor and has opened several locations in addition to the flagship store in Atlanta. Shopping there still feels fresh (and fun) thanks to the way Mr. Mashburn’s personal tastes, and his ethos of “from Mississippi to Milan,” are reflected in the light-filled space. Why does the store sell Hubs Peanuts along with off-the-rack suits and sport coats? Because he loves them! The offerings also include a full-service tailoring shop and rooms dedicated to shoes and “tools” like watches, pens and handmade Swedish hatchets. — S.K.
Honolulu | Est. 2013
A sneaker store not quite like others
Local sneaker heads, along with Japanese and Australian tourists, provide Truest’s owner, John Om, with a steady inventory of holy grail “one of ones” that are sold on consignment, like a pair of deadstock Nike SB Dunk Low Yellow Lobster sneakers (priced at $53,250). Where other sneaker resellers may have one pair of 1985 Air Jordans, Truest has a case of them, and vacationers can usually come away with Hawaii-themed items, some from luxury brands like Gucci and Louis Vuitton. A small apparel selection features brands like Supreme, A Bathing Ape, Stüssy and Chrome Hearts. — S.K.
Boise, Idaho | Est. 1991
Precious denim and custom fashion
In 1991, Eric Schrader found three pairs of rare Levi’s at a garage sale, sold them for $30,000 and used the money to buy Junkyard Jeans, then a vintage store in its infancy. He has since steered it to become a source of collectible denim, like jeans worn by authentic cowboys and a circa 1880s pair by a Mormon clothing label. The funky store, which has a surrealist face painted on its facade, also reliably stocks 1980s-era Levi’s 501s; old military attire and other uniforms (like a 1960s leather policeman jacket); and custom pieces that Mr. Schrader makes using a chain stitch machine (fans include Blink-182 members and David Beckham). — S.K.
Chicago | Est. 1972
A Midwest outfitter of Mexican vaqueros
In the middle of the Windy City, Alcala’s is keeping the spirit of the vaquero, or Mexican cowboy, alive. The Alcala family’s business has long been popular among Chicago’s Latino community for its seemingly endless aisles of jeans, guayabera shirts, belt buckles, bolo ties, embroidered charro suits and selection of some 2,000 boots and 1,250 hats. (Hats bought on site can be shaped for free, and customized for a small fee.) The store also offers complimentary clothing alterations by an in-house tailor, Conrado Lopez, who is stationed near the dressing rooms and affectionately referred to as “el maestro.” — MIYA LEE
Portland, Maine | Est. 2014
Wardrobes for creative women
To browse the store’s women’s wear, visitors must first ring a bell to enter — a feature that, along with artistic displays (dress racks hang from ceiling wires, handbags and hats on pedestals), contributes to Judith’s gallery-like feel. Its owner, Brooke Beaney, who spent 10 years designing knitwear in New York before moving to coastal Maine, focuses on fashion from independent labels like Kallmeyer, Jesse Kamm, Baserange and Lauren Manoogian. Though the space skews conceptual, the offerings are practical, in that they include wardrobe essentials from undergarments to swim, jewelry and shoes. — S.K.
New Bedford, Mass. | Est. 1986
A warehouse full of American vintage
Hours can easily be spent combing the many racks and bins at Circa, a vintage store inside a massive warehouse. (Though large, the storefront lacks signage, making it a little hard to spot.) It specializes in vintage American clothing: reproduction Zoot suits, Pendleton coats, midcentury Hanes thermal tops, Victorian lingerie, 1940s letterman jackets and wool military trousers are just some of the pieces in its inventory. Visitors daunted by digging can ask the owner, Chris Duval, a longtime vintage dealer, for guidance, and mending apprentices are available to hem pants and patch small holes. — M.W.S.
Lakeside, Mich. | Est. 2010
A taste of Barneys on Lake Michigan
About an hour’s drive from Chicago, AP Shop trades in the kind of soft and sophisticated clothes that moneyed people with taste like to wear on summer vacations. The owner, Ariane Prewitt, a former visual merchandising director at Barneys New York, has carried designs including cotton pieces from Cristaseya and Dosa, pleated items by the Chinese designer Shan Shan Ruan and tiered skirts from the Romanian brand Les Vacances d’Irina. Open from May through mid-December and by appointment, the airy store with white walls and floors has an adjacent sister boutique that sells more clothes, along with home wares and antiques. — M.W.S.
Detroit | Est. 2019
Ahead of the curve and in an old bakery
Hundreds of small circular glass blocks illuminate the interior of Coup D’état, which has the type of experimental look that you might expect from a retail space in a revitalizing city like Detroit. Opened by Angela Wisniewski-Cobbina on the site of a former commercial bakery, the store’s offerings — bias-cut Collina Strada dresses, low-slung Eckhaus Latta jeans, Sandy Liang track suits and jewelry from brands like Panconesi and Marland Backus — are from independent designers known for attracting a trend-driven crowd. — M.W.S.
Minneapolis | Est. 2022
Clothes that whisper good taste
Certain brands say more with less. Rather than call attention to themselves, they instead leave a faint trail of elegance — a shoulder that slopes just so, a button slightly more ornate than necessary — that rewards close looking. Equipment is a men’s wear store where nothing shouts too loudly. Inside a calm warehouselike space, its owner, Erik Hamline, has curated a selection of European and Japanese brands — Studio Nicholson, A Kind of Guise, Mfpen — that make clothes for those who appreciate the quiet power of being in the know. — J.C.
Oxford, Miss. | Est. 1991
A haberdashery bridging formal and casual
Forrest Hinton and his son Steve serve customers at various life stages and income levels at Hinton & Hinton, their charming Southern haberdashery. For the industrialists, there are Maurizio Baldassari sport coats and Lucchese boots. For the frat boys, there are Duck Head shorts and Smathers & Branson belts. The store, which also sells women’s wear, has the feel of a comforting cavern, with clothes covering every available wall and surface in its several rooms. It’s a pleasant sartorial riot, and a reminder that for some, the distance between the formal and the casual isn’t very far at all. — J.C.
Kansas City, Mo. | Est. 2016
Sleek staples from now and then
Chanel Jezek started Dear Society as a pop-up out of her Toyota Prius. Now it’s part of the fabric of Kansas City’s arts district, occupying an open, cement-floor storefront where clothes share space with a matcha bar, artists and the studio of the Cvet Préri designer Michaela Knittel. Dear Society’s fashion edit focuses on small women’s wear brands — St. Agni, Rue Sophie, Deiji Studios — known for sleek, simple staples. Mixed in are vintage pieces sourced from around the country, to which a store membership program offers early access. — S.K.
Bozeman, Mont. | Est. 1993
Urban sophistication in Big Sky Country
Meridian Boutique’s founder, a fourth-generation Montanan, made the store synonymous with urban sophistication in Big Sky Country. Its current owner, Haley Connolly, also a Montana native, has upheld that reputation with clothes curated for the hip local girl: Isabel Marant shearling coats; Nili Lotan quilted leather jackets; Italian made boots; lots of cashmere and denim. Occupying a historic building in downtown Bozeman, the store has a sibling a few doors away: Meridian Men, which is run by Ms. Connolly’s husband. — S.K.
Fort Lee, N.J. | Est. 2020
Under-the-radar street and high fashion
One of the New York metro area’s best places to buy trendy designer clothing is on the New Jersey side of the George Washington Bridge. Santino LoConte and Sung Bang, 7017 Reign’s owners, stock labels like Dries Van Noten, Lemaire, Stone Island and Comme des Garçons. The selection is focused on apparel that straddles the line between streetwear and high fashion, a specialty that has become harder to find. Some pieces are flashy, but many — Auralee jeans and polos, Maison Margiela tabi flats, sweatpants by Champion and Undercover — are not. — M.W.S.
Santa Fe, N.M. | Est. 1987
A thrift shop of epic proportions
Suzanne Wissman fills her store, which occupies an entire city block, with discards from the closets of artsy, affluent Southwesterners. Double Take’s sections for designer, Western and rodeo fashion present bountiful opportunities to rummage. But it usually doesn’t take much sifting to find deeply discounted luxury goods such as Miu Miu heels (for under $150) and items from brands like Oscar de la Renta and Balenciaga. Also look out for vintage Bakelite jewelry, leather jackets and locally made home goods. — M.W.S.
Santa Fe, N.M. | Est. 2002
If Georgia O’Keeffe sold clothes
Serenity from the bustle of Canyon Road, Santa Fe’s main shopping drag, can be found by stepping into Homefrocks. Occupying an adobe building with kiva-style fireplaces, the store sells pieces from its designer-owner Nancy Traugott’s collection of easy clothes made of natural fibers (mostly linen and cotton, but also wool and alpaca). Items are dyed to match New Mexico’s natural environment, a landscape that famously inspired the painter Georgia O’Keeffe, who worked out of another adobe building nearby. — M.W.S.
Manhattan (TriBeCa) | Est. 2010
Suits for men of the world
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. — ALEX VADUKUL
Manhattan (SoHo) | Est. 2006
A mecca for Japanese denim
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 selvage 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. — A.V.
Manhattan (NoHo) | Est. 2008
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 Co. 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
Brooklyn (Dumbo) | Est. 2012
Chock-full of top-tier vintage
A favorite of stylists and costume designers, Front General Store is well-known for French work wear 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. — S.K.
Manhasset, N.Y. | Est. 1910
A department store of unrivaled luxury
A Madison Avenue-scale department store in a Long Island mall, Hirshleifers is a fifth-generation family business that aims to clothe all of a (very well-to-do) family’s members. It has dresses for weeknight benefits and weekend galas, designer sneakers and streetwear, high-end office attire and togs for the fancy beaches 90 minutes further east. The vast selection echoes what you’d find at high-end emporiums in Manhattan, and features some labels that are tougher to find: Hirshleifers is one of the few places in the country to buy new Chrome Hearts items outside of the label’s boutiques. — J.C.
Manhattan (TriBeCa) | Est. 2004
Basics with life-altering potential
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, Dušan 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
Buffalo | Est. 1959
For stylish grandpas of any age
O’Connell’s carries Barbour, Alden, Marcoliani and other brands typically found in traditional men’s stores. Its father-and-sons owners, Bernhard, John and Ethan Huber, offer in-store tailoring, too. But what sets the store apart is the sheer amount of merchandise in its back room: piles of pants stacked on tables, drawers full of socks, box after box of dress shoes lining the floor. Customers with hours to spare and a willingness to root will be rewarded with deadstock finds — an Intarsia-knit golf sweater from the 1990s, say, or Sero shirts that are even older. — S.K.
Charlotte, N.C. | Est. 1998
Designer clothes for Southern belles
Capitol’s owner, Laura Vinroot Poole, is a fashion interpreter, translating designs from European and American luxury labels for customers who, say, prefer Celine dresses in pink or florals because no one in Charlotte wears black on a 95-degree day with 85-percent humidity. Supplementing the elegant women’s wear are accessories like Yaser Shaw’s hand-embroidered cashmere shawls from India. On the second floor of the space, which overlooks a two-story vertical garden by the French landscape designer Patrick Blanc, is a sister boutique that sells items at more accessible prices from Officine Générale, Alix of Bohemia and other brands. — S.K.
Chagrin Falls, Ohio | Est. 1981
For Hermès and other fine things
The Hermès boutique inside Cuffs, which is the French luxury house’s only privately operated location in North America, might be reason alone to visit. But Hermès is just one upscale brand sold at the store owned by two generations of the Kowall family. Occupying a circa 1873 Italianate townhouse in an affluent Cleveland suburb, Cuffs offers a variety of European and American labels: Crockett & Jones, Paul & Shark, Kiton, Oxxford Clothes and Fox Brothers, the British textile manufacturer, whose fabrics can be ordered for made-to-measure suiting. The Francophile owners also carry Cire Trudon candles, Frederic Malle fragrances and French wines. — S.K.
Portland, Ore. | Est. 2016
Everyday clothes from ‘it’ brands
What Brookes Boswell began as a business selling her line of handmade straw and felt hats is now a sort of general store for cool everyday clothes from a well-curated roster of global “it” brands: Cawley (British), Auralee (Japanese), Camiel Fortgens (Dutch) and KasMaria (American), to name a few. Tucked away on a quiet street on the east side of Portland, Shop Boswell also offers a selection of vintage clothing as well as hand-painted ceramics, artisanal pillows and natural apothecary goods, all displayed in a tranquil space with natural wood accents. — M.W.S.
Portland, Ore. | Est. 2007
Silly name, serious fashion
Something funny about Stand Up Comedy is the way the store’s dated appearance is at odds with the look of the attire it sells. The space’s heavy glass-and-wood cabinets and wall-to-wall navy carpeting — relics from its past life as a jewelry store — are kind of the opposite of fresh. But the owner Diana Kim’s selection of clothes reflects brands at the forefront of fashion, from emerging labels (SC103, Ottolinger) to established ones (Comme des Garçons, Issey Miyake). The same could be said for the store’s accessories. — M.W.S.
Philadelphia | Est. 1971
At the cutting edge for 50 years
Joan Shepp has been on fashion’s cutting edge since its eponymous founder started the business in a Philadelphia suburb more than five decades ago. Now it’s on Rittenhouse Square and in its second generation of family ownership. But the place hasn’t lost its underground cool. A mini department store with flavors of Barneys New York in its heyday, its selection accounts for most every age and price point. The latest designs by global brands like Rick Owens, Comme des Garçons and Avant Toi are displayed alongside those of smaller makers like John Wind, a local jewelry artist; Heyne Bogut, a women’s wear designer in New Jersey; and students at the nearby Moore College of Art & Design. — S.K.
Newport, R.I. | Est. 1983
A specialist in beloved British brands
A framed photo of Winston Churchill underscores Royal Male’s focus on British style, which also comes across in its range of Belstaff leather jackets and Barbour waxed coats. They are mixed with items from other European heritage brands, like striped tops from St. James. The studio-apartment-size store’s owner, Etienne de La Valette, took it over from his parents. (His mother, Lynn, still works there.) The proprietor can hold forth on such topics as the proper weight of a rugby shirt, an item offered in colorful versions by a house line at Royal Male, which, belying its name, has a small women’s selection. — S.K.
Charleston, S.C. | Est. 1978
Preppy staples in almost every color
What began in the 1950s as a name associated with men’s overcoats has grown to become a brand recognized for outfitting men and women of the boldly colorful species known as the Southern prep from head to toe. At the Ben Silver store (which is now run by Sue Prenner, the daughter of the business’s eponymous founder), polos come bearing a palmetto logo and in a range of pastels. Visitors will also find a vibrant assortment of braided belts, along with an array of smart suiting, dress shirts, striped ties, trousers, shoes, watches and eyewear (all of which is on display in the brand’s popular catalog). — S.K.
Fort Worth | Est. 1922
Supplying handmade boots for a century
The Leddy name has been linked to cowboy boots handmade in Texas since the early 20th century, when M.L. Leddy established his namesake business, now in its fourth generation of family ownership. Its store in Fort Worth (one of two in Texas) is the brand’s largest. A boot-shaped neon sign beckons customers inside, where an assortment of custom and off-the-rack Western wear can be found. The star products are boots, thousands of which line shelves, in leathers ranging from calf to alligator. Available in myriad colors, there are pairs for everyone, including baby boots that fit in the palm of a hand. — SADIBA HASAN
Houston | Est. 2014
The best ‘Scandi’ style outside Denmark
You could go to Copenhagen to get the sought-after wardrobe of a “Scandi girl.” Or you could go to the Mr. Larkin store in a Texas strip mall, an American outpost of a beloved Danish boutique founded by Casey Blond and Patty Larkin. The domestic location has powder-pink floors and eclectic furniture that nod to its selection of loose feminine clothing and punchy accessories, which include colorful dresses from Super Yaya, ruffled OpéraSport bags and pony-hair knee-high boots from Mr. Larkin’s house line. All could just as easily be worn for a bike ride as they could to a summer wedding. — M.W.S.
Richmond, Va. | Est. 2013
Well edited with sustainability in mind
Sustainable, slow fashion is a specialty of Verdalina, a well-edited women’s wear boutique in Richmond’s Arts District. Along with brands like Rachel Comey and Clare V., the store’s owner, Deborah Boschen, stocks pieces from small labels that are a minor revelation to discover, like groovy Labo.Art smocks, cotton Elsa Esturgie dresses, Hannoh Wessel denim blazers and French-inspired basics from Gallego Desportes. Shopping in person feels special because the store itself typically carries only a few of each piece (a wider selection is offered online). — S.K.
Seattle | Est. 2023
Dimes Square style for the great outdoors
Decorative flourishes like minimalist wood shelving, AstroTurf-carpeted fitting rooms and a tent hung upside down from the ceiling speak to Windthrow’s niche as a place for funky, functional apparel. Founded by Nate Hoe, the store trades in “mothtech” running tops (intentionally) sprinkled with holes, chore pants for hiking and vibrant trail-to-street footwear from Hoka and La Sportiva. An array of gear — tents, folding chairs, instant coffee — supplements the wardrobe items. — M.W.S.
Casper, Wyo. | Est. 1919
Lou Taubert Ranch Outfitters
Nine floors of Western fashion
The Taubert family business’s third-generation owners describe it as a Western department store. Spread over nine floors, including a basement level “little britches” section for children, the store is a wonderland of hats, boots, denim and work wear for men and women. A place where suits feature a Western yoke, and shirts a Western snap, it has departments for saddle and tack, as well as for gifts (muchacho baby blankets, turquoise jewelry, crystal ware etched with horses). But there’s no e-commerce: Instead, purchases are rung up on a ticker machine that’s been used since the 1940s. — S.K.
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 going be worth it, even if nothing is bought? After scouring recent and archival shopping coverage in the Times, and seeking recommendations from Styles reporters, editors and contributors, more than 120 stores emerged as contenders.A team of 11 Styles reporters and editors eliminated the most obvious stores that did not meet the criteria. Then, over months of deliberation, we whittled down the rest by visiting most of them, in person and virtually, and sometimes more than once. The 50 stores chosen were all visited by reporters and photographers. No businesses paid for promotion or inclusion. For stores on the list with multiple locations, we chose one and noted why.Produced by Michael Beswetherick, Tanner Curtis, Antonio de Luca, Kellina Moore and Anthony Rotunno.Video Credits Jenn Ackerman, Gabriela Bhaskar, Kendrick Brinson, Dan Cepeda, Gina Cherelus, Katie Currid, Travis Dove, Loren Elliott, Ruth Fremson, Taylor Glascock, Raven Greene, Sadiba Hasan, Sylvia Jarrus, Haiyun Jiang, Madison Malone Kircher, Michelle Mishina Kunz, Steven Kurutz, Miya Lee, Hope Mora, Andrea Morales, Misty White Sidell, Stephen Speranza, Will Warasila, Hannah Yoon and Adriana Zehbrauskas.