Big Apple Style: 12 Best Menswear Stores in NYC

If you’re a New Yorker looking for some cool places to buy clothes, we’ve got you covered. Read on to see the best menswear stores in NYC.

Even for men who’ve lived in New York for years, clothes shopping in the world’s fashion capital can be overwhelming. With countless lifestyle-focused boutiques, targeting your specific sartorial needs is often a matter of figuring out what store you should go to. 

Ask yourself, what exact piece or pieces am I looking for? Is it for work? What’s my budget? If you’re looking to change up your style, sometimes all you need to do is shop in a different neighborhood or borough than you usually do.

Our list of the 12 best menswear stores in New York City includes shops in Brooklyn, Manhattan, and those with multiple locations within the city.

Best Menswear Stores in Brooklyn

If you’re looking for some cool shops in Brooklyn, check these out…

10 ft. Single by Stella Dallas

Appropriately located in Williamsburg, 10 ft. Single boasts a generous helping of vintage, Americana, and workwear. The entrance gallery is stacked with accessories in glass cases and barrels of scarves.

Here, you’ll find a mix of one-of-a-kinds and nostalgic quintessentials. Further in, the exposed brick interior is decked with concert tees from every era, including Led Zeppelin circa 1975 and AC/DC.

If you’re into the utility-chic look, 10 ft. Single is filled to the brim with authentic military jackets. If you’re a treasure hunter, the shop’s modest size and saturated yet well-curated shelves make for an easy perusing experience, compared to bigger vintage stores.

They offer a large selection of 60s, 70s, and 80s printed button-downs, flannels, corduroy pants, jeans, and well-structured outerwear.

Some pieces that caught my eye include a Dick Tracey-style trench coat and some vintage Nordic sweaters. The back room is where the rarer pieces are kept, including sportswear from as far back as the 1920s. 

Alter Brooklyn

Greenpoint’s answer to runway-focused SoHo shops, Alter carries several indie fashion brands. They hone in on pieces with the cooler, more down-to-earth slant popularized by Brooklynites. 

Well to-do Prospect Heights citizens reputably love inexpensive-looking styles that are secretly premium-built, with a price to match. At Alter, however, you’ll find well-tailored hipster-chic offerings at reasonable prices.

For example, they sell stylish separates from acclaimed fashion designer Banks, all for under $100. Some pieces include the Plain Downtown pant with a trendy high-hem and their hip leopard-print and vintage-washed button-ups.

Other brands carried by this neighborhood favorite include Kardo, Fried Rice and Native Youth. Their collections are updated regularly, with an eye for very local or very international designers.

Brooklyn Circus 

Brooklyn Circus was founded by graphic designer and local celebrity, Ouigi “The Bearded Man” Theodore. With his magazine-style editing, the vintage streetwear offered at the store is timelessly hip.

The in-house brand items are renowned in the fashion world and include bomber jackets, scarves, fitted basics, and hats. Brooklyn Circus is the place to go if you’re looking to change up your silhouette with some iconic layers.

They carry other cool designers like Todd Snyder,  Mark McNairy, Cheap Monday, and Wolverine, with a focus on heavy, dark denim, military casuals, and artistically-designed t-shirts.

They’ve even won a Shorty Award for shaking up the small business space and for their hip internet presence.

The store’s interior design is a mix of vintage and urban elegance, featuring antiques on dark-wood floors below, and a chic black chandelier above.

Just like its clothes, the spot boasts an effortlessly cool style with its roots in fashion history.

Best Menswear Stores in Manhattan

If you want some solid places to buy clothes in Manhattan, here are our recommendations…

Saturdays NYC

Saturdays casualwear combines the bright colors and relaxed fits of surfer culture with a distinctly New York sophistication. Their lounge shirts are some of their best pieces.

The Canty Peace Poplin, for example, features a fun but muted check pattern and a nostalgic camp-collar. Most of their shirts can be worn on the beach or as a loose outer layer in place of an open utility shirt.

Other cool pieces include cotton jersey hoodies and shorts, embroidered long-sleeved shirts, and, of course, board shorts. The Timothy Rose mid-length swim shorts, for example, feature a mod pixelated rose pattern on it. Saturdays NYC generally doesn’t shy away from fun, eye-catching patterns. 

Experience-wise, their roomy and airy space is an oasis from the bustle of SoHo with a coffee bar and surfboard rental. If you’re looking for stylish, comfortable staples and on-trend basics, Saturdays NYC has you covered.

Blue in Green

Blue in Green, or BiG to locals, is the place to go if you want to level up your denim game. The jeans in this modest boutique come in nuanced international fits that are hard to come by in the States. You can also have your jeans custom-made.

BiG is the leading Japanese denim shop in the city. We’re talking premium raw selvedge denim, woven on shuttle looms and dyed with natural vibrant colors.

Some brands include TCB, Oni, Kapital, and Pure Blue Japan. The clean lines and tapered fit of the XX-013-BB Pure Blue jeans is so versatile, even those who don’t typically wear jeans could easily incorporate it into their pants rotation.

They also carry other handmade shoes, uniquely-patterned scarves, and Americana style tops. Their non-denim offerings are curated from small-production brands, international labels, and rarer pieces from bigger brands.

Even if you’re just here for the basics, you may unintentionally walk out more fashion-forward than when you walked in. 

C’H’C’M’

Since 2008, C’H’C’M’ (which stands for Clinton Hill Classic Menswear) has provided the denizens of New York with classic formal pieces, and stylishly minimalist casual clothes. It has a loyal base of patrons who enjoy its esteemed but understated reputation, never allowing itself to get tragically hip.

The shop boasts a tightly-curated selection of European, American, and Japanese designers including Evan Kinori, Barena, Niuhans, and Nanamica.

C’H’C’M’ carries several classic blazers, all with modern but trend-resistant fits. If you want a single-pleat cotton pant, their Kinori Sumi Ink trouser is a fashionable option that will last forever.

C’H’C’M’ also sells its own minimalist clothing line, having developed special limited projects with designers from around the world. All of these pieces are developed in the UK, Italy, Japan, France, and the USA, fully avoiding fast-fashion shortcuts.

If you like simple but chic clothes, and are allergic to the long lines of “cool” shops, Clinton Hill provides a peaceful and civilized shopping experience.

Fine and Dandy

Fine and Dandy focuses on gentleman style and isn’t afraid to have fun with formal and classic attire. When it comes to basic pieces, they offer high-quality and personalized shirts in every style and fit.

However, Fine and Dandy also sells a comprehensive selection of outerwear and accessories, if you’re looking for a few classy pieces without necessarily going full dapper.

Opened in 2008 to instant acclaim, their USA-made offerings include bow ties, handkerchiefs, hats, tie bars, lapel pins, cummerbunds, and even dog collars and leashes. They often have Ivy-approved blazers and pea coats in classic fits. 

Fine and Dandy’s custom shirt program is a Manhattan go-to. It boasts over 300 rotating fabrics, 16 collar options, 12 cuff options, and plenty other customizations on top of that.

If Boutique

There are few Manhattan stores as quintessentially downtown as SoHo’s If Boutique. It’s been providing the city’s glitterati with unique fashions since 1978, long before SoHo was a cultural epicenter -and long before you could walk a block there without getting mugged. 

They were selling Marc Jacobs and John Paul Gaultier to artists, musicians, aristocrats, and Wall Streeters before department stores were privy.

That tradition carries on today, with If carrying the latest fashions from New York, Japanese, and European brands like Dries Van Noten, Veronique Branquinho, and Junya Wantanabe.

Sure, not everyone is comfortable wearing the loud patterns and fashion-forward fit of their Uma Wang Giovanni coat. However, their Dawson coat, which has an edgy asymmetrical buttoning when worn closed, wears just like a slightly cooler charcoal tweed when it’s unbuttoned.

This creatively edited shop is worth a visit for practical shoppers, as well as the artistically and historically curious.

Freemans Sporting Club 

Freemans Sporting Club is a posh nook where you can get a unique made-to-fit custom suit. Bespoke services are their specialty, so it’s an effective resource for a big formal event or an important business trip.

The good news is, despite its upscale status, the specialists who work there treat you like you’re at your local Cheers bar.

They also sell cool casual shirts, shoes, and plenty of classically masculine accessories. These include full-grain leather gloves, belts, and even flashlights and tool kits. Bonus points that everything is made and sourced locally. 

Overall, Freemans Sporting Club is an elegant fashion boutique that’s gearhead and bloke-friendly. If you’re looking for a classy, but functional suit that will last a lifetime, this Lower East Side gem is one of the best in the game. 

New York Men’s Clothing Stores, Multiple Locations

Luckily, there are some great stores with multiple locations…

Kith

This streetwear trove is undeniably aimed at hypebeasts and sneakerheads. However, Kith is an excellent source of premium athletic wear and weekend attire for anyone looking to elevate their gym lockers and casual drawers. 

Their in-house 2021 custom collection consists of polos, active shorts, sweatpants, and more. They’re made in custom fabrics and prints, including unique shades of deep purple and green, and a prevalent illustrative flower pattern.

One standout piece is the satin exterior Gorman jacket, fully branded with the KITH logo.

KITH was founded in 2011 by New York-native and shoe industry legend, Ronnie Fieg, who is also known for his work with brands like ASICS, adidas, and Polo Ralph Lauren.

Naturally, KITH sells the latest fashion-forward trainers from heritage brands and hip contemporary brands. These include Nike, Off-White, Bleecker, New Balance, Gel Lyte, ASICs, John Elliot, and several others.

KITH is also New York’s premier shop for limited edition shoes. They have locations in Manhattan, Brooklyn, and in Manhasset, smack-dab in between the city and the Hamptons.

Bonobos

This upscale subsidiary of Walmart is for the guy that doesn’t like shopping or going to the tailor. Launched as an ecommerce fashion brand in 2007, Bonobos now has several locations throughout New York City. They’re the largest clothing brand in the US that was built on the internet.

Bonobos specializes in pants. They’re famous for their signature curved waistband, which they apply to all of their trousers from jeans to dress pants to chinos, allowing them to conform to all body types.

Out of all the shops for smart casual attire, Bonobos has the most efficient ratio of low-maintenance to well-fitted. You can even get Italian wool tuxedos here for less than a grand, and on reasonably-termed payment plans.

Their charming Cobble Hill shop in Brooklyn has the bespoke service of a Savile Row tailor, and their 5th Avenue Flagship has the high-end experience of a decades-old fashion brand without the pretension.

Atelier

Atelier treats and displays their clothes like pieces in an art gallery. Their avant-garde showrooms sell separates from recognizable high-fashion brands and cool, esoteric designers fresh from Fashion Week. They have a location in Flushing and a men’s store in Manhattan.

Even if you aren’t a hardcore fashionista, Atelier sells elevated basics and unique pieces of outerwear from brands like COMME des GARÇONS HOMME PLUS, Rick Owens, Moncler, Issey Miyake, and Stella McCartney.

Take your professional wear up a notch with jackets and trousers from Bottega, Alexander Wang, or patron saint of the cool guy, Thom Browne.

Undeniably, fashion addicts and the artistic set are Atelier’s immediate audience. But don’t shy away from this shop if you’re simply curious. Their chic and industrial locations are a visual experience. Moreover, their staff, though posh, is incredibly helpful and unstuffy. 

Conclusion

Each of these New York staples has fun and memorable on-site experiences, and most of them have easy online shopping.

Casually hip guys can peruse bomber jackets and jeans over at Brooklyn Circus, while office workers looking to up their game could customize a suit at Freemans Sporting. Meanwhile, troves like 10 ft. Single are built for treasure hunters.

Unsurprisingly, New York has a universe of options when it comes to menswear.