• Jimmy Jazz

  132 West 125th Street, 212-665-4198; 86 Delancey Street, 212-505-8969

  Once upon a time, credible hip-hop fashion was relegated to Fordham Road in the Bronx. Not anymore: These days, Bloomingdale’s senior VP and fashion director Kal Ruttenstein sports Sean John in the front row at Calvin uring Fashion Week, and labels like Enyce are regulars at the tents. Yet there’s still practically nowhere in Manhattan to find brands beyond familiars like Phat Farm and Fubu. Except Jimmy Jazz. Considered the Jeffrey New York for authentic, upscale hip-hop gear, the store carries rows of rap-star labels like Coogi (sweaters are $150 to $340), Girbaud, Pepe, Mecca, and Akademiks. There’s footwear, too—thug classics like peanut-butter Tims and white Uptowns (that’s Timberlands and Nikes, but you knew that, right?).

From the 2004 Best of New York issue of New York Magazine