New York Stores Are Fun Again
A refreshingly strange group of shops open this fall.
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One sometimes gets the feeling, when wandering through the shopping hubs of Soho, the Upper East Side, and Williamsburg, that the only things to buy are beige leggings and an iced matcha. But as we surveyed fall’s new stores, we noticed that a lot of them are refreshingly strange and, in their specificity, reminiscent of the city’s retail scene of yore, whether it’s a concept shop the owner describes as “rococo meets Trash and Vaudeville,” or a midwife-owned boutique that sells Plan B alongside Le Bon Shoppe pants, or a showroom with furniture sourced from Facebook Marketplace, or a streetwear shop that’s hosting an Eminem “Stan” look-alike contest, or a luxury flagship with miniature cloches lining the walls and animatronic bees in the window.
1.
British Rare Books Land in a Beaux-Arts Townhouse …
London-based rare-book dealer Peter Harrington is opening its first New York gallery-slash-shop, where visitors can find Shakespeare’sComedies, Histories, & Tragediesfor $6,000,000 and Alan Turing’s own copy of his Ph.D. dissertation, “Systems of Logic Based on Ordinals,” for $400,000. Designed in the spirit of the Mayfair store, the shop is outfitted with cherrywood bookcases by English furniture designers Anthony and John Gray and will host events, including one with Emma Roberts’s book club, Belletrist, in October.35 E. 67th St., third fl.
2.
… While a Haunt for Horror Opens in Williamsburg
The Twisted Spine, New York’s first horror-focused bookstore, will carry thousands of classic and contemporary titles and host readings, film screenings, theater events, and “anything that celebrates the dark and spooky side of life,” says co-owner Jason Mellow. Devoción coffee and on-theme baked goods will be on offer as well.306 Grand St.
3.
Thom Browne Bags Have Their Own Store
Thom Browne opens its second uptown location and the first dedicated to leather goods and shoes. Along with the dachshund-shaped Hector bag, shoppers will find fox, sheep, and bear bags as well as wingtip heels and brogues.898 Madison Ave.
4.
There’s a New Addition to Park Avenue’s High-Thread-Count Corridor
Gaia Leonori Pratesi, whose family has long been in the linens business, opened Verderoccia, a line of high-end Tuscan bedding with collection names like Four Generations Jacquard and Legacy. Now, her first New York store is coming to Park Avenue a few doors down from D. Porthault and Scully & Scully. Hand-cut crystal, fragrances, and pieces by Italian artist Duccio Maria Gambi will be available.485 Park Ave.
5.
A Tibetan Ceramics Stall Finds a Permanent Home in the East Village
After four years at the Bryant Park and Union Square winter holiday markets, Woodside-based couple Kalsang Chomphel and Tenzin Tseyang Gonsar have opened their first permanent store, Kalsang, which will carry bowls, plates, coffee and tea mugs, incense-burner plates, and vases — all made by Chomphel in his Queens and New Paltz studios.241 E. 10th St.
6.
Dior Claims a Corner of 57th Street
On a patch of Billionaires’ Row around the corner from Chanel, Tiffany & Co., and Trump Tower, animatronic birds and bees flitter in the windows of the House of Dior New York. The store, designed by Peter Marino, joins a group of big-deal flagship locations that have opened in the past 12 months — Armani and Dolce & Gabbana on Madison, Louis Vuitton’s temporary “Trunk” down the street — and, like those multilevel monoliths with their restaurants and residences, invites shoppers to livela vie en brand.On the top floor, Dior’s first U.S. spa offers a menu of treatments, including a lymphatic-drainage massage called the “New Look” and the “Haute Couture” facial, all of which incorporate Dior Beauty products. A curving-glass installation, filled with miniatures of Dior’s best-known wares in rainbow shades — Saddle bags, New Look dresses, J’Adior slingback heels — lines the staircase that connects the first three floors, where shoppers will find the brand’s women’s and men’s collections along with fine jewelry, leather goods, and shoes. Post-spa, visitors can get a coffee next door at the Dior Maison, the brand’s first stand-alone home-goods store, stocked with porcelain-packed picnic baskets and a line of lion- and tiger-decorated Toile de Jouy plates, available for customization in 35 different colors. Exclusive and early launches — including an Anna Weyant–designed Dior Lady Art bag and a collection of newspaper-printed T-shirts, heels, and bags — will be available in both the flagship and the homewares store.23 E. 57th St.
7.
K-Beauty Comes to the Upper East Side
Sukoshi, a Korean-beauty retailer that carries more than 200 brands, is opening its first New York store with familiar lines, including CosRx and Laneige, along with ones available in the U.S. for the first time, such as Red Chamber and Girlcult.1542 Third Ave.
8.
Hypebeasts Have a New Clubhouse
Following its first store in Los Angeles,Complex— the streetwear magazine and content conglomerate — has opened a Soho location where shoppers can line up for vintage band tees, cow-print tabi clogs, and exclusive drops, including a collaboration between Blackpink and the Mets. The shop will host events; recently, it held an Eminem “Stan” look-alike contest.620 Broadway
9.
The Concept Shop Isn’t Dead After All
Fashion historian Ruby Redstone and her husband, designer Gabriel Sommer, both New York natives, grew up browsing in Barneys and Jeffrey and, in Redstone’s case, working at Opening Ceremony. Those stores inspired them to open their new West Village boutique, Mess, where the eclectic stock list — including Italian cardigan line Leorosa, Copenhagen brand Caro Editions, and Italian ballet-flat-maker Lolo Ballerina — and its black, hot-pink, and leopard interiors, which Redstone describes as “rococo meets Trash and Vaudeville,” may just evoke the spirit of New York retail past. “We wanted to do something that was very anti-perfection, that was brash and bold,” says Redstone. “We wanted stuff that looks good when it’s all thrown in a pile on the floor.”Address TBD
10.
Touch These Moroccan Rugs in a Tribeca Apartment
Beni — a line of earthy-colored wool rugs that has made special collections with Athena Calderone, Colin King, and Flamingo Estate — is opening a showroom in co-founder Robert Wright’s pied-à-terre.Emailnyc@benirugs.comfor location; by appointment only
11.
Dov Charney’s Back
American Apparel has been resuscitated as Los Angeles Apparel — a line of cotton and spandex basics nearly identical to Charney’s original indie sleaze — now open in the 14,000-square-foot Soho space that was formerly Topshop.480 Broadway
12.
Japanese Denim Is On Offer in Nolita
At Left Field NYC, a T-shirt is rarely just a T-shirt — it’s a slub T-shirt sewn on an antique Japanese knitting machine. And then there are the jeans, made with Tokushima dye on the outside and persimmon weft. Christian McCann, who first opened his store in Ridgewood in 2010, brings a similar eye for detail to his second store’s interior. Each fixture is antique, including Victorian garment racks and a gas lamp from a riverboat casino.280 Mott St.
13.
A Midwife Opens a Wellness Store
Nettle Wellness, a midwifery practice started by Jo Zasloff, stocks nontoxic menstrual products, Plan B, and vibrators alongside Le Bon Shoppe pants, Oddobody underwear, Japanese crayons and watercolors, and vintage copies ofOur Bodies, Ourselves. 570 Hancock St.
14.
Estée Lauder Companies Has Taken Over Prince Street
Four adjoining storefronts in prime Soho are each now home to an Estée Lauder Companies–owned brand: perfumers Editions de Parfums -Frédéric Malle, Kilian Paris, and Jo Malone London plus Tom Ford Beauty.120–124 Prince St.
15.
French Cashmere Comes Stateside
Kujten, a Parisian line of cashmere rugby sweaters, bandanna-print sweaters and scarves, and fringed mittens and coats, is the latest addition to Madison Avenue’s row of youngish-feeling shops.831 Madison Ave.
16.
Street Rack Heads Inside
Chad Senzel started his vintage-clothing business in 2021, selling on the corner of Ludlow and Canal for a project he called Street Rack, with pieces rarely priced above $40. Four years later, he has moved indoors, carrying men’s and women’s vintage on Eldridge Street. Often on the racks are ’80s and ’90s Ralph Lauren; mid-’90s-to-late-aughts Prada; and T-shirts from Stüssy, Supreme, and Fuct. “Because I’ve been on the sidewalk, I’ve never had air-conditioning, or a fitting room, or a mini-fridge to offer people water, or music — all of that stuff is what you expect with a store,” says Senzel. “I’m loving it.”139 Eldridge St.
17.
The @fbmarketslut Opens IRL
Chyelle Milgrom — a.k.a. the Facebook Market Slut to 200,000-plus Instagram followers — is opening Chyelle, a shop in a Bushwick storefront where she’ll stage and sell vintage furniture and homewares she has found on the Marketplace, at Goodwill, and at estate sales with most items priced under $1,000. “Essentially, I rent a van for 24 hours, I message a bunch of people, and I make a really complex route using Google Maps with all these key points for drop-offs or pickups,” says Milgrom. In addition to selling mid-century pieces and furniture from the ’70s, ’80s, and ’90s, Milgrom will partner with Lazy Suzi, a supper club, and Third Floor Sounds, a traveling dance party, to host events at the store.199 Cook St.
18.
Status Suitcases Set Up in Soho
Rimowa, the maker of bicoastal beloved aluminum luggage, is opening a new flagship in Soho. The brand will bring back its previously closed Passport Studio, a complimentary self-service photo booth where the light is flattering and two-by-twos are printed on the spot.148 Mercer St.
19.
Two Moms Are Launching a Kids’ Boutique on Atlantic Avenue
Rachel Jones Bellas and Michelle Friend Sternlicht are two Brooklyn Heights mothers with backgrounds in costume design and retail. Their children’s store, Darling, will carry handmade, one-of-a-kind pieces sewn from vintage textiles — like an embroidered buttercup-yellow romper with a scalloped Peter Pan collar in fabric from the 1940s and a floral dress made from an old tablecloth — along with pieces from new–to–New York brands Copenhagen Colors, Hello Simone, and Cozmo. Readings, workshops, and closet sales will be held in the backyard garden.149Atlantic Ave.
20.
Capitol Hill Meets Carnegie Hill
Tuckernuck — the Washington, D.C.–based clothing line named after an island off Nantucket, which went viral for its tweed Jackie dress, a style popular with Capitol Hill staffers — opens on Madison Avenue this month. The store, designed by former Bunny Williams senior designer CeCe Barfield, will offer rugby-shirt dresses and gold-button tweed jackets from the brand’s preppy, eponymous house line, along with like-minded brands, plus crystal ice buckets, shagreen boxes, and sculptural vases. On-site monogramming is available.1121 Madison Ave.
21.
This Consignment Chain Is Blowing Up
Former Liars bassist Patrick Noecker and his wife, the ex–Beacon’s Closet store manager Christine Costello, and their friend Jane Herships opened OPC — short for Other People’s Clothes — in Ridgewood in 2020. The store, which operates on a buy-sell-trade model, became a neighborhood destination to hunt for circa-Y2K mesh, denim harnesses, and Jessica McClintock dresses. By 2024, OPC had opened additional locations in Bushwick and South Williamsburg. Now, a fourth location, their first Manhattan store, has opened next door to Halloween Adventure just off Union Square. “We have a nice, big juicy subwoofer in there; we dropped some coin on the audio systems in each store because we want to be the party before the party,” says Noecker. “I think that’s how we’re different — this is where you pregame before hitting the streets of New York.”112 Fourth Ave.
22.
Meghan Markle’s Button-downs Head to Madison
Frank & Eileen — a line of easy-breezy button-downs, denim joggers, and chunky knits worn by Reese Witherspoon, Jennifer Garner, and Markle — opens its first flagship.753 Madison Ave.
Photos: Courtesy of retailers
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