Fashion for 18-26 year olds?

May 22, 2006 10:27 AM

Anybody know of any good boutiques/clothing stores in major cities that sell hip, fresh apparel to 18-26 year old men and women?

I'm looking for independant shops that sell tees and jeans like one might find in an Urban Oufitters store... but not corporate stores; indy stores with the newest, hottest fashions.

A link to a list of places would be ok - HOWEVER... I would like YOUR personal input.

What are YOUR favorite shops in NYC?
Where do YOU always shop when you are in San Francisco?
Etc.

posted by bamassippi to clothing, beauty, & fashion (15 answers total)

In Montreal, my favourite shop is Lola and Emily.
posted by k8t at 10:57 AM on May 22, 2006

Is G-Star to corporate for you?

270 Lafayette Street
New York
212.219.2744
posted by Mean Mr. Bucket at 11:45 AM on May 22, 2006

are you talking about stores that don't sell corporate BRANDS too? otherwise, you can walk anywhere in SF and shop .. Hayes, Cole, Union Square, Haight, they all have tons of what could be your next favorite boutique.
posted by kcm at 11:49 AM on May 22, 2006

Every city has a Zara, Sissley, and an American Apparal too.
posted by Mean Mr. Bucket at 11:51 AM on May 22, 2006

I'm really looking for local shops owned by local folks... American Apparel (although they claim not to be) in, by all definitions corporate.

Basicaly, I'm looking for the hip shops in SoHo type-of-place.
posted by bamassippi at 11:54 AM on May 22, 2006

I own a lot of clothes from Sean.
posted by josh at 12:46 PM on May 22, 2006

Yellow Rat Bastard in Soho (i think it's www.yellowratbastard.com)
posted by thandi at 1:24 PM on May 22, 2006

Are you trying to buy from these stores or sell to these stores? If you are looking for a list of places to sell to - here's a helpful hint. Think of a designer you like or that sells something in the same style as you and go to their website - most will have a list of stores that carry their lines - repeat. This is a great way to get an initial list together if you're looking to send out line sheets or the like.
posted by Wolfie at 1:26 PM on May 22, 2006

You need to check out Thrillist. And I mean the NYC version not the Nation one. They write up some of the hip spots every once in a while.

As for my personal favorites - I have the same question as Wolfie - what are your intentions? If you're looking to sell, go with his advice, or just spend a day walking around SoHo and asking folk. Particularly guys wearing the stuff you see that you like. If you're looking to buy - well, why? For yourself, or for more corporate purposes? Revealing my favorites depends on that :).
posted by allkindsoftime at 3:31 PM on May 22, 2006

In the Haight-Ashbury area of SF, there's a slew of independent and corporate apparel stores along with a number of used/secondhand clothing stores. A few are on this Yelp list. None of these new clothes places are cheap though - $100+ jeans and $40+ t-shirts.
posted by junesix at 3:34 PM on May 22, 2006

Frankly, I very seldom buy t-shirts in stores anymore. There's so much great stuff printed by online stores that I'm not impressed by anything I see in retail. I made a huge list in this AskMefi thread for online clothing stores.
posted by junesix at 3:37 PM on May 22, 2006

Two of my favorites...

Boston: Louis Boston -- particularly the collections on the third floor.

London: Selfridges.
posted by ericb at 3:53 PM on May 22, 2006

In4mation is a hip little store here in Honolulu. It was started by a group of local kids from the 'burbs.
posted by killjoy at 4:02 PM on May 22, 2006

Giant Robot!
posted by JackarypQQ at 7:19 PM on May 22, 2006

Killjoy and JAckarypQQ are in the right neighborhood by my experience. In NYC the best/ coolest locations, IMO, are:

Odin
Cloak
Nom de Guerre
BBlessing
Alife
BLue in Green (Brand new - in-between CLoak and Canal st.)
Flight Club

You can also check out the maps on Superfuture.

Happy hunting...
posted by savagecorp at 3:25 PM on May 29, 2006