cool girl shopping
new york city
New York City is the best and worst place to shop.
It’s a city of retail clutter. Flagship stores crammed in with fast fashion messy racks and well guarded luxury brands and streetwear labels with lines around the block. Soho on a Saturday is a special kind of hell. But sometimes when you do brave the chaos, you remember that New York City is a shopping capital. Amid the retail whiplash, there’s so many gems. Emerging labels that have their only physical footprint here. Cult favorite global brands with limited US presence. Wonderfully curated boutiques that do half the work for you. And vintage shops that are filled with treasures waiting to be found. The tactile experience that online shopping just can’t compete with.
orchard street
New York City might be shopping hell in so many ways, but New York City is shopping heaven for the cool girls. Particularly downtown.
There’s Soho’s study of contrasts: a cosmopolitan hub that lives up to its reputation, where major designers rub shoulders with indie boutiques. And then there’s the Lower East Side, where personality shines with youthful energy. Home of my personal favorite shopping street, Orchard Street. Filled with vintage treasures, well curated concept stores and dotted with cafes so you can get a trendy latte to bop around with. The West Village is a bit more polished. Smaller brands that skew European. And pedestrians that skew European. And then the East Village, a bit more grungy and eclectic with thrift shops in between crowded restaurants and bars filled with 20-somethings.
There’s a shop for everyone, and whether you have something in particular on your wishlist or refining your taste, whether it’s for your closet or your vanity or your cabinet or your best friend, there’s the perfect store for you.
bomi, soho
fashion
The fashion girlies are blessed in this city. From the scary cluttered racks at Zara to the perfectly spaced out products on the shelves at the luxury brands, there’s plenty of distraction. Cool girl shopping means bouncing around Soho to the independent labels and well curated boutiques for unique silhouettes and statement accessories. Sure there’s no more Barney’s, but there’s still Dover Street Market in midtown and the newly opened Printemps in Fidi. Or on the other end of the spectrum, perusing the vintage stores that are destinations in their own right, filled with designer pieces and archival one of ones. The kinds of shops you want to regularly return to.
Many of the boutiques cover accessories too, from shoes to bags to sunglasses and jewelry. And then there’s the accessory specialty stores. Emerging jewelry designers, high fashion sunglasses brands, local and international statement bags, and again, plenty of vintage.
printempts, fidi
beauty
aedes, lower east side
The beauty and fragrance scene has blossomed in recent years with homegrown brands, imported products from trendy K-beauty brands, French-inspired pharmacies and some really great fragrance boutiques.
stele, soho
Cool girls love a fun drink as a shopping break, and some brands have gone ahead and integrated cafes into the retail spaces.
manjul, soho
elorea, soho
quarters, soho
home & lifestyle
Cool girls have cool homes. Because sometimes the best accessory is a funky cocktail glass or a unique tablecloth. Cool girls throw cool dinner parties. There’s a shop for that. Some of the best homeware shops feel like stepping into a cool girl’s tasteful home. Showrooms with scenes set up so perfectly you could move right in.
coming soon, lower east side
Cool girls also get cool gifts. And there are so many places where half the work is done for you.
big night, west village
Facebook Marketplace might be the best place to snag that perfect piece. But there’s also great everything thrift stores that have things for your home and your closet. Pieces that seem to tell stories about past lives in the city.
city opera thrift shop, chelsea
fish’s eddy, flatiron
mast books, east village
books, prints, media & more
From art books to the latest fashion magazines to independent publications to niche stationery, there’s a whole subgenre of shops that cater to cool girl reading and writing.
goods for the study, west village
bungee space, lower east side
see also
HOME SHOPPING IN BROOKLYN
WEEKEND IN WILLIAMSBURG