The 125 Best Stores in America
Support your local independent menswear shops. These are the stores that are meaningful to our communities and in our lives. These are the places we all want to continue to exist. Please get out and visit these places and share the list with likeminded friends. If there’s a shop you want to nominate, please do so in the comments below.
Here are the caveats for the list:
🌳 Generally this list is comprised of independent men’s clothing shops. There are some book stores mixed in (because book shops need all of the help they can get) and there are a few select stores that are owned by big companies or other brands. It's not perfect or complete.
🔬 This is totally unscientific and completely up to my personal preferences. There’s not a technical way to rank these and some people may agree or disagree with the list. That’s ok. The goal is to create awareness around the unique shops that are worth supporting and preserving. 🗺 The shops are organized by geography and not ranked in order.
🪡 🧵 There are a lot of amazing brand stores that aren’t on this list like Brunello Cucinelli, etc. It didn’t feel like the right move to include them. That's something I see from big publications — all of the advertisers have to get on the list. That's not happening here and there's no affiliate f/ckery going on in this list so click with impunity.
🐘 Some stores have been excluded because of ignorance and a few on purpose.
NEW YORK CITY
Leffot, New York, NY
Alex Mill, New York, NY
Paragon, New York, NY
Nepenthes, New York, NY
Bode, New York, NY
C’H’C’M, New York, NY
Blue in Green, New York, NY
Double RL Store, East Hampton, NY
S&S Corner Shop, Springs, NY
The Armoury, New York, NY
Pilgrim Surf Supply, Brooklyn, NY
Aimé Leon Dore, New York, NY
Bergdorf Goodman, New York, NY
J. Press, New York, NY
Todd Snyder, New York, NY
Noah, New York, NY
R by 45rpm, New York, NY
J. Meuser, New York, NY
Dashwood, New York, NY
Corridor, New York, NY
Saturdays NYC, New York, NY
Hatchet Outdoor Supply, Brooklyn, NY
Schott NYC, New York, NY
The Ralph Lauren Mansion, New York, NY
Manahatta, New York, NY
LOS ANGELES
Ghiaia, Pasadena, CA
Everyone says “less is more” but few can actually do it. Ghiaia has mastered it. The two year old cashmere brand opened in little jewel box of a shop in Pasadena in the facsimile of London’s Burlington Arcade and it’s an incredible place. The brand’s founder Davide Baroncini — an alumnus of Brunello Cucinelli — is one of the most talented merchandisers / creative directors and his genius shows through in every inch of the shop. [Ghiaia]
General Quarters, Los Angeles, CA
Mohawk General Store, Los Angeles, CA
Tortoise General Store, Los Angeles, CA
Union, Los Angeles, CA
Visvim, Los Angeles, CA
Counter Space, Los Angeles, CA
Lot, Stock and Barrel, Los Angeles, CA
New High Mart, Los Angeles, CA
Wittmore, Los Angeles, CA
Mister Freedom, Los Angeles, CA
Snake Oil Provisions, Los Angeles, CA
Freenote Cloth, Los Angeles, CA
American Rag Cie, Los Angeles, CA
3Sixteen, Los Angeles, CA
Lady White Co., Los Angeles, CA
Sleepy Jones, Santa Monica, CA
General Admission, Los Angeles, CA
Virgil Normal, Los Angeles, CA
Luft, Venice, CA
Arcana Books, Culver City, CA
Ghiaia, Pasadena, CA (Profiled Above)
NORTHEAST
Andover Shop, Cambridge, MA
O’Connell’s Clothing, Buffalo, NY
David Wood Clothiers, Portland, ME
Drinkwater’s, Cambridge, MA
Hatchet Supply, Brooklyn, NY
L.L. Bean, Freeport, ME
Portland Dry Goods, Portland, ME
Murray’s Toggery, Nantucket, MA
Port, Northampton, MA
Tracksmith, Boston, MA
Pon the Store, Rockport, MA
Mr. Sid, Boston, MA
SAULT New England, Boston, MA
Totem Brand, Philadelphia, PA
Garmany, Red Bank, NJ
Boyd's, Philadelphia, PA
Bodega, Boston, MA
Westerlind, Millerton, NY
MIDWEST
Cuffs Clothing, Chagrin Falls, OH
There’s a legendary story about Cuffs that involves the Hermès family. The lore is that Patty and Rodger Kowall wrote Hermès to inquire about opening a concession in their shop in Chagrin Falls on the leafy east side of Cleveland. The Hermès family wrote back and said they would like to come to the town and see if for themselves. So that’s exactly what they did. After spending time with the Kowalls and seeing the quaint town, they agreed to open a Hermès shop inside Cuffs. Today it’s the only non-freestanding Hermès shop in the United States.
Even when you look beyond the Hermès store at Cuffs it’s hard to not fall in love with the place. It boasts some of the best tailored clothing brands anywhere and has a strong appreciation for craft. It feels like a well curated and friendly home with a fireplace and plenty of good wine in its adjacent wine shop. To me it’s heaven on the banks of the Chagrin River. [Cuffs Clothing Co.]
Cuffs Clothing, Chagrin Falls, OH (Profiled Above)
Notre, Chicago, IL
Kilgore Trout, Cleveland, OH
Graham Foundation Book Shop, Chicago, IL
Independence, Chicago, IL
Samson, Columbus, OH
Hall's, Kansas City, MO
East West, St. Louis, MO
AK Rikk's, Grand Rapids, MI
Syd Jerome, Chicago, IL
BlackBlue, St Paul, MN
Martin Patrick 3, Minneapolis, MN
MILWORKS, Milwaukee, WI
Hubert White, Minneapolis, MN
SOUTH
Harrison Limited, Mountain Brook, AL
OLD North, Asheville, NC
Peter Blair, Richmond, VA
Ben Silver, Charleston, SC
Club Duquette, Birmingham, AL
Coffman’s, Greenville, NC
Caliber, Birmingham, AL
Kevin’s Fine Outdoor Gear & Apparel, Thomasville, GA
LANDRY’s, Oxford MS
Indigo & Cotton, Charleston, SC
Rush Wilson, Greenville, SC
Sid Mashburn, Atlanta, GA
St Bernard, Dallas, TX
WM King, Bristol, TN
MH Frank, Clemson, SC
Tabor, Charlotte, NC
The Locker Room, Montgomery, AL
Supply & Advise, Miami, FL
White’s Mercantile, Nashville, TN
Stag, Austin, TX
We Took to the Woods, Greenville, SC (Seasonal)
Miller Brothers Ltd., Atlanta, GA
Manready Mercantile, Houston, TX
Pockets, Dallas, TX
WEST
Filson, Seattle, WA
Canoe Club, Boulder, CO
Berkeley Supply, Denver, CO
Leather Soul, Honolulu, HI
Lone Flag, Encinitas, CA (By Appointment)
Mate Gallery, Monteceto, CA
Snowpeak, Portland, OR
In the Field, Ojai, CA
Wilkes Bashford, San Francisco, CA
Shiprock, Santa Fe, NM
Santa Fe Vintage, Santa Fe, NM
Warwick’s, La Jolla, CA
Freeman, Seattle, WA
Self Edge, San Francisco, CA
Teton Gravity Research, Breckenridge, CO
Lowell Shop, Portland, OR
RTH, Palm Springs, CA
Topo Designs, Denver, CO
Office Hours, San Luis Obispo, CA
Brick + Mortar, Seattle, WA
Bart’s Books, Ojai, CA
Machus, Portland, OR
Blue Owl Workshop, Seattle, WA
Many thanks to all of the people who helped me with this list, especially Spencer Lemon, Lee Norwood, Max Arden and Taylor Stacey.
Worth noting that there is a Locker Room location in Auburn, AL as well as Montgomery. Would also like to nominate Griff Goods in Opelika, AL as a shop that carries a small and interesting collection of quality items! Happy to see this list of good shops
Regret to inform you that Ball and Buck's brick and mortar location closed. However, they still exist online, and I believe have done the pop-up thing recently.