Concept stores in NYC: 11 shops and what each one sells
Seven of the 11 sell more than clothes and jewelry, and the most reviewed has 15 reviews about its elevator.
Our list has 11 independent concept stores in New York City, and seven of them sell more than clothes and jewelry.
One of them comes with an Andy Warhol story. IF opened on West Broadway in 1978. According to its own history, Warhol was appalled but impressed by the move and gave the shop a year of free ads in Interview.
If you have time for one concept store, make it IF rather than Dover Street Market. Its three founders, all siblings, still own it. It also stocks the designers it says it was first to sell in New York.
Quick facts
- Shops: 11 concept stores in 7 neighborhoods, with 3 in the SoHo ZIP codes, 2 on the Lower East Side and 2 in Bed-Stuy
- Opened: IF in 1978, Blue Tree in 2005, Oroboro in 2011, Café Forgot in 2017
- Most reviewed: Dover Street Market New York, 4.3 on Google from 949 reviews
- Best rated: Hellenic Aesthetic, 4.9 from 42 reviews, then SEED Brklyn and Maimoun at 4.8
- Beyond clothes: 7 of the 11 sell coffee, fragrance, prints, books, objects or housewares, by their own sites
- Sources: Google ratings and hours read 20 September 2026; each shop's own site read 27 September 2026
Designer clothes in SoHo, Tribeca and Murray Hill
IF Soho New York moved to 94 Grand Street, between Greene and Mercer, in the 1990s. Its history says it was the first in New York to sell Yohji Yamamoto, Martin Margiela, Dries Van Noten and Ann Demeulemeester, in the 1980s. All four are still there, and Paul Harnden and Guidi came later.
Dover Street Market New York, 160 Lexington Avenue, is the city branch of the store Rei Kawakubo and Adrian Joffe opened in London in September 2004. Its site calls the idea "beautiful chaos", and 90 of its reviews praise the staff. Fifteen mention the elevator.
Patron of the New, 151 Franklin Street in Tribeca, sells clothes, shoes and housewares, with a second shop in Miami. It is 3.2 on Google from 61 reviews, read 20 September 2026.
New designers on the Lower East Side and in Nolita
Café Forgot, 29 Ludlow Street, was founded in 2017 by Vita Haas and Lucy Weisner. It runs pop ups and showcases for emerging designers, and new designers come up in 14 of its reviews. It opens noon to 7 every day.
Up the street, Assembly New York, 170 Ludlow Street, sells to men and women: Sandy Liang, Our Legacy and Studio Nicholson, with vintage and fragrance beside them. It opens 11 to 7 every day. The Lower East Side page has both.
Oroboro Store, 217 Mott Street in Nolita, has sold women's clothes, accessories and objects since 2011, with Cawley among its designers.
Gifts and objects, uptown and in Queens
Blue Tree, 1285 Madison Avenue in Carnegie Hill, was opened by Phoebe Cates Kline in the fall of 2005. "To have it be like a general store but according to me" was her dream, the shop's site says. It sells women's clothes beside music, fragrance and delicacies.
Hellenic Aesthetic, 30-91 31st Street in Astoria, calls itself America's first Greek fashion retailer. Its designers are based in Greece, and it sells jewelry, knitwear, books and photography prints.
Maimoun, 111 Grand Street in Williamsburg, takes its name from the Persian word for guests invited home. It sells clothes, home goods, prints and beauty.
A concept store should sell you something you did not come in for.
Bed-Stuy, for an afternoon
Two of the 11 are in Bed-Stuy. SEED Brklyn, 1217 Bedford Avenue, was founded by the artist Christophe Roberts and mixes luxury labels with independent designers. It is 4.8 on Google from 118 reviews.
Sincerely, Tommy, 343 Tompkins Avenue, sells emerging womenswear labels and runs its own coffee bar. The barista comes up in 7 of its reviews, and the matcha in 4.
When to go
Most of the 11 open at 11 or noon and close at 6 or 7. Blue Tree opens earliest, at 10 on weekdays, and Sincerely, Tommy closes earliest, at 5 pm on weekdays.
On Monday, SEED Brklyn closes, and Hellenic Aesthetic in Astoria closes Monday and Tuesday. Dover Street Market stays open until 7 from Thursday to Saturday.
The concept stores page has all 11 with today's hours, and the designer stores page lists 36 designer boutiques, six of these among them. For rings and watches, read our guide to jewelry stores in NYC.
Common questions
what is a concept store
A concept store is a shop built around a point of view rather than one kind of product, so clothes sit beside objects, books, food or art. Dover Street Market, opened in London in 2004 by Rei Kawakubo and Adrian Joffe, is one, and its New York branch is the most reviewed of our 11.
concept store nyc soho
IF Soho, at 94 Grand Street, is the concept store in SoHo proper, and it has been in the neighborhood since 1978. Oroboro on Mott Street and Patron of the New on Franklin Street share the SoHo ZIP codes.
dover street market nyc hours
Dover Street Market New York opens 11 am to 6 pm Monday to Wednesday, 11 am to 7 pm Thursday to Saturday, and noon to 6 pm on Sunday. Those are its Google hours, so check before a late visit.
concept stores brooklyn
Brooklyn has three of the 11: Maimoun in Williamsburg, and SEED Brklyn and Sincerely, Tommy in Bed-Stuy. Queens has one more, Hellenic Aesthetic in Astoria.