Best shops in Hell's Kitchen: Flea markets, menswear and more

This popular neighborhood boutique is a treasure trove for kitschy housewares like Design Ideas skyline bookends ($43), Jonathan Adler ceramic animals ($47–$200) and high-end beauty goods such as Archipelago Botanicals travel sets ($28). There’s also a small but well-curated selection of cookbooks, including Janet Fletcher’s Eating Local ($35) and Ruth Reichl’s Gourmet Today ($40).

Scouring the globe for unusual design products is nothing new, but owners Luisa Cerutti and Nicki Lindheimer take the concept of overseas buying trips a step further; each year they visit a far-flung part of the world to forge links with and support cooperatives and individual craftspeople. The beautiful results reflect a fine attention to detail and a sense of place. With their vivid colors and swirling abstract patterns, baskets woven from telephone wire by South African Zulu tribespeople would look fantastic in a modern apartment. They come in a variety of sizes, priced from $29 to $335, and still exude a faint scent of smoke from the huts in which they took shape. Exquisite stone boxes made by a family in Vietnam are carved with remarkably convincing “weave” patterns, decorative leaves or an intricate dragon ($29–$220). Some items are sourced closer to home, such as Hell’s Kitchen cabinetmaker Beau Van Donkelaar’s one-of-a-kind cheese boards composed of different-colored wood offcuts ($199). This is a great place to find reasonably priced gifts, from handmade Afghan soaps ($8.25) to Italian throws (from $69), plus cushions, glassware, toys and much more.

Following the success of several pop-ups around the city, owner Matt Fox opened his first brick-and-mortar shop for the sharp e-commerce menswear brand. The retro decor, complete with ironing boards repurposed as tables, old-fashioned globes, typewriters and collegiate trophies scattered throughout the space, will transport you into another era. Pantherella argyle socks ($29–$65) are displayed in old briefcases, while printed ties ($45–$59) are suspended inside propped-open vintage trunks. Dapper guys can spiff up their looks with neckwear ($45–$65), handkerchiefs ($25–$29), tennis-racket tie clips ($29), paisley bow ties ($55) and striped suspenders ($49–$69).

t doesn’t get any more underground than the New York City subways, so it’s somehow fitting that this streetwise outfitter is located inside the Port Authority subway station. You’ll find an array of unisex $20 silk-screened tees and $40 hoodies, made exclusively by the store’s namesake label. Most designs are refreshingly minimalist; to wit, one simply says “42nd & Feeling Fine” in cursive, while another features a pair of boxing gloves and the phrase “Local Champion.” Solid zip-up hoodies are adorned with yellow strings and original Grast pin buttons on the chest. There’s also a heavy focus on toys and accessories, with a line of G-Shock watches designed in collaboration with Alife ($150) and Krink ($140); plastic character figurines by Kidrobot ($8); and GoodWood NYC intricate, hand-painted wooden pendants on beaded chains ($60). Before you hop on the train, ditch your tired Apple earbuds and cop a pair of tricked-out DJ-style headphones from Coloud ($40) or Urbanears ($60), available in every solid color of the pastel rainbow.

Tucked between the Lincoln Tunnel and Port Authority bus ramps, this unlikely slice of city street is closed to traffic every weekend when dozens of vendors unfold their tables full of goods. Vendors tend to compensate for the out-of-the-way location by offering lower prices than found in the Chelsea lots, which makes it worth the trek.

Established in 2005 by mother-and-daughter team Monif and Elaine Clarke, Monif C. offers its own line of figure-flattering dresses ($195–$495), jumpsuits ($198) and swimsuits ($118–$135) in sizes 12 to 24. At this Hell’s Kitchen flagship, which boasts hot-pink walls and crystal chandeliers, you’ll also find shoes in sizes nine to 13 ($198–$298) and gobs of earrings, necklaces and bracelets ($50–$75). We’re currently drooling over ruched convertible dresses that can be worn in more than 40 different ways ($215), drapey cowl-neck frocks ($228) and edgy puff-sleeve lace dresses ($198).

Well-dressed dudes with an eye on the Japanese style scene will already be familiar with this Tokyo fashion retailer. But with its first U.S. location in the Garment District, Nepenthes’s cultlike followers can finally get the store’s urban rustic threads on their home turf. The large, high-ceilinged, hardwood-floored space holds an eclectic mix of well-designed, expertly crafted menswear including pieces from house label Engineered Garments, such as plaid flannel work shirts ($167), hooded knee-length ponchos ($460) and knit wool cardigans ($385). You can also head home with stylishly rugged pieces from a variety of unique labels including Needles heavy-duty wool sweaters ($350), Woolrich Woolen Mills peacoats ($529) and South 2 West 8 corduroy jackets ($750). Ladies are in luck too: A rack in the back holds items from FWK, a female version of the Engineered Garments line ($154–$575).

Preppy-casual menswear is having a moment, and guys who sport the put-together look can stock their entire wardrobe with the fashionable threads from this sleek men’s boutique. The high-ceilinged, lacquered-cement–floored space is packed with pieces from well-known brands, including Fred Perry plaid button-downs ($108), Penguin striped polos ($62), Tretorn leather sneakers ($188), Gant argyle crew-neck sweaters ($168) and Garçon García hooded peacoats ($318). On the more casual end of the spectrum, you’ll find slim-fit, straight-leg jeans by Cheap Monday ($62) and J Brand ($162), as well as super-soft Alternative Apparel hoodies ($42) and Aviator Nation T-shirts, screen-printed with
retro-looking designs ($72). Making this a man’s true one-stop shop, you can even grab some Diesel boxer briefs ($22).