The 12 Best Online Stores for Menswear You've Never Heard Of
2024-07-18 · 5 min read
The default menswear destinations, SSENSE, Mr Porter, and END, are excellent but well-known. The real advantage comes from knowing smaller, specialized retailers stocking harder-to-find brands, offering unique curation, and occasionally delivering better prices because they lack the overhead of major platforms.
Canoe Club in Portland stocks a focused selection of Japanese and American brands including Orslow, Kapital, Engineered Garments, and Beams Plus. Their buying is exceptional, selecting the best pieces from each brand rather than stocking entire collections. The newsletter is worth subscribing to.
Nittygritty out of Stockholm carries a razor-sharp edit of Scandinavian and Japanese brands reflecting Sweden's impeccable taste. Expect Our Legacy, Auralee, Needles, and Tekla. The photography and styling make browsing a pleasure and offer genuine outfit inspiration.
18 East, founded by Antonio Ciongoli in New York, produces its own line of garments made with hand-woven Indian textiles while stocking Corridor, Portuguese Flannel, and Story Mfg. The in-house collection is genuinely unique with fabrics and techniques found nowhere else.
Standard and Strange in Oakland specializes in heritage menswear, denim, and boots. Their stock of Iron Heart, The Real McCoy's, Viberg, and Alden makes them the destination for guys obsessed with durability. The staff's product knowledge is encyclopedic.
Lost and Found in Toronto has quietly become one of the best multi-brand stores in North America, carrying Rick Owens, Ann Demeulemeester, and other avant-garde designers not found at typical menswear retailers.
Other stores worth bookmarking: Peggs and Son from the UK, Meadow from Brooklyn, Kafka Mercantile from Edmonton, Haven from Vancouver, Bureau Belfast, and Son of a Stag from London for denim obsessives. Start exploring at https://www.canoeclub.com and work your way through the list. The advantage of smaller stores is curation. Every product is chosen with a point of view, saving you time and introducing brands you would not find otherwise.
