The stores and brands included here come from a variety of sources: Some were culled from Black-Owned Brooklyn, a website that profiles Black business owners in the borough, others are places where I personally love to shop, several have been mentioned in our “What I Can’t Live Without” series, and dozens were shared on Instagram, including by Teen Vogue fashion and beauty features director Tahirah Hairston; actor and writer Jordan Firstman; and Lawrence Schlossman and James Harris, hosts of the popular podcast Throwing Fits. —Hilary Reid
Anya Lust is a luxury lingerie e-commerce business founded by Krystle Kotara. On the site, you’ll find pieces from a range of smaller high-end lingerie designers as well as links to sign up for Sensual Yoga and Tantric Date Night workshops.
After a hugely successful run in the 2000s, designer Kimora Lee Simmons relaunched Baby Phat — one of the first streetwear lines for women — last year and is now running it alongside her daughters, Ming Lee and Aoki Lee. —Karen Iorio Adelson
BedStuyFly offers graphic tees, hats, jackets, and sweats for men and women and has stores in Bed-Stuy and Williamsburg.
I love Chris Echevarria’s confident, go-with-anything loafers, and I’m not alone — in just the past few months, three other guys have recommended them on our site. As menswear writer Jordan Bunker explains, their “chunkier, more modern, almost sneakerlike shape slots in easily with wide jeans, shorts, and gym socks as well as suits.” Beyond their silhouette, the shoes are Goodyear welted, meaning they’re waterproof and will hold up for years to come. —Louis Cheslaw
Strategist writer Tembe Denton-Hurst wrote about Bed-Stuy’s BLK MKT Vintage, which is owned by Jannah Handy and Kiyanna Stewart. The couple combs flea markets and estate sales for Black ephemera (including 1970s Afro picks and 1970s anti-apartheid stickers), which you can find on their website alongside art and vintage pieces.
A menswear store located in Boerum Hill, Brooklyn Circus was featured in Black-Owned Brooklyn, where owner Ouigi Theodore cited “Cooley High, sports, Jay-Z Brooklyn, Spike Lee Brooklyn” as the reference points for styles carried in the store.
Brother Vellies makes fine leather goods including handbags and shoes that range from summery huarache sandals to thigh-high boots. It was founded by Aurora James, who established the 15 Percent Pledge (which asks major retailers to devote 15 percent of their shelf space to Black-owned businesses). —Dominique Pariso
Los Angeles–based designer Cameron Tea uses wooden beads to make bucket hats, rectangular mini-purses, and bags that are shaped like hearts.
A swimsuit line founded by former model Chantel Davis, Castamira has bathing suits that are designed to support women with curves and come in sleek one-shouldered cuts as well as ruched designs with lace-up details.
Los Angeles–based CBAAF’s clothes are hand-dyed and made of 100 percent recycled cotton. Its current collection includes oatmeal and Black tie-dyed T-shirt, long-sleeve, and shorts sets.
Christopher John Rogers makes stunning womenswear pieces in voluminous silhouettes, including iridescent pink taffeta skirts and a red feather-trimmed bustier.
Elisa Johnson’s favorite sunglasses are from Coco and Breezy, an eyewear line founded in 2009 by Corianna and Brianna Dotson. As Johnson puts it, “In my opinion, you can’t beat the detail and quality of their products, which include regular eyewear in addition to sunglasses. When it comes to the latter, my favorite style is the Avatar. I love a good aviator shape, and these manage to look absolutely original while still giving off that classic look.” —Aisha Rickford
One of the shops I found through Firstman’s Instagram story, Cool and Casual Studios, is a Los Angeles–based shop that offers a mix of vintage and independent designers. You’ll find breezy striped linen shirts and ideal pairs of stonewashed vintage jeans.
Carly Cushnie started her eponymous brand in 2008 and offers clothes that are minimalist and elegant as well as a bridal line of sculptural gowns, jumpsuits, and suits for women.
Elisa Johnson also told us that her favorite sweatsuit is from Daily Paper, an Amsterdam-based men’s and women’s clothing brand created by Hussein Suleiman, Jefferson Osei, and Abderrahmane Trabsini. “While a little on the pricey side for a sweatshirt and sweatpants, I think they’re worth the investment because together they make for an easy, wearable moment, and each is stylish enough to wear separately with other things from your closet.” —Leah Muncy
Darryl Brown’s focus is on minimal workwear — think Dickies or Carhartt but on a smaller scale. The heavyweight tees, hoodies, and pants are all made in the United States, and J.Crew and Nordstrom recently began stocking them, too. —Jordan Bowman
Detroit-based clothing label Diop makes diaspora-inspired streetwear, including fabric face masks inspired by mud cloth from Mali. For each mask sold, Diop is donating a portion of proceeds to coronavirus relief initiatives, including Feed the Frontlines, which supports Detroit restaurants and provides meals to emergency and health-care workers. —Liza Corsillo
New York City line Edas — which sells spiral earrings, hand-rolled jewelry dishes, and miniature leather bags — was started by Sade Mims, who is also the head designer for the brand.
Farai London is easily identified by its bold watercolor-like patterns, double-lined mesh fabric, and sexy cutouts (think Maddy from Euphoria). Since launching in July 2020, the brand has been worn by the likes of Kylie Jenner, and is now sold at Revolve and Selfridges. —J.M.W.
Flat Fifteen is London-based designer Francesca Kappo’s line of tiny handbags in iridescent silk and gingham that, as Kappo writes on the site, “your Aunty would probably wear to Church on a Sunday.”
FlameKeepers Hat Club’s mission is, in its words, “to pass the torch of good taste from one generation to the next.” Founded by hat-industry veteran Marc Williamson, the Harlem-based hat boutique offers an array of luxury hats, from cashmere baseball caps to wool fedoras, in a variety of custom sizes and styles. —L.M.
Bed-Stuy’s Gizmo Vintage Honey is where you’ll find retro patchwork tops, perfectly broken-in jeans, and utility jumpsuits.
We could all use a few more lounge sets these days, and this brand, which offers custom-made matching shorts, sweats, and tops, was included in Hairston’s stories.
Mother-daughter duo Rebecca Henry and Akua Shabaka started House of Aama in 2015. According to their website, the brand — which sells silk halter tops, corduroy jackets, and off-the-shoulder tops — “explores the folkways of the Black experience by designing timeless garments with nostalgic references informed by historical research, archival analysis, and storytelling.”
Founded by fashion blogger Fisayo Longe in 2016, Kai Collective is a London-based luxury womenswear brand providing ethically sourced clothing — like velvet statement skirts and vegan-leather dresses — at non-luxury price points. —L.M.
Founded by fashion and travel blogger Fisayo Longe, KAI offers glamorous ruched burnt-orange and purple skirts and patterned mesh going-out turtlenecks.
Kenneth Ize works with a small group of weavers and Nigerian artist-and-design groups to create its pieces. According to the brand’s site, its focus is on “reinterpreting examples of Nigerian craft to create an original perspective on luxury production within textile and fashion.”
When we talked to Black Lives Matter co-founder Patrisse Cullors about the things she can’t live without, dresses from Los Angeles clothing store Kutula by Africana were high on the list. “I grew up in Los Angeles and I used to go to this African store when I was maybe 18, 19, 20 years old, but they never had clothes for young people. I would go in because I liked the fabric, but I didn’t like the styles,” Cullors told us. “Then one day I was in the neighborhood, maybe a decade and a half later, and I walked into the store and was like, What the hell, this is not the same store. These two young women who are sisters, Bo and Kay, were like, We’re the daughters of the woman who used to own the store, our mom was going to get rid of the shop, and we were like, ‘No, this is a staple in the community, we’ll take it over.’” Now, Kutula offers ready-made and custom pieces, many of which you can find on its Instagram.
Label by Three’s clothes are designed and handmade in Phoenix, Arizona. The brand’s focus is on sustainability, and its designs are made in limited runs from dead-stock fabrics sourced from independent sellers in the United States.
Designer LaQuan Smith started his namesake brand when he was 21 and, on his site, describes the aesthetic as “unapologetically glamorous.” Rihanna, Beyoncé, and Lady Gaga have all worn his designs.
Another highlight in Hairston’s Instagram story, Alexandra Bunch’s Los Angeles brand Local European offers the sleek bike shorts, satin corsets, and ruched turtleneck dresses you might hope to wear out dancing again someday.
Rosemary Matovu opened her closet-size store on West 10th Street in 2007 and stocks it with truly fabulous vintage pieces picked up on her world travels: from cancan skirts to antique Victorian slips. Rosemary also makes her own fabulous pieces out of vintage finds.
Womenswear brand Maki Oh was founded in 2010 by Maki Osakwe, who, according to the site, “fuses traditional African techniques with detailed contemporary construction.” The line has been worn by Michelle Obama, Solange Knowles, and Lupita Nyong’o.
Founded by 26-year-old skater Adrienne Cooper, Moonlight Roller makes some of our favorite skates. Their site also features lots of gear and accessories like jelly-toe caps, light-up wheels, and a rainbow of laces. —D.P.
Designer Moshood Afariogun opened Moshood Creations in Fort Greene in 1994, and the store remained there for 25 years before it was forced out by high rents. The store has since reopened in Bed–Stuy, where you can find its signature wrap skirts, dashikis, dresses, jumpsuits, and patchwork pants. Moshood was also profiled on Black-Owned Brooklyn.
I came across this brand from Tahirah Hairston’s Instagram stories. Founded by Hleziphansi Zita, this line of architectural jewelry is elegant and sculptural — each piece reminds me of something you’d find in a museum, and the prices for the sterling silver and gold plating are reasonable.
Sisters Rachel Topping and Rikki-Richelle (whom I met at a Building Black Bedstuy event) created this brand with an eye to increasing the representation of authentic Blackness in the mainstream media. It does this through bold and beautiful messaging on everything from home goods to clothing to hair accessories — many of which I own and have gifted to others. —J.M.W.
After graduating with a B.F.A. from the Fashion Institute of Technology, Nia Thomas founded her eponymous NYC-based apparel and accessories brand with a focus on community and sustainability, offering responsibly sourced, recycled, reclaimed, and biodegradable goods like plant-dyed socks and recycled-silk scarves. —L.M.
On Nude Barre’s site, you’ll find hosiery and underwear in 12 different shades of nude. According to a feature in Forbes, CEO Erin Carpenter, a former Knicks City Dancer, started the line after struggling to find undergarments and tights that were actually “nude” — and not just beige.
Octave is a Brooklyn-based jewelry line of geometric pieces with hand-cut raw stones, including opal and mother of pearl.
Oma the Label carries thick gold hoops and rope chains that are easy to imagine wearing every day, along with flattering basics and bodysuits, including a square-neck leotard with high-cut legs.
Founded by Whitney Mero, Harlem’s Onion Cut & Sewn has been in business for over 20 years and sells vibrant dresses in jewel-tone solids and bright stripes.
The Nigeria-based brand Orange Culture was founded in 2011 by Adebayo Oke-Lawal, who works with ethically sourced fabrics from local Nigerian fabric-makers to create androgynous pieces, including iridescent button-down tops and beaded vests.
Bronté Laurent’s namesake label is all about finding clothes you’ll never want to take off — but it’s not loungewear. Instead, think recycled material turned into relaxed designs that you can still get dressed up in. Though if you are looking for something more casual, the brand also has limited-edition sweats and tees with an “Honor Black Women” logo. —J.M.W.
Peju Obasa is a London-based womenswear designer who makes bright knitted and crocheted belt bags with raffia and jersey yarn.
Included in Throwing Fits’s post of businesses, menswear brand Post-Imperial was founded by designer Niyi Okuboyejo in 2012. According to Post-Imperial’s site, the fabrics used in its garments are treated in Nigeria using a hand-dyeing process called Adire, which involves first hand-painting the fabric with a dye-resistant wax and then dipping the fabric in dye — the process results in gorgeous naturally dyed textiles with patterning.
Rebecca Allen’s shoes come in three simple silhouettes — minimalist two-strap high heels, a pump, and pointy-toe flats — and five different shades of “nude” that cover a wide range of skin tones.
Riot Swim sells the bathing suits that are all over your Instagram feed. Designed by Monti Landers, one of its most recognizable styles is a cheeky, deep-V one-piece, but the entire range consists of minimalist swimsuits in a range of colors from neutral to neon. —Jenna Milliner-Waddell
L.A.-based Samaria Leah Denim, according to Samaria Leah, “marries the past and present” with its one-of-a-kind pieces made with upcycled vintage Levi’s. Each pair of denim is made to order (with a size range of 24 to 38) and styles range from lightly distressed cutoffs to lace-up mom jeans. —L.M.
The Bed–Stuy coffee-slash-clothing shop founded by Kai Avent-deLeon focuses on jewelry, home goods, and womenswear by emerging designers (it is also where Strategist senior editor Katy Schneider buys, as she puts it, “more of less all of her clothing”).
Brooklyn-bred Franci Girard was five-foot-ten by the time she hit fourth grade. So this brand was born out of a very real and longtime struggle to create actually stylish clothing for tall women (five-nine and over) — and she really, actually has. (That is, after she played professional volleyball, got an M.B.A. from Harvard, and went to Parsons.) The line just launched in 2019 with all manner of pants — jeans, leggings, palazzos — that are extremely flattering, at least judging by the way they look on Franci. —Jessica Silvester
I came across New York–based designer Tia Adeola’s brand on my Instagram discover page and immediately loved her Renaissance-inspired designs. Adeola launched the line from her dorm room at the New School (from which she graduated in 2019), and since then, her iridescent puff-sleeved ruffle crop tops have been worn by everyone from SZA to Dua Lipa, to Lizzo, to Gigi Hadid.
A vintage shop on Instagram and Etsy, Small Needs carries ’80s-glam lace corsets as well as timeless silk blouses and gold jewelry.
Based in Utah, Stella and Haas makes pieces that Elisa Johnson likes to call “layering jewelry” — minimal gold- and silver-tone pieces that are easy to mix and match. Johnson told us that she has an impressive collection of Stella and Haas hoops, bracelets, and necklaces and favors the brand’s Old English Zodiac necklace for its customizable, personal touch. —L.M.
Telsha Anderson’s online shop carries a sharply curated selection of popular independent designers, including Priscavera and Gauntlett Cheng, and magazines including Gentlewoman and Document.
Telfar Clemens’s eponymous brand Telfar was largely popularized thanks to its signature bags — which our colleagues at the Cut called the Bushwick Birkin. The brand also has a line of apparel and jewelry, but I am personally waiting for the small shopping bag in white to hopefully be restocked.
—Jenna Milliner-Waddell
Founded by Shilla Kim-Parker, Thrilling curates vintage clothing from boutiques across the country and brings them together in one digital marketplace, where you’ll find one-of-a-kind vintage beaded gowns from the ’70s and lounging-around-the-house-worthy caftans. —Hilary Reid
TLZ L’FEMME’s tagline is “to live zealously femme” and sells everything from ruched leather pants to a silver bodysuit to parachute pants that were once worn by Cardi B. The brand also sells “Love Bags” — 100 percent of proceeds are put toward filling a second tote with items like water, baby wipes, and flashlights that the owners then distribute to those experiencing homelessness in Los Angeles.
Torch is a vintage sportswear brand dedicated to sourcing clothing from historically Black colleges and universities. It stocks everything from Vintage Morehouse T-shirts to crewnecks to vintage caps, and it also has its own line inspired by collegiate-tennis uniforms. —J.B.
Minimalist leather-goods brand Tree Fairfax offers timeless cross-body bags, belts, totes, and waist bags in rich shades of mahogany, cognac, black, and russet.
Victor Glemaud worked as studio director for Paco Rabanne and style director for Tommy Hilfiger before launching his own eponymous label in 2006. Glemaud’s focus is on knits for all genders: His fall 2020 collection was made entirely from merino wool, cotton cashmere, and a merino-cotton-ramie blend.
We Dream in Colour makes some of the most fantastical jewelry I’ve ever seen with pieces shaped like swans, peacocks, and shells swinging from a reef. The sister-led label focuses on local manufacturing with every piece made in their Salem, Massachusetts, studio. —A.P.
Wales Bonner, which includes elegantly tailored pants and graphic Havana shirts, started as a menswear line in 2014, and has since expanded to womenswear. Designer Grace Wales Bonner was awarded the LVMH Young Designer Prize after her first solo runway presentation in 2016.
William Opko — owned by two sisters and named after their father — makes incredibly luxe, playful garments that look like prep clothing from another world. Also really cool hats!—Erin Schwartz
Yam is a handcrafted, Astoria-based jewelry line founded by Morgan Thomas. The pieces are lovely and the kind of thing you’d want to wear every day. There are delicate gold and pearl necklaces, gold-chain bracelets, and a pair of thick triangular hoops that can be spotted on Lizzo in the “Good As Hell” music video.
Zou Xou is a shoe line founded in New York City by Katherine Theobalds. Each pair of mules, loafers, and flats is handmade by an artisan in Buenos Aires, and the designs are practical and elegant.
