Kith
Getting people to camp out overnight for the latest Jordan or Yeezy is easy, but getting them to line up over a pair of Asics or Diadoras? That’s a harder sell. Or it would be for anyone other than Ronnie Fieg. While his seemingly endless supply of limited-edition kicks has made Ronnie a household name for sneakerheads, it’s Kith—the retail extension of Ronnie's empire—that continues to impress. The brand’s recently-opened Brooklyn outpost, located just a stone’s throw from Barclays Center, is a massive upgrade from the three-room experience in Manhattan. The new shop boasts sneakers on display in glass cases like museum pieces, a custom-designed marble floor, and ceramic Air Jordans hanging from the ceiling. And even if the business side of things has gotten very serious, Fieg still likes to tap into his inner child—the one who fell in love with sneakers in the first place—with a walk-up bar that serves nothing but breakfast cereals and ice cream.—Jake Woolf
Supreme
On paper, Supreme doesn’t sell itself as a must-visit destination. There’s almost always a line to get in, and once you're inside the famously (or infamously) unhelpful staff ignores you while blasting uncomfortably loud music. Oh, and everyone would prefer it if you didn’t touch the clothes. So what makes the brand’s dedicated cult of fans come back again and again to drop paychecks on logo hoodies and limited-edition gear? That aloof approach to retail has something to do with it. So does the desire to support a brand with zero interest in selling out for some extra profit. And then there’s the clothes themselves: well-made street classics, from oxford shirts to cashmere crewnecks, and quality cotton chinos that DGAF about fitting into any trend report. Make sure to check out the store next time you're in NYC or LA (pro tip: new gear drops every Thursday)—and manage your expectations when it comes to the guy behind the counter.—Jake Woolf
A Ma Maniére
Given that Atlanta is home to some of the coolest voices and personalities in the music industry, it took this town a shockingly long time to get a real-deal high-fashion-meets-streetwear store. (Imagine Future and Young Thug being forced to shop for buzzy brands like Off-White, Comme des Garçons, and Hood by Air online.) But A Ma Maniére changed that a little over a year ago. And it was worth the wait. A first glance, this shop looks like a nook in a Tom Ford store—think lots of rich wood with metal finishings. But the moment you spot a rare pair of Jordans, or raw-leather Hender Scheme kicks from Japan, or a Neil Barrett sweatshirt with leather detailing, you know this is a different beast. Also worth noting: A.M.M.’s e-commerce site is slept on—at least for the moment—so head that way when your favorite cultish streetwear brand has a new drop.—Mark Anthony Green
Alchemist
First, find the weirdly rad-looking cement parking garage (designed by wild architecture firm Herzog & de Meuron) at the corner of the Lincoln Road Mall and Alton. Then take the elevator up, and boom, bienvenido a Miami’s coolest f’ing store ever. Nothing about Alchemist, founded by husband and wife Roma and Erika Cohen, is run of the mill, from its strange location to its luxe mix of envelope-pushing labels like Rick Owens, Off-White, and Chrome Hearts. These are not clothes for casual Fridays at the office. But even if dressing like a next-generation ninja from the year 2095 isn’t your thing, you have to go just to see it. On paper it sounds odd; in person it’s just awesome. If nothing else, do it for the ’gram.—John Jannuzzi
Flight Club
Nominated by Questlove of The Roots: “Being a sneaker collector, Flight Club is like my second home. They have every classic sneaker you can remember from your childhood. If you want to find those sneakers you’ve been eBay-fishing for the last few months, you’re 99% guaranteed to find them here.”
Grailed
In years past, true style obsessives—Jordan historians, Rick Owens disciples, Polo completists, and the like—conducted backroom deals in web forums to buy rare clothing, or prayed their eBay-sniper software was faster than the other guy's. Now they have Grailed, where Yeezus tees and YSL jackets can be seen (or sold) with a few clicks. The site, launched in 2014, still exudes a certain beta-ness—it's basically an endless Instagram-style scroll of drool-worthy items. But our only real complaint? By making the hunt easier, Grailed also made the competition that much more fierce.—Jake Woolf
RSVP Gallery
What if Kanye West had a store? Global cool kids and Midwestern hypebeasts know that’s a kinda irrelevant question, because he basically does: Chicago’s RSVP Gallery. The store was founded in 2009 by the creative minds that have helped mold Yeezy's look, sound, and career from day one We're talking about Don C (local creative hero, founder of Just Don caps, and Ye’s longtime best friend) and Virgil Abloh (Off-White designer and current Kanye creative director). With such a legendary cosign, clothes are the easy part: Comme, Raf, Rick, Pigalle, a strong in-house label, and more. But the hard part—the part that Don and Co. pull off with ease month after month—is the program of special collaborations and in-store visits from fashion and hip-hop legends. That means: Vintage rocker tees in collaboration with Fear of God. Camo BAPE x RSVP sweats. And a steady stream of appearances by the likes of Travis Scott, Kid Cudi, and dozens of other hitmakers who have all rocked with RSVP's signature Astro Boy statue. Go get your own Instagram jukin’ ASAP.—Mark Anthony Green
Concepts
The best part about Concepts? It doesn’t try to do too much. Sure, it carries apparel like Stüssy, John Elliott, and A Bathing Ape. But at its core it’s a no-nonsense sneaker shop. Yeezys, Visvim, Nikes, Jordans, Raf Simons Adidas, and the list goes on. When you pull up here, there's a 30 percent chance there will be a line of dehydrated kids camping out in front of the store for some hyped-up Nike drop. And a 100 percent chance that if there’s a highly coveted pair of kicks you’ve been eyeing, you can actually find them in your size.—Mark Anthony Green
Union L.A.
Nominated by Nick Young of the L.A. Lakers: “I don't usually like giving out my spots—a lot of people copycat these days. But Union in L.A. is dope. Definitely a go-to. They have a little bit of everything, from high fashion to streetwear. The best thing about that store, though, is that they don't water-down their buys. It's always just the good stuff.”
Xhibition
As a style-minded guy from the Midwest, I know the story too well: There's maybe one clothing store in town that gets it. And Cleveland, the land of LeBron and rock-’n’-roll superlatives, just welcomed Xhibition, a joint that most definitely gets it. All of it. Behind the future-fun-house showroom is a store that shimmies along the tightrope between high-concept and no-nonsense, without ever plummeting into the trying-too-hard abyss on either side. If you need to re-up on everyday staples, pull some Baldwin denim, John Elliott sweats, and Comme des Garçons sweaters off the racks. Or make the kids on the corner jealous with streetwear labels like FourTwoFour on Fairfax and a pair of Adidas x Raf Simons sneaks. Or just hang out, waiting for a Cavs player to show up and burn off a paycheck. Because what Xhibition does—and what big-city boutiques never can—is double as a clubhouse for every guy in town who also gets it. That's the kinda feeling that can make a Midwest boy proud.—Mark Anthony Green
Walter’s
Before there were high-concept streetwear-slash-sneaker stores, there was Walter’s. The guys who run this legendary institution in ATL don’t spend time perusing sneakerhead Instagrams. In fact, we’re not sure they have wifi at all. (Check out their site and you’ll see what we’re talking about.) Back when Michael Jordan still had hair, NBA ballers used to count down the days until they played the Hawks so they could go stock up on oversized Nikes, Reeboks, and Filas at Walter’s. And if the sneaker bubble ever bursts, Walter’s will probably be the last place standing. The staff here might not participate in the hype-machine around releases, but that doesn’t mean they don’t get the good shit. They do. And that’s because the sneaker companies themselves respect the OG’s. The rappers, athletes and dope-boys in Atlanta all share that respect. After one visit, you will too. Pro-tip: Ask to see the clearance section. When they take you to it, ignore the fact that it looks like a bunch of shredded sneaker boxes abandoned in a corner, because there are some killer retro deadstock kicks in there. Get to digging. Leave some for the next guy.—Mark Anthony Green
Ubiq
Don't let yourself get distracted by a store's razzle-dazzle when you're shopping for sneakers. Because the thing that separates kinda-cool sneaker stores from great sneaker stores isn't the glowing space-age interior design (why is there always glowing space-age interior design?), the swagginess of the staff, or the quality of the brand's inevitable in-house T-shirt brand. Nope, what separates the kinda-cool stores from the great ones is one thing only: Whether or not the shop has the pull with the big brands to get full size-runs of the hottest releases of any given year. Especially when that shop is located somewhere other than New York or LA. So the reason we love Ubiq, in Philly, is that simple: the store gets the releases that matter, from the Yeezy Boosts to the Air Jordan 1 Chicago, both of which were so coveted they had to be raffled off to hopeful customers. And while it's secondary to the quality of the product on the shelves, the other thing we appreciate about this store is that the dudes who work there aren't too cool to actually help you figure out which of the kicks on the shelf are right for you and your personal style. At Ubiq, anyway, Philly really does still feel like the City of Brotherly Love.—Jake Woolf
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