Wander off the Main Street

Main Streets are the like 'beaten tracks' of shopping. This month, take a little wander down the little lanes and roads behind the scenes and discover some real shopping gems. We have found some of our favourite Unchained stores by exploring the side streets in different parts of New York. It makes sense really, if you're after something different, look in a different spot. And don't forget to tell us if you find any great shops that aren't already on the site - you could win a bottle of bubbly.



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Soula Shoes (Boerum Hill) Fashion

Rick Lee is the owner and general manager of Soula. His retail career started over 25 years ago in college, folding shirts and jeans at The Gap in Harvard Square. After that, he spent a number of years in various buying positions at Charles Jourdan and Charivari, a cutting edge retailer in New York. On to Barneys New York, where Rick was the buyer and then divisional merchandise manager of men’s shoes and accessories. He logged a lot of miles going back and forth to Italy and had tons of fun doing it; the pasta and espresso weren’t bad either. Oh, and he found some pretty amazing product for the stores, also. But then Julia was born and leaving home became less fun. This led to a stint at Cole Haan, as director of merchandising for the G Series collection, which re-awoke his passion for retail. Cut to moving the family to Brooklyn and a ‘for rent’ sign at 185 smith street, and the rest is history, sort of.

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Project No. 8 (Chinatown) Fashion

Mostly European one-of-a-kind pieces. Vintage finds. Collaborative Projects.

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A Cook's Companion (Cobble Hill) Home & Garden

A Cook's Companion was voted best overall cookware store in New York City by Zagat Marketplace in 2007.

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Dave's Quality Meat (East Village) Fashion

Dave's Quality Meat is the most innovative sneaker store in New York. Clothes and bags hang from meat hooks, t-shirts are kept in a refrigerator and sneakers are wraped up in brown paper like they’re bought in a butcher shop. And they present Nike and Adidas exclusive releases.

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