Little Nolitas Everywhere

"“It’s literally a carbon copy of what’s in Nolita,” she said. “The exact same stores!” Her friend, the manager of Sézane just down the block, noticed it as well. Wherever there’s a Clare V, there’s likely to be a Sézane nearby, they noted, along with a Tacombi."

"“On a recent trip to Williamsburg to visit her boyfriend’s Kent Street barbershop, she noticed the growing collection of stores mirroring the scene on Elizabeth Street.” The strip attracts a lot of locals - and tourists - who are looking for what she calls “niche brands and products” and, more than anything, to find something outside of the mainstream shopping experience."

"“Over the past decade, a new generation of retail brands - including shops like Clare V. that got their start online - have branched out from their Elizabeth Street origins and multiplied across the city.” Of course, you won’t find them on mall-brand shopping corridors like Manhattan’s 34th Street or Fulton Street in Downtown Brooklyn."

"“Instead, these chains have congregated in stylish shopping strips like Bleecker Street in the West Village and Cobble Hill’s Bergen Street - corridors that have a distinctly ‘neighborhood’ feel and attract younger shoppers with plenty of cash and a taste for (mildly) adventurous fashion.” There are now little Nolitas everywhere."

Clare V. accessories shop on Elizabeth Street in Nolita is known for niche, tightly curated boutiques that attract locals and tourists seeking alternatives to mainstream shopping. The longtime manager has noticed similar stores appearing elsewhere, including Williamsburg, where the same brands and even nearby equivalents show up. Other managers observe the pattern as well, with clusters forming around certain flagship locations. Over the past decade, retail brands that began online or as small local shops have expanded across the city. These mini-chains avoid traditional mall corridors and instead concentrate on stylish neighborhood streets with a distinct local feel and younger shoppers, creating multiple “little Nolitas” in different areas.

Read at Curbed