Gothic Renissance

• Cost:$$$
• Address: 110 4th Ave, New York, NY 10003

Gothic Renaissance is a goth clothing, accessory, and shoe shop that has been running for around 20 years. It features an assortment of popular goth-brands that I have only been able to see online which is a major plus for me, but it isn’t the best place to go for my dark-inclinded gothic dreams. Gothic Renaissance is here as almost a dishonorable mention when it comes to places I visit in New York City. People might know the store right next door, Halloween Adventure Shop. Well I can confirm with a decent amount of certainty that each store sells almost the same exact things. The only difference is the Halloween Adventure Shop is far cheaper, and doesn’t hide their cheapness with a veneer of black and red paint.

But it’s not all doom and gloom for this famous shop. Tucked in the back with 1-2 attendants is their fairly expansive corset section. In this spot a person is able to be measured for a good corset fit, fitted into my selection of corsets, given advice on how best to wear the pieces, and custom tailored advice on which fit would be best. While the price of corsets vary, I have found the general price to be at the same price point as other similarly high-quality brands. For a beginner, this shop could be a godsend as to prevent things like discomfort from poor fitting, maintaining upwards of a 10 year lifespan for the corsets purchased, and accurate measurements that you can use to find clothes else-wear. If you want gothic clothing and accessories, this isn’t the place. But if you want custom fitted corsets that are properly priced, this is the perfect place. I just save the accessory-searching for Halloween at a pop-up Spirit Halloween, and I spend money on the high-quality gear here at Gothic Renaissance.

...Be warned though, the staff can be kind of rude and or tone-deaf, even if they are very knowledgeable on all things gothic clothing.

Nintendo New York

• Cost:$-$$$
• Address: 10 Rockefeller Plaza, New York, NY 10020

Unlike a lot of the shops I list here, I rarely go to the Nintendo Store to spend money. But whenever I am in New York City I always check out this location. This is because of the events they hold, like when they allowed the public to try the Nintendo Switch 2 in-store for the first time. This store also has displays for the Nintendo Switch where you can test some of their currently released games. The Nintendo Store is also good for finding exclusive merch of Nintendo's most popular IP’s that you cant get anywhere else including plushies, bags, shirts, and home-wear. It’s also very close to the train station, so I commonly go just because it’s usually on the way to everything I want to see. So whenever I am in the city and in the mood to decorate my home in Nintendo gear, this is where I go.

BOOKOFF New York

• Cost:$$
• Address: 49 W 45th St, New York, NY 10036

BOOKOFF is the Japans largest chain of used book stores. Having expanded to 860 stores domestically and worldwide, BOOKOFF has reached the US to open a store in New York City. This store is 3 stories tall with an expansive collection of used English books, manga, video games, CDs, DVDs, Blu-Rays, figurines, and other pieces of anime merchandise. The store sees a lot of foreign visitor foot traffic, which means that I happen across unique imported items frequently. On the first floor you can get the figurines, manga, merch, and video games. On the second floor you can find all of the english books, and on the basement floor is where you find the DVDs, CDs, and Blu-Rays.

The figures range from cheap and barely clothed, to expensive and barely clothed. There are some diamonds in the rough when it comes to the figures on display, but if you don’t want a girl covered in around a swimsuit’s length outfit you’re going to be very out of luck. Unless you want Goku or Hatsune Miku figurines, in which you will have the best chance of finding someone in more than a one piece.

The DVD and CD selection is their most expansive, and my favorite part. They have a good horror selection at any given time in it’s designated area. The only downside is since this is a store that targets anime fans, the selection of anime-media in these mediums tends to be expensive. It can be the difference between spending $6 and $46, but if you stay focused on more western media releases you can reduce the amount you spend.

Videogames New York

• Cost:$$-$$$
• Address: 110 4th Ave, New York, NY 10003

Videogames New York is one of my favorite vintage shops when it comes to specializing in vintage consoles and vintage console repair. Through console repair, it makes it so that I can maintain the life of my currently owned consoles for years to come. This reduces the e-waste I could have produced otherwise by just throwing away a console that needed just a bit of TLC. The shop also offers up re-shelled consoles, which is when you take apart the case of a console and replace it with another in different colors.

Besides repair, this store has an excellent vintage console selection including consoles such as the NES, Sega Genesis, Playstation 1, Dreamcast, and more. They also have games for every console imaginable, including games that never were removed from their factory seal. The prices are very mixed when it comes to affordability. By being both in NYC and having a large selection, the prices can be far more expensive than local used game stores in CT. But there’s not many other stores with their level of selection, which is why I generally check out Videoames New York when I am in the area.

Enzs NYC

• Cost:$$-$$$
• Address: 76 E 7th St, New York, NY 10003

Being open for around 50 years, Enz NYC is a rockabilly boutique now located on the east side. For me, Enzs is the type of shop that I love but that has also been dying off for awhile. Rockabilly boutiques are far harder to come by, as major brands have closed in recent years and the style in general has tapered in popularity. But I’m still a devout fan, and there is enough fans out in this world for Enzs to still be kicking. Enzs not only hosts some of my favorite current Rockabilly brands, but also has items sewn in-house! This is a major sustainability win, as items sewn outside of major companies commonly uses natural fibers over polyester, uses less resources to produce, and allows me to support small local businesses far more greatly. Kudos to the owner, she’s a very kind and knowledgeable woman. Unfortunately the store has a strict no-photograph policy, so here’s a picture of of the bathing suit I bought as a sample for the type of things this store sells.