Dover Street Market New York — Local services in New York

What was once a place to discover niche and establishing designers is now simply a place to buy established brands found across the web. Sure, some exclusives exist. These exclusives are typically unique patterns/prints, not exquisite one offs from the runway. They’re from Prada, not Andreas Grossi. They don’t make a splash and even the Kiko Kostadinov pieces were lackluster.

I love Raf and Miuccia together, but they have a measly half rack while Balenciaga has a security guard post with practically a whole floor. The Walter buy is boring and predictable. Priorities are on big ticket items for the easy-to-please. I can’t blame them, easy money is easy money, but in 2022 this place must now be a beacon for NYC. It is not.

With losing Opening Ceremony, Totokaelo, 10 Corso Como, Words-Smith, and Barney’s the past two years - NYC is sort of desolate for places where thoughts and commerce converge. In hindsight maybe DSM was never as transgressive as I considered it originally to be, but it FELT rebellious and groundbreaking. It FELT like I was walking into somewhere unique. It’s not just that I’ve grown, it’s that DSM doesn’t seem to have.

The curation and merchandising in 2022 hasn’t progressed to include many young designers establishing themselves throughout the pandemic. It doesn’t include many NYC designers or independent American studios. What makes the London DSM store a tad more unique is their investment in UK designers and different categories like vintage books and art editions. The cafe is more accessible too. Now lacking a space for an expansive vision of retail, where are young American designers and artists going to turn? Probably LA, which right now is in much better shape than NYC on thought commerce. The LA DSM is even worse than NYC, somehow. And I hear from friends that working for DSM isn’t a positive experience so I can’t feel good about supporting them even if I did see items I wanted.

I’m not saying these things because I hate DSM. I want DSM to be the best it can be despite also functioning as a capitalistic venture. The racks haven’t moved since I last visited in 2019, and the clothing doesn’t appear to reflect Spring 2022 just yet. Maybe they’re hurting fiscally, but I’m more inclined to believe they’re not putting in the effort to source and accommodate new work. It’s easier to rely on the crowds rabid for hype (and now fairly stale) brands like Supreme, Gucci, and Balenciaga. There is, however, a lovely new display of archival JPG.

Thank you Courtney for leaving a quick and courteous comment about asking for a tour of exclusives next I’m in. I do know my way around the store so didn’t think to ask, BUT will next time. Perhaps there is a secret room with exclusives I don’t know about from underrepresented designers? Thanks for reading - hoping this space lives up to its potential in 2023.

2023 update: With vignettes that have changed little in years, designers that have grown stale, typically boring buys, and even upstart brands reaching $700-800 for a top - I can’t help but wonder who buys anything here. The employees here are staid and uninterested in supporting your hunt for a garment. All in all, a great institution in other cities dumbed down in the USA. The LA store fares only slightly better due to how much space there is to wander.

2024 update: The experience shopping brands at DSM nyc is better online. DSM should relocate and reprogram their nyc store, it’s a watered down variation of London and the LA store. Primarily, they’re peddling hypbeast leaning drivel masquerading as apparel. I sorely miss opening ceremony and totokaelo. IF SoHo and Vibskov boutique are now the only clothing must visits when I come to nyc… DSM has lost me entirely here. Props tho to the retail manager responding to every review here. Shows they’re...

Walking inside, those who aren't aware of what the store has to offer and are love affordably will welcomed by a unique store with interesting clothing installation and setup. However, when climbing further to each of the seven floors, the experience quickly becomes other-worldly to the casual shopper. In passing, you may question the connections staff possess to even be given a position of employment. In that same thought, you may even question how much they paid to work here. With each advancing floor, you may quickly reconsider even looking at the socks. Oh, and be honest with yourself--if you have to ask for the price, you can't afford it.

In all seriousness, Dover Street is a high-end clothing store offering only the most premium products of premium brands. The first two floors may only be within the everyday shopper's budget, but every guest with even the slightest interest should browse everything. As others have mentioned, security and staff workers who are all tasked with being attentive to their surroundings are present. But with a business selling brands like Gucci that have t-shirts at $5,000, this shouldn't remotely be surprising. During my recent experience here, my group of four all carried in backpacks. Employees were more attentive to us, yet with how easy shoplifting could be, it only made sense, and this did not in any regards make us feel unwanted or targeted for any...

I love this place, and I’ve been here multiple times before. Everyone is so nice, but because of my age I don’t seem to be treated like others. Today, I went to the mezzanine section of the store and asked the lady working the desk about what palace pieces she had in stock. She pulled out the computer and she let me know they had the Ralf lauren collection in stock. I was so happy I was literally going to spend all of my 360 dollars I had on me. She said that they didn’t have any where she was, but I saw the cabinet next to her had plenty of clothing in it through the mirror. Now, I understand that whatever I had requested may have not been in the cabinet, but after I mentioned it to my friend she quickly closed the door. Across the way, in the 2nd floor balcony a man with a “Walkie-Talkie” called her and shook his head like he was mad at her. Than she said she was sorry and that they didn’t have any available. I was and still am upset because I actually had my hopes up. I like this place so much but YOU WILL be profiled and treated differently depending on what you’re wearing, look like and how old you are. However, I could always be wrong and there could’ve been an inventory issue, but I do stand by what I say when I mean “you will...