Hot men and cute clothes. What more could a girl ask for?

Bought this dress and LOVE the colors. Photo: Brooklyn Industries

The founders of Brooklyn Industries are geniuses. Not only do they have cute clothes at relatively affordable prices, but also they have hot men working at their stores. Even though Brooklyn Industries carries men’s and women’s clothing, the Chelsea location only had male salespeople working. Imagine trying on clothes and having handsome men complimenting you and telling you which dresses look best on you. My friend appreciated having the gay salesperson telling her that she looked fabulous and only had “good curves.”

Oh and their sizes run big, boosting your self confidence even more. Marketing geniuses.

Totally wanted to get this shirt but I didn't like the color. Photo: Brooklyn Industries

Brooklyn Industries are known for their graphic T-shirts, especially ones with the Brooklyn skyline. I personally thought the T-shirts were a little expensive ($30-$40), but the designs were unique. I also appreciate that the clothes are made in “environmentally friendly” factories (according to their website). I was actually impressed with their colorful designs and unique dress cuts. Luckily, you can order their clothes online and there’s free shipping on orders more than $150.  This could lead to an expensive shopping habit… I will be stopping by Brooklyn Industries on all future New York trips.

San Francisco has a lot of the same stores in New York, but there were a few more gems that I was able to visit. UNIQLO is a Japanese brand that makes casual clothes. They make good basic items in a variety of colors. They also have a higher-end, more expensive professional line too. I’d only been to UNIQLO in Shanghai and was shocked as how much bigger the NY store was. While you probably won’t find bold designs at UNIQLO, you’ll find high-quality clothes at affordable prices.

Continuing on my random Japanese stores in the U.S., I had to go to Muji. It’s like the Container Store on Japanese crack. They have kitchen items, stationary, clothing and furniture. Muji made me want to buy SO many things that I did not need. I walked out the store with a pill box and a camera case (I had four other items in my shopping cart that I put back).

Ever since my friend Mayka gave me Victoria Beckham’s “That Extra Half an Inch” aka fashion guide, I’ve wanted to go to Topshop. It was a disappointing trip and the store was underwhelming. Seriously, the clothes looked like Kanye West had thrown up fluorescent highlighter all over H&M clothing. Maybe, it was just this season’s clothing (I will try and give Topshop the benefit of the doubt), but I had a hard time believing that Posh Spice shopped in that store. For all you students out there, Topshop offers a 10% discount off all items (even sale items).

I only got to check out a little bit of Chelsea and Soho on this trip. Next time, I’d like to hit more boutique stores (and of course stop by Brooklyn Industries).