Despite being left off of our list of the Top Shops in New York City to Buy Raw Denim, in the three years since its opening, Brooklyn Denim Company has established itself as one of the premiere denim locations not only in New York, but also in the country.
The proprietors, Kenny and Frank, both come from backgrounds in the apparel industry and have combined their experience and knowledge to create the shop with customer service at the forefront of their mission. From the diverse denim selection to full service repair and alteration space, Brooklyn Denim Company, located in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, is a must-see for any denim enthusiast in the New York area.
Denim Offerings
The Brooklyn Denim Company offers an impressive array of denim choices that can fit any style or budget. They carry rare brands not seen in many retailers including Stronghold, 1st Standard, Japan Blue, and Momotaro as well as locally made “one offs” exclusive to Brooklyn Denim Company, and not seen online.
In addition to these unique offerings, they also stock some more traditional raw denim brands such as Tellason, 3Sixteen, and Levi’s Vintage Clothing. On a side note, I was actually told they have the largest selection of LVC in the country, including the Levi’s stores in San Francisco and New York.
They also stock some budget friendly options such as Unbranded, AG, and Kill City. Overall though, the denim selection is expansive and unique, enabling the extremely friendly and knowledgable staff to find a pair of jeans for any customer.
Also, in addition to mens denim, BDC carries an extensive selection of women’s denim, both selvedge and otherwise, as well as a carefully curated selection of apparel that includes Levi’s Vintage Clothing and Schott. In addition to these offerings, they also stock a limited selection of hand crafted, locally made, leather goods.
House Label
If the massive collection of denim brands wasn’t enough, Brooklyn Denim Company also has their own house-line of denim and t-shirts. For their own denim, they chose to keep things classic with no superfluous details-just a solid pair of jeans, one that can work for anybody.
Like this? Read these:
The jeans are crafted in the United States out of Cone Mills denim, in varying weights from a light 11.5oz, to a more standard 13-14oz. They are offered with both contrast and tonal stitching in a timeless slim-straight fit. In addition to the denim, they also offer t-shirts in multiple colors that are extremely soft and also made in the USA of organic cotton.
Though they have stuck to the basics – namely jeans and t-shirts – they are looking to expand their offerings in the future. The house label has provided Brooklyn Denim Company an outlet to combine the denim knowledge and experience that they have gained over the years into creating pair of their own jeans.
Repairs and Alterations
Attached to their retail location, the Brooklyn Denim Company has its own space to repair and alter denim, as well as other clothing. They employ many talented seamstresses that enable BDC to perform any repair or alteration, from a simple chain stitch hem to a full crotch blow out, they can do it all.
Repairs are also done on a single needle machine, rather than darned. This allows the repairer to exert greater care in matching the fade patterns in the denim and ensure repairs look as natural as possible. In addition, the knowledgable staff guarantees your denim will be treated and repaired with care, as they are able to oversee the repair and alterations happening next door.
Interestingly enough as well, the space allows the BDC to quickly make up samples of their own denim before going off for large scale production and also experiment with new denim patterns.
Disclosure: We were recently invited to tour Brooklyn Denim Company at their Williamsburg Brooklyn location at 85 N 3rd St. A special thank you to Frank and Kenny, and especially Junior, for inviting us to check out the shop and explore the products.
As they continue to expand their offerings and the people behind the scenes are genuine, kind, and extremely knowledgable, we hope to see them continue to grow as a brand and as a shop.
It goes without saying that BDC is a must-see for anybody interested in denim in the New York area, so be sure to check them out. If you have any personal experiences with BDC, we invite you to leave your comments below.
