Nom de Guerre

SAD SAD DAY.
Tried to go yesterday and the entrance was literally cemented over. I suppose this was inevitable given not only the semi-​secret entrance but the construction that has been vibrating this block over the past year.
I went into the swatch store next door and found out it closed a few months ago.
Evidently, Opening Ceremony is now selling there leftover stock.
RIP.
I am also extremely curious what is down there now and how you get there. Is the space just empty and permanently closed over?

On a mission to find some more seasonally-​appropriate footwear from my personal fashion diva, I struck out for the recommended canvas sneakers I didn’t own yet. Finding Nom de Guerre on Unilocal Mobile after discovering that Classickicks had closed was like pulling out a faded, folded treasure map from a dusty tome.
What is this place? Where is it? And why does the address lead us to a seemingly residential building with unmarked buzzer buttons — none of which were labeled Nom de Guerre?
It figures… I should have read the reviews in more detail; the instructions on obtaining access were spelled out. Look for the spray painted sign on the corner of Broadway and Bleecker. Walk down the sketchy steps. Enter the immediate first door on your right. We made the mistake of walking down to the end of the Sunnydale High basement Hellmouth entrance-​y hallway.
As one might expect from a speakeasy apparel boutique, prices are high. Items (of various lines, but I was most excited about some sexy Band of Outsiders shirts) are ultra-​luxe. And shoe selection included various styles of SeaVees, downstairs. My reaction: «Ooh, cute shoes!» Upon picking them up to check out the price, like a good little Asian, the reaction changed to, «Ew, expensive shoes.» Oddly, not everything was price-​tagged, and the ones that were had differing prices. The only thing that was consistent was that they were all out of my typical budget for shoes.
Heading back up the stairs, I figured I’d inquire about the actual price for the pair that I was eyeing the most, and at that point the clerks informed me that –everything– downstairs was half priced. Um… slicing off over $ 60 on a pair of duds? That same Asianness in me thought, «Squee!»
Doubt I could reasonably afford their regularly-​priced items, but for the sale floor downstairs, I’d definitely drop in every so often to peek around for more «Squee!» scores.

This was another store worth visiting just for the experience. I bought an interesting band of outsiders belt here, a suspender strap converted into a belt… Don’t forget to check downstairs where there might be sales. And on that note, when I bought the belt I did not know it was on sale until I got to the register. So I’m not sure if they even advertise their sales or what is on sale, you may want to ask.

Used to be a fresh spot to pick up some gear.

I meandered into this place more so out of curiosity after checking out a near by store. I really do not get the recent rash of secretive/​hidden restaurants and stores. Why have a store on Broadway and make it very hard to find? I guess people cooler then me dig this kind of thing.
The clothing is very cool, but incredibly overpriced unless you are trust fund kid or get it on sale. Are that many people in NYC currently buying $ 300 jeans? Also their sizing is horrible. They had a really cool suit jacket that I wanted to get, and I tried on an X-​Large, but it was super tight. If you are buying a $ 700 suit it should have proper suit sizing (44,46, 48 etc), not a Large or X Large. Secondly I normally wear a Large from most stores so unless I gained 20lbs in the past couple of says an X-​Large should be to big.

This place is not mythical. It’s real. Unbeknownst to me, there IS actually a copy shop downstairs so the outside sign is legit. If you open the first door to your right after descending the stairs, you will enter a store notorious for its clean lines and minimalist look. If you are lucky, you will be notified in the Winter of their annual sale, where many items from the previous season are priced at 50% off. Indifferent is how you will find the attitude of staff. Polished is how you will look walking out after your purchase. Even Steve Erkel would get laid in this garb.

I’ve been wrestling with writing a review for quite some time. Nom de Guerre is on my personal list of places I’d rather not Unilocal about because I’d rather not see you mouth-​breathing in the somewhat hidden basement store.
The cool factor alone, of walking down a nondescript flight of stairs at the corner of Broadway makes this place great. But then you get inside and are confronted with some awesome clothing, you can’t go wrong.
Just promise you won’t tell anybody…

HOO MY GOSH, 70% OFF SUMMER SALE!!!
I bought my most favorite jeans with a price tag of $ 235 for only SEVENTY BUCKS!
great store, im glad its away from the public eye.
Friendly staff and very cool, minimilistic designs.
I will surely be back for the next 70% off sale :-]

I have mixed feeling about NDG. Located in an underground bunker that used to be a meeting place for the Black Panthers, NDG is nearly impossible to find (despite being located right on one of the busiest street in Manhattan). Once you enter, the store is sparse. The sub-​basement stocks essentials from BoO, W&H, Ervell, etc. (However, if you know what those acronyms stand for, you probably don’t need this review :)) However, it is really the house brand that is the star of this show. In my opinion, NDG does two things really well: outerwear and denim. Outerwears, including their iconic M-​65, are exceptionally well made with subtle details and nteresting fabrics (if a bit boring, because, really, how outlandish can an M-​65 or peacoat be?) The denim are cut in ways reminiscent of APC’s NS, except with higher quality denim. More recently, the store has introduced a few new fabrics including the oxford and «reverse» denim (both spectacular). That said, the quality does not come cheap; retails for outerwear are usually 800 and up, and for jeans around $ 250. (You can get them at a substantial discount if you try hard enough, just don’t ask me for my source ;))

Let’s be honest, Nom de Guerre’s location and setup are great. I love the irony that its right across from Atrium, yet remains inaccessible to many of the stores patrons, who haven’t a clue this store even exists. The staff are quiet and let you shop without hassle, but if you have questions or are looking for a specific size, they are quick to answer and will do their best to find what you are looking for. If you need an opinion, you will get one. The prices are creeping higher, either because of the weak dollar or to make more money, which of course I don’t like! It seems they are being stocked by more online sources and even though their f/​w stuff was just released, they are already out of some sizes in specific items, which I’m not sure is because of the other stockists or simply because the items sold like hot cakes. Downstairs is always rotating between relevant, contemporary designers and will sometimes contain last season items greatly marked down. Simply put: great atmosphere, excellent design, but, as to be expected… high prices and limited quantities.

Nom de Guerre is the speakeasy of men’s clothing.
The store is, as a speakeasy should be, hidden.
Right across the trendy clothing store Atrium, on the corner of Broadway and Bleecker, is a humble looking stairway leading to the basement. There is a sign right outside of it telling you that downstairs is a printing store (clever trick or over labored effort?). Although there is a graffiti of the store’s name on the pavement, had you not known of store Nom De Guerre beforehand, you would have just assumed that the graffiti was one more work of street art in SoHo.
Going down the stairs, A. and I were first met with … (surprise!) a basement complete with cinder blocks, flickering lights, puddle of dirty water, and graffiti. But A., having been here before, knew that the store was behind the unmarked door.
Inside was a tiny and sparsely decorated space. As we enter, I immediately realize that there’s no air conditioning inside– just a large industrial fan whirling away. There are two floors, with the lower one being the one with marked-​down items. There’s only one person on staff, and he looks up at us as we enter, greet us, and allows us to browse without being bothered. Well, it’s really only A. who is doing the browsing.
Of the two of us, A. is the only one who could shop here because Nom De Guerre is a men’s clothing shop with goods way above my price range.
I look through the stuff, mostly out of curiosity, and I turn around to tell A. that I actually really like the clothes here. After all, a speakeasy isn’t a speakeasy based on its in-​the-​know attitude alone– a crappy secret is… a crappy secret. But Nom De Gurre is more remarkable for the quality of its goods, rather than any attempts at secrecy.
The clothes here simple and smart. From the limited color palette (white, black, gray, and sometimes blue or brown) to the sparse designs, the clothes at Nom De Guerre attest to the aesthetics of simplicity. Because I’ve always had disdain for visually loud and overly trendy designs, I was impressed how the clothing here was both simple, clean, and yet undeniably trendy.
And let’s not kid ourselves, I found myself very much attracted to the well-​dressed mannequins, despite their not having faces (or perhaps more so?).

Let the stars not fool you. This can deserve 5 stars, but read on and you will find out why I gave it 4. It is expensive and Warning: Its guys only.
Go here is you want to drape yourself into something that even. japanese people will ask you, «Where did you get that shit from?». Thats when you know you bought the right stuff, because New Yorkers you may think you stretch fashion to the limit, but land on Honshu and you will find how nihonjin people are a century ahead of us. Stats: Halloween in kawasaki makes New York’s fashion parade look like a kid’s gathering gone wrong, and Tokyo has more Michelin raved French Restaurants than New York and (GET THIS) even Paris!!!
Back to the Store: To finally find this store, feels like an accomplishment in new York. A fantastic place known to few, tucked in the basement of one of the busiest intersections for shop-​aholics in new york.
On Broadway and bleeker. Across the street from the fish market called Atrium, there is the Swatch store. There are some stairs going down next to the Swatch store and on the floor you will find the words «Print Shop». Take the stairs down and turn right into a shop which becomes eerily quiet and the sales man never smiles. But carry on and you may be rewarded for your courage.
The ‘Name of War” is a weird name for a store which is japanese, but for the japanese I believe such strange names are normal for their voracious apetite to be unique, even in the slightest of details.
2 floors designed like 2^nd World War bunkers and you will find plenty of examples like big olive trunks (i mean army storage trunks not under wears) from that era. The first section is devoted to Nom De Guerres own collection. True to its name, the colour and the texture of fabrics, the cuts and the design of the coats and jackets, have a hint of army couture in it. But they are some very well done pieces and they fit you very well. The thing about this place is that they take normal, popular New York street attre like over-​coats, hoodies, and even suits and use such good fabrics and cut them in such a trendy way that its neither very casual and never very formal. But as I said before, people will ask you, «where did you buy this from?» The first floor also has English boots and shoes.
The Basement of this basement store is devoted to limited edition casual shoes and to the best selction of no-​nonsense trendy designers: Rogan, Surface to Air Paris, A.P.C., Commes de Garsons and some others.
prices: T-​shirts range from 75 – 200 or more
sport jackets; 200 – 400 or more
hoodies: 200 – 700
shirts: 150 – 300
coats: 300+ usually average around 500. can go up to 800
shoes: 200+
sweaters: average 300.
The sales people can be cold. But ignore that if you can. They will talk to you when you speak to them, but they will not be all over you. They are not rude; but not friendly either. And sometimes I like places like that as compared to the supermarkets like Atrium where are people flock like flies and the salesmen and women are all over, asking you what do you need a hundred times over. Leave me alone man, especially if I am spending a few hundred bucks.
The fitting rooms are large and the mirrors are huge. The rooms are well lit. So you get a good vew of what you are buying without the added pressure.
Now for the very important part. It matters when you go to this place. If you are looking to buy good fall stuff, you have to go in August. By October everything is gone, and they do not get any new pieces. Same for spring. Get it in january.

i’ve had it for this place for a few years — never able to access their fine goods from across the country. it was one of those dream boutiques i knew i’d always want to at least walk around in. when my friend was walking me through NOHO, i had no assumptions on what it would look like, so i was more than pleasantly surprised to discover you had to walk down an almost unmarked stairwell into what looks like a subway access tunnel to get inside. that just reeks of elitism, and not in a way that annoys me.
perusing the racks, i found some amazing cardigans, some surface 2 air gear i knew i needed, and some slip-​on vans look-​alikes that were pretty much asking for me by name. and that wasn’t all. there are two floors of some of the best in men’s fashion in this store. and men aren’t given the chance to have fun with fashion all too often. i walked out of nom de guerre feeling like i was «in the know», especially now that i own something from the store itself, not found on e-​bay and possibly fake.
what made the experience better, for me, was the shop received a phone call as i was looking at their amazing wallets in the glass case. i overheard the guy behind the counter say something like, «no, that’s our address, you just have to find it.» i felt like i knew what was up.

This store is just super-​cool. The space is tricky and hard to find in a speak-​easy way and the things they carry are exquisite. It is indeed very expensive but they have a great selection of Comme des Garcons wallets that they don’t have at the store. Good boyfriend shooping.

This is for their SoHo store, couldn’t find a listing for it…
First of all if you didn’t know where Nom is it’s almost impossible to find. I had to ask the guy at Atrium and thankfully he knew where they were… They are underground, right at the corner. There were 2 levels, top level with some NDG stuff, pretty pricey, underneath I saw a rack by Spruce, they didn’t have hoodies, unfortunately… they got some APC stuff there and probably wing&horn too, I didn’t have time to check everything… I love their Spruce stuff, super high quality… One of these days I need to check their Williamsburgh shop to pick up a few slim fit hoodies… I wonder if they would ship them to me… it’s a pain to fly to NYC from Cali just to shop…

Who says boys can’t look good too?
Co-​Owner, Isa Salaabi’s got a winner on his hands. With two locations and a fantastic selection of exclusive duds from some of the hottest indie designers around like Surface 2 Air, Kenzo Minami, Rogan, and Nom de Guerre’s own label, any aspiring fashion icon will be well served here. Hard to find kicks are also available.

Gentleman… My god, start your engines. Nom de Guerre is a must for any male who is fashionable or at least, dreams of being so. Offering serious indie, hot, sexy, up and coming, compltely fantastic, subversive designers from Rogan to Surface 2 Air and Kenzo — there isn’t anything «cool» you won’t find here.
I’m a chick and still love to browse for longer than I should in the store’s open, pristine and large space. I love to feel the delicious fabrics, to ogle the awesome and often delicate designs… The price point is way beyond the chain stores, but that’s the price one pays for often one of kind or limited edition clothing.
My god. I sound like a fashionista, but I’m really not. I’m a jeans and American Apparel tee type of gal. I guess my reaction to Nom De Guerre just goes to show how amazing the store is — turning fashion flakes, into fashion stars within one purchase. Sweet.