There is a ton of shopping to do in and around Austin, and plenty of stores carry reputable brands and trendy styles, but there are only a few local boutiques that go above and beyond to provide the best menswear, streetwear and high-end designer offerings.

Story by Rylan Henderson

Photos by Grayson Rosato

ORANGE Magazine visited several storefronts and spoke to owners and managers to get the scoop on the different brands, specialty accounts and hard-to-find goods that make their businesses unique and well worth a visit. In no particular order, here are some of our favorite shops for Austin’s most fashionable men.

STAG – Provisions for Men 

Curated American style that tells a story.

In the heart of South Congress, flanked on all sides by legendary Austin eateries and music venues, lies an equally storied menswear shop that you might have already heard about in discussion of the best men’s shops in the country. Stag, founded in 2009, has quickly established itself as a heavy hitter not just in the Austin fashion sphere, but the national scene as well, and for good reason. The ultra-curated men’s shop set out from day one with an intense focus on excellent variety and the highest quality, and has not strayed from that path by an inch. Stag is home to a veritable mountain of  today’s best casual menswear accounts in addition to a special curated collection of vintage furniture, accessories and home goods, along with unique pieces from local artisans and crafters. In short, the upscale boutique pulls no punches when it comes to delivering the best of what their customers want.

Walking into Stag is like stepping into someone’s private collection, with the inventory set out and displayed in a decidedly personal way. When asked about the mannequins and shop displays, one sales rep says that everything in the store is “laid out to tell a story, little vignettes that help the customer get ideas or make decisions.”  He goes on to say that nothing is sorted out by brand or category, there’s no “Levi’s section” or “outerwear rack.” Everything is organized according to a particular image or style. For example, one display might carry an old-school motorcycle theme while another might play more with western wear.

Although Stag certainly has a distinct penchant for denim, leather and Americana, there is something in store for just about everyone. The back wall is lined with offerings from some of the most acclaimed raw denim manufacturers like Rogue Territory and Imogene & Willie, while the front of the store has leather jackets and wool coats from Schott and RRL on prominent display. Dispersed throughout the store is a treasure trove of jackets, sweaters, shirting, trousers and accessories from brands like Levi’s Made & Crafted, Penfield, Faherty and many more.  The staff are quick to make special note of a relatively new-to-Stag brand called Universal Works, founded by a former British coal miner, as a slight change of pace from the more abundant American workwear. Cabinets under the counter store an impressive selection of coffee table books and artwork, while a glass case on top houses a variety of new and vintage specs and shades. Various shelves hoist sneakers, boots, luxury grooming products, home goods and jewelry into the air around the entire space.  

Be you an Austin millennial looking for the latest Americana trend, a distinguished gentleman in search of the highest quality menswear or even just a passer-by who can appreciate the finer things, Stag is one South Congress spot you don’t want to miss on your next day trip downtown.

Private Stock 

Bringing the latest streetwear home to Dirty 6th

If you know one thing about the streetwear brands of today, it’s how insanely hard it is to get your hands on particular items. Brands like Supreme or Bathing Ape sell out in seconds. Thanks to the limited-release business model, once a particular piece is gone, it’s gone for good for most people. That is, unless you know about a privately owned shop on 6th Street with connections to today’s hottest brands.

Enter Private Stock, Austin’s one and only stop to pick up the newest and most coveted releases from brands like Bathing Ape, The Hundreds, Tackma, Billionaire Boys Club and legendary NYC skate brand Supreme. This isn’t a consignment shop either. Everything in store is brand new, straight from one of Private Stocks accounts with the brands or, in the case of the shop’s wide selection of Supreme pieces, from owner Donnie Alfred and his extensive connections. Alfred’s list of buyers and plugs includes direct links to Supreme’s iconic Los Angeles shop, meaning Private Stock gets select, private access to a limited amount of each Supreme release. “There just isn’t another place like us in town right now,” says one of Private Stocks’s employees and Supreme buyers. “We’re actually out here on the street, not in some mall. 6th Street is like Fairfax or Lafayette for us, because we’re actually in the middle of the events and a part of the culture.”

So if you ever strike out and need to get your hands on a piece from the most recent drop, or just want to link up with Austin’s premier location for today’s most hyped brands, stop by Private Stock and see what’s good.

Service Menswear

“Always affordable, sometimes luxurious” is the 25-year-old formula for serving Austin’s everyman.

Tucked behind Hopdoddy Burger Bar on South Congress, is a small, no frills shop that doesn’t carry much in the way of designer clothing or streetwear. This shop, Service Menswear, has one thing in mind for its customers: value.

Service is approaching its 25 year anniversary, making it the oldest shop on our list. From this fact alone, you might start to better understand the consistency and expertise that stand behind the operation.  Kirk Haines, founder and owner of Service, gives us a peek at his approach to providing the clothing that the everyday guy in Austin wants to be wearing. “We really strive to be unpretentious, you know?” says Haines. “We try and serve the regular guys, so we have a sort of mantra for the store. ‘Affordable, but sometimes luxurious.’ Value per dollar is the biggest thing for us.” Haines says that most of their customers come in with some idea of what they want. Service simply provides some really great options at a variety of price points, most of which fall into the affordable category, but with a few selections that lean towards luxurious.

The buyers for Service go to stockist shows a few times a year in order to curate the selection. According to them, Service is the place to go for raw denim in Austin, with top tier pickings from Levi’s, Naked and Famous, and Japanese denim mill Kato. However, be sure to also check out some new, more obscure labels like Australian surf brand Banks Journal or San Francisco label Mollusk. “We try to have a good stock of things that maybe you didn’t even know you wanted,” says Haines as he pulls a Velva-Sheen tee off the rack, “But we always make sure it’s still in line with our ideas of value and style.”

Service is a great spot to pick up some basics or maybe upgrade some pieces in your wardrobe, and Kirk Haines with his expert staff of buyers and store employees will make sure you leave feeling like you got just what you came for.

By George – The Men’s Shop

Austin’s gold standard for luxury shopping continues to bring the utmost in high-end fashion.

For Austin’s sartorial elite there is only one place in town that provides a suitable connection to the international fashion stage. ByGeorge is the height of high-end, exclusive and luxury fashion straight from the runways of New York, Paris, Milan and more. If you saw it at fashion week, be on the lookout for it to hit displays at 6th and Lamar streets.

ByGeorge is an Austin institution through and through, having moved from its early location in Dobie Mall down to 6th and Lamar, and then opening another location right in the middle of South Congress. The Men’s Shop at its headquarters location on 6th, while attached to the larger womenswear and home goods storefront, operates as a unique entity with its own accounts and curated selection. Everything in store is top of the line, as it carries the latest seasons from acclaimed designers like Raf Simons for Calvin Klein 205W39NYC, Anthony Vaccarello for Saint Laurent Paris or Dries Van Noten for his own eponymous label. ByGeorge doesn’t stop with the latest and greatest however, as they employ a particularly renowned vintage watch collector to make sure a glass case is always brimming with vintage Rolex, Omega and Cartier timepieces, as well as vintage leather goods from Goyard Paris. In addition to these unique collections, ByGeorge works with various brands and manufacturers to design exclusive collections for its store, such as Alden for ByGeorge.     

The Men’s Shop proper is actually only a one-off location, but the SoCo location still offers a healthy selection of menswear labels, including brands like Undercover that you will be hard pressed to find anywhere else in a 200 mile radius. Beyond the store’s normal operations is a constantly rotating schedule of sales, trunk shows, book signings and parties, many of which feature additional stock or deals.

ByGeorge is a local Austin boutique that rivals the best shops in the world in terms of selection, quality and customer service. Be sure to stop by if you are ever in the market for luxury clothes, footwear or jewelry. You won’t leave disappointed.