clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

Amanda Kain's Off-the-Beaten-Path Store Is Literally Named Obscura

Racked is no longer publishing. Thank you to everyone who read our work over the years. The archives will remain available here; for new stories, head over to Vox.com, where our staff is covering consumer culture for The Goods by Vox. You can also see what we’re up to by signing up here.

New York City has more stores than anyone could physically tackle, but somehow we always keep returning to the usual suspects. To break out of the rut, we've asked some of the city's shopping and fashion gurus to provide their hidden retail gems—those unique stores around our fantastic island (and beyond) that we might not all know about. Cue The Beatles: We're about to get a little help from our friends.


Photo via NYC Metblogs

This time around, we have Amanda Kain, the founder behind ultra-luxe Kain Label who single-handedly created the perfect tee for every girl with her signature cashmere-modal fabric blend. She tells us why one of the most obscure East Village jaunts keeps her coming back for more: "I have a mild obsession with Obscura Antiques & Oddities in the East Village. It's a tiny store that is jam-packed with extremely rare, odd, conversation-piece antiques. It's mostly fun to prowl through the totally off-the-wall stuff—taxidermy creatures, old funeral photos, Victorian hair wreaths, poison bottles. I currently have my eye on a 1960s moon globe." Obscura might not remain obscure for long; it's currently the subject of a Discovery Channel reality show.—Yale Breslin
· Obscura Antiques & Oddities [Official Site]
· Oddities [Discovery Channel]
· Kain Label [Official Site]

Obscura Antiques & Oddities

280 East 10th Street, New York NY