Where Designer Chen Chen Shops for Workwear in Greenpoint

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 local shopping and fashion gurus to provide their hidden retail gems—those unique stores around our fantastic city that we might not all know about. Cue the Beatles: We're about to get a little help from our friends.

Chen Chen and Kai Williams met while studying industrial design at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn. Upon graduating, Chen began working for Moss, and eventually rose to the rank of Display Director in 2010, while Williams worked alongside artist Tom Sachs.

In 2011, they both decided to begin a lasting collaboration and founded a new design studio. Together, they create items like jewelry, coasters, bookends, and more, and their products can be found at places like Phillips de Pury and The Future Perfect. Here, Chen shows us his favorite spot in Brooklyn for authentic work wear.

Pops Popular Clothing is a staple for mostly men's construction and athletic gear. It's run by a great guy who you'll often catch yelling out comedic gold at the teenage staff. The last time I was browsing through the racks, Foo Fighters was blaring on the radio and he was questioning the stock boys about what they thought Dave Grohl was complaining about. You know that everything is as cheap as you will find it in New York. This is definitely the place to go for jump suits, boots, and anything waterproof or reflective./blockquote>
· Pops Popular Clothing [Yelp]
· Chen Chen & Kai Williams [Official Site]
· All Shopping Confidential Posts [Racked NY]