When Japanese designer Hitoshi Tsujimoto founded The Real McCoys back around the turn of the millennium, he did so with the clear intention of creating garments that were not merely vintage inspired, but were as close to authentic reproductions as the modern man would allow. By meticulously recreating garments from the forties and fifties to their exact specs, Tsujimoto appeals to those that share his proclivity for the past, which as it turns out is quite the considerable audience. Over the past decade or so, The Real McCoys has become the destination for men that like their jackets lined in deerskin, their tees loopwheeled, and their jeans cut like Brando’s, no matter the cost (which at The Real McCoys can be eye-poppingly steep.) This success has certainly led to an uptick in stockists for the Real McCoys here in America, which no doubt has influenced their decision to finally open a proper shop at 10 Greene Street in SoHo.
Despite The Real McCoys obsession with the authentic, their Greene Street shop is not the carefully recreated WWII era haberdashery that one might expect. And that’s a great thing. There are the expected darker details and army accents, but it’s certainly not militaria overload to the point that you feel as if you’re shopping inside a supply depot. Instead the high ceilings and open layout of the shop (which is operated by Gordon Heffner who also owns the denim mecca, Blue in Green right next door) place the focus on clothes themselves, allowing for the closer inspection that a Real McCoy’s garment deserves. The shop is organized by category, flowing comfortably from stiff black moto-jackets, to deep blue jeans, around to hefty fleeces without overwhelming the customer in the least. It’s a space that invites you to pick up a jacket, shake it out, feel the seams, inspect the details, and generally understand what makes The Real McCoys so sought after. Whether or not you can actually afford that jacket, well that’s probably a whole other story entirely.
Just the other day, I saw Mike on American Pickers sweatin’ some Buco helmets.
I think The Real McCoys USN coffee mug is a must have for anyone who served in the US Navy.
@Eric, ever read about Pearl Harbor? I posit that you’re a flaming jackass. Go to Japan (and please stay there). This site is supposed to be about American values, as manifested through clothing- please think before issuing your “must haves.”
RMC, Joe McCoy, Toys McCoy, Buco is really interesting — think of it as Icon (the Us company that remakes Broncos/FJs) in menswear: take iconic designs, remanufacture it using better than original materials and manufacturing, then charge wildly high prices. And if you want vintage US milspec gear, you pretty much have to go the repop route, given that just about every real Army-Navy store has disappeared. I’ve been eying their chambrays for years but can’t bear to spend $300 on what was a $2 workshirt in the 1950s…
Its a beautiful store, i really can get a little greedy when i am in there, I like the rugged perfection. when a lot of copies are just wrong, these are even better then just right. i want to get back to get one of those varsity jackets :-)
Picked up an M-65 in early August while in NYC for the afternoon. It might’ve been during their soft opening, but I can’t recall. Either way, it’s a great space.
I don’t have much McCoy’s stuff – the prices are pretty high and I’m a hell of a lot stockier than the average Japanese fellow – but I do really like them when it comes to outerwear staples. I love the aforementioned M-65 and plan on picking up a Navy Utility Jacket in the near future.