ONLINE SHOP:Gargyle.com
CITY: NYC-based (showroom)
SINCE: 2007
FOUNDED BY: Nhung Nguyen & Don Vu (wife-and-husband team)
WHY WE COSIGN: With a taste that blends indie hipster with old-school country club, Gargyle has a wide inventory of A-list brands that present an innovative modern take on traditional style.
BRANDS CARRIED: ACNE, BBlessing, Billy Kirk, B Store, Common Projects, Corpus, F-Troupe, Fred Perry, Giles & Brother, Mjolk, S.N.S Herning, Surface to Air, United Bamboo, Velour, Wood Wood and YMC
Read our interview with co-founder Nhung Nguyen and see the shop's most popular items below...
Complex: How did you get started?
Nhung: While I was working for a big corporation in America, I took night classes in fashion design at FIT to keep the creative juices flowing. Then, after years of the daily grind, my dream came true when my company downsized their sales force. When I found out, I literally danced around my apartment in a state of euphoria and the next day went out and got my business license. With the help of Don (my husband and business partner)—who as a '90s raver/DJ, had experience running an online urban streetwear site—I was on my way to fulfilling a dream of owning my own business. I started Gargyle, a primarily online boutique inspired by country clubs and leisure lifestyle of yesteryear.
Complex: Why did you choose the name "Gargyle"?
Nhung: We purposely came up with a new word with no meaning so that our aesthetic and our brand would define the word, not the other way around. We mashed up a few words—golf, argyle, and gargoyle—all of which have strong country club connotations and inspire our aesthetic.
Complex: Why did you choose to open an online boutique instead of a brick-and-mortar shop?
Nhung: Gargyle has a very Downtown NYC look, but it's inspired by vintage country-club lifestyle (a traditionally suburban establishment), so we wanted it to be accessible to people outside NYC as well. For us, it was really important for the site to be design-oriented yet accessible and user-friendly, but most importantly the online boutique had to communicate and express the Gargyle aesthetic just as well as a traditional brick-and-mortar shop would.
Complex: And the showroom aspect of Gargyle, how does this complement the store?
Nhung: The "showroom" is not one in the wholesale sense of the word, but more of a showroom to the public. Sometimes our online customers just want to see an item in person or try it on, so we offer this option as an added service to our local customers, but ultimately our focus remains online. Whereas most stores have a brick-and-mortar location as their primary shop and maybe a website to complement it, Gargyle is the complete reverse.
Complex: Looking ahead, what trends do you foresee in menswear?
Nhung: For spring/summer, leisure pants and slip-on moccasins or espadrilles. For fall/winter, polka dots and paisley prints, classic looking outerwear in tech fabrics and officer style boots.
Complex: What trend would you like to see go away?
Nhung: Please, no more Palestinian scarves with a T-shirt or tank top on a scorching 90 degree day. It's ridiculous in so many ways.
GARGYLE'S MOST POPULAR ITEMS:
COMMON PROJECTS SAFARI BOOT
Click here to Buy It Now at Gargyle $405
RACHEL COMEY IVER
Click here to Buy It Now at Gargyle $250
BILLY KIRK PADDED FLIGHT BAG
Click here to Buy It Now at Gargyle $280
YMC SIDE BUTTON CREW
Click here to Buy It Now at Gargyle $135
KAREN WALKER HELTER SKELTER SUNGLASSES
Click here to Buy It Now at Gargyle $170
Gargyle
Showroom (by appointment)
16A Orchard Street
New York, NY 10002
917.470.9367
