This CT Clothes Shop Is Among The Best In The U.S.

A quaint Connecticut shop has been named to a list of the "50 Best Clothes Stores in America."

The New York Times curated the compilation of clothiers for its 2025 round-up of the best of the best boutiques and haberdasheries.

Plain Goods, at 17 East Shore Road in New Preston, was lauded for its "array of understated (yet expensive) clothes," with shout-outs to the Andersen-Andersen polos, Brady canvas bags, orSlow jeans, and Fujito chambray shirts displayed on wooden tables or inside weathered cabinets.

Owners Michael DePerno and Andrew Fry further their shop's enigma-wrapped-in-cashmere vibe by situating the business in a no-nonsense 19th-century town hall on the National Register of Historic Places.

The pair is no stranger to the sartorial spotlight, having been featured in "travel & Leisure," "Vogue," "Quintessence," The Wall Street Journal and many other publications.

Plain Goods is getting noticed for its line of clothes, but its inventory is way deeper, extending to books, bags, beauty products, and vintage furniture and fixtures. The shop even offers its own brand of maple syrup.

According to the Plain Goods website, it's line celebrates "impeccable craftsmanship, purity of form, and nature’s ever-changing palette," with collections for the home and wardrobe that are "meant to be touched, worn, loved and lasting."

Times editors' own criteria for list inclusion were a little looser, a tad more goose-ier. They said they looked for "Stores whose proprietors deserve praise and exposure. Stores intently focused on the customer experience. Stores that are surprising and satisfying and, above all else, keep alive the thrill of in-person shopping in this age of e-commerce."

Plain Goods is open Wednesday through Sunday 11:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m., and has recently opened a second store in Wiscasset, Maine.