Hooti Couture (CLOSED)

Alison Houtte lives and breathes fashion: After working as a model for nearly ten years, she moved to Brooklyn and opened her vintage shop, Hooti Couture, in 1995; she’s also the coauthor (with her sister) of Alligators, Old Mink and New Money, which is a celebration of all things vintage. “When I get W, Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar…I get so excited,” Houtte explains. “Fashion right now is anything goes; for me, that’s golden.” Her store is a reflection of her passion for clothes: Houtte sources and handpicks every item herself, and the stock rotates seasonally. Unlike many secondhand stores, she’s also incredibly open to negotiating prices. But you probably won’t even need to: You’ll find cheap goodies galore, including costume jewelry (from $10), a wide selection of handbags (from $20) and sequined tops from the ’70s ($35–$70). “This little shop is sort of like my child,” she laughs. “I try to keep it fun, cheerful and reasonably priced.”