Yellow Rat Bastard, New York

Since selling its first T-shirt back in 1996, Yellow Rat Bastard has been an ode to raw self-expression. Techno music greets customers as soon as they enter the store, and graffiti covers the walls to set the tone for what Yellow Rat Bastard calls urban street style. This aesthetic is epitomized by the brand's signature offbeat T-shirts, which sport quirky designs featuring clever wordplay, cultural icons like the Muppets, or even a giant shark face that always looks fearsome, no matter how many hugs it gets.

That's not to say men, women, and kids won't find more traditional apparel, such as designer jeans or knitted sweatshirts. In total, the shop's racks and shelves showcase dozens of brands—everything from OBEY, to Vans, to several in-house lines.