Top Hat

Lower East SideGifting,Home Gift Shop,Decor

With no online store and hardly any social media presence, Top Hat is a mysterious place and a downtown gift-giver’s best kept secret. Owner Nina Allen has — and I don’t say this lightly — impeccable taste. Minimalist and utilitarian but slightly cheeky, everything at Top Hat is well-designed, but nothing is too precious. Find stationery from niche Japanese brands, intriguing accessories from independent makers across Europe, hard-to-find perfumes and toiletries, chic powder-coated tool boxes, and larger decor items like intricately woven blankets and statement lamps. You never know what you’re going to find here and that’s what makes it so wonderful. Does anyone remember Kiosk? This is the closest thing we’ve got to something that singular in its dedication to surprising and objectively good design. Go to Top Hat when you just are craving the surprise that comes with shopping in-person.