Marietta’s Dry Gds Store

Best store ever! I love this place, the owner is the sweetest most sincere man I’ve ever met!

A Carroll Gardens neighborhood institution. The owners, who are in their 80’s or 90’s, are very helpful, and it’s great to support a place that has character, history and integrity. Tiny, but good selection of blue jeans and other basic pants for men and women, underwear, socks, etc.

These two guys are great. My go-​to spot for Dickies, sweats boxers and tees. This place is the anti-​wallmart. Tiny and timeless. Do not enter this shop if you plan on making a quick purchase. You will need to chat a bit and perhaps help find your size and maybe Matty’s glasses. If you are lucky there may be a senior citizen or two buying underpants and you will really get the news about all the matters in the neighborhood. The prices are very reasonable. A superlative retail experience.

If, like me, you’re a sucker for a time warp, you must hightail it over to Carroll Gardens and hit Marietta, stat!
It’s one of these spots that gives you a pang because you can’t imagine it’ll last when the two brothers who run it, both in their eighties, retire — and their family’s been selling basic clothing to the neighborhood since the 30s!
The store is a narrow space with worn wooden floors, shelves up to the ceiling, an ancient cash register (which the more talkative brother, Matty, still describes as a modern innovation — but then, he remembers when they didn’t have a phone!) Nothing’s on display; one of the fellows fetches whatever you’re looking for — laboriously, it must be said — and discusses your purchase (never over $ 20) earnestly.
The clientele is, I imagine, largely elderly, given the high proportion of housecoats and — ahem — rather capacious underthings. But it’s a great place for staples like packs of socks or undies, and I found a ($ 5) half-​slip when I couldn’t find one anywhere else. It’s very good for guys: my boyfriend got 3 pairs of Dickies very cheaply; my brother gets all his undershirts and has several pairs of (wonderfully retro) cotton pajamas! The truth is, I find reasons to give them the business — and to hear Mattie’s wonderful stories of the old neighborhood!
This place is a real treasure. Discover it before it’s too late!