Yellow Rat Bastard

It appears this place is closed. We walked around the area for awhile and only found a closed storefront — garage doors shit, like nobody was home — on. Saturday afternoon. I tried calling no answer.

Oh I love this store and their weird and unique shirts. The style is hard to place because it’s eclectic and falls across the board, but I can imagine this geared towards a younger crowd, skaters/​snowboarders, kids in school, maybe a little grunge? Definitely doesn’t give off a preppy or athletic type of vibe. But then the things can be so unique it’s almost borderline, if not completely, trendy! They also have hats and bags, sweat jackets — lots of clothing. But the main draw are their shirts. Tons and tons of shirts — references to movies, pop-​culture, TV shows, bands, the logo of the store itself (I am a huge sucker for those little yellow rats, haha. And come on, the name is awesome!). I like their bags too, got a black messenger one that I still have to this day, and one of those light fabric book bags with a draw string, but the strings broke off and wouldn’t work anymore. Quality isn’t good. I also got some sweat jacket hoodie and I love how warm and comfy it is. Navy — and has the yellow rat bastard logo. Cost me $ 20.
A very big store, wooden floors that seem on the older side, dim lighting. Not a bright store with perfect new wooden floors, so it has some wear and tear on it that gives it an authentic feel, whatever that means. They have fitting rooms too, not a ton, maybe 3 – 4 or so? It was easy to get a room because it wasn’t very crowded in the evening.
At times the store reminds of of Hot Topic, unique and quirky. You’re never quite sure what you’ll find. So you stumble inside and then fall in love with half the items. Prices aren’t cheap, but it’s not jaw dropping expensive either. Given the area/​location, what do you expect though? Average to low quality, with average/​borderline expensive prices depending what you’re used to spending. Compared to American Eagle and Abercrombie and Fitch, you might be getting a good deal. All relative.
Also, they take your shopping bags at the door if you have them. So far they haven’t taken my purse, but not sure they do that anyway.

I love t-​shirts! My wife and I have been going here for many years. Even though I am 10 years older than I was when I first came here, I still find it fun and always find a shirt. Actually, usually too many and I have to pare it down to one or two. Staggering amount of t-​shirts here. From movies, pop-​culture, TV shows, bands, they have everything. Plus a collection of the bizarre. Again, I am a bit older than the typical crowd so I am there for the t-​shirts only. For the young sprouts there are all kinds of items. Space is very cool too. Floor is kinda old and rickety, a bit dark in there. If you have never been there I would say it is a must when you are in the area. Be prepared to check your bag at the door.

Just went for the first time today and as a New Yorker I’m ashamed to say that because it’s an awesome store. Perfectly emulates the underground nyc style. Loved it. 100% my new favorite store

Authentic underground NYC clothing !! My favorite place. Awesome décor and cool stuff, I always find something there.

I first walked into Yellow Rat Bastard on Friday the 29^th of May 2015. I liked their selection of clothing as it seems to be mine and my boyfriend’s style. But that day I came in to purchase him a new backpack. He found one that he liked, and it was the last one in that style. The problem was, it was a larger than average backpack and we were headed to One World Trade where we could not take it. Since it was the last one I didn’t want to risk coming back later to purchase it and it be gone. So I asked the cashier if she would hold it for me if I paid for it, and she said it was fine. So I paid, she put it behind the counter, and gave me my receipt. I then asked her if I needed to leave my name and/​or number, and she said no, which I found strange, but I was in a rush so I just let it go. Fast-​forward to the next day, Saturday. I come to pick up my purchase and after waiting in a long line for 15 minutes, I approach the cashier and tell her they’re holding a purchase for me and show my receipt. She then gets this confused look on her face and then looks behind the counter and immediately pulls up the bag containing my purchase. She takes it out of the bag and then looks even more confused. She says to me, «You purchased this?» I replied «Yes» She then replies «Are you sure? Because nobody told me about this… let me see that receipt» Annoyed, I handed over the receipt thinking that would be enough to prove to her that I had indeed purchased that item… but not a chance. After looking at the receipt she says that she needs to speak to her manager because «nobody told me about it». So we wait for her manager to come along and I try as hard as I can not to rage on these people. He then looks at the receipt and is hesitating as well. So not only are they making me feel like a crook and a scammer, but now I’m thinking that they’re not going to give me my purchase or even return my $ 54.44. So then the manager says «Hmm… I guess so…» as if he also has no damn clue how to handle an incredibly simple situation. I would have loved to hear a «sorry» from the cashier or the manager for wasting my damn time and treating me like a common thief, but it didn’t happen.
I’ve worked in retail for the past 15 years, and experiences like this would make any decent employee cringe. These people lack common decency and haven’t the slightest clue how to run a business or deal with a customer properly. Places like this get away with it because of their location; as all New Yorkers know, anything on Broadway is a tourist trap that gets a lot of incidental business to keep it going, regardless of its quality. But one thing’s for sure, if you shop here, be prepared to be disrespected and treated guilty until proven innocent. Proceed at your own risk. Oh and one last note, their cheap plastic bag rubbed off yellow ink all over my jeans, so beware.

I remember love visiting this place when I was younger. After visiting last weekend, I realized I am too old to be shopping here. Most of the clothes were not geared to my demographics and definitely not work appropriate and the music was super loud. The first floor was packed with brand names like burnside, obey, DC, billabong, Tokidoki, comic book hero shirts, jeans, sneakers and a bunch of other things. Downstairs, however, you can find a bunch of cheap clothing [found a shirt for $ 1] but it looks like a flea market. I would recommend staying away from there as some of the clothes looked used.

2.5 stars rounded up
To paint a clear picture of Yellow Rat Bastard, I’ll say that their clothes remind me of Hot Topic or of Newbury Comics in Boston. I don’t think I’ve ever donned DC or Billabong or RVCA; my well-​worn Vans are from decades ago; & while I wish I had the inclination to wear colorful tokidoki sweatshirts, I can’t bring myself to do it.
When I’m shopping in Soho I find myself taking a quick peek in here even though it’s not my style 1) because the name is catchy 2) the stunner shades-​wearing yellow rat figurine is too funny 3) I’ve found nice-​fitting rock band t-​shirts here in my younger days, which leads to 4) I’m eternally chasing my adolescent memories.

Good place to find a tee shirt in the city. Good location too. Their jeans are a tad expensive for my taste but overall, it’s a pretty good place to shop

We live in a society where we’re so quick to judge rather than evaluate the situation… a store that pretty much looks outside the box… I walked inside thinking this place is pretty unique… but its really not… yeah… this store is like Any other stores such as hot topic… particularly one that sells graphic t-shirts…sweaters and is skater and hip hop (urban) oriented… they have very loud weird background music!

Took my daughter to NYC to visit family for Xmas 2014 and stopped by the store to grab a couple t-​shirts for her.
Great selection but Daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaayaaam… we were shadowed the entire time we were in the store. I mean we had 1 – 2 dudes eyeballing/​following us the entire time. WTF!

Coole Szeneklamotten und Schuhe dazu reichlich Schnick Schnack.
Freundliches Personal und für das was angeboten wird normale Preise.
Wir waren hier 3x in 6 Tagen und haben immer was gefunden :-)

As a Tourist visiting NY and going to SoHo, i must say, it’s a nice store that’s not a tourist trap, but has a lot of local unique flavor (or is it flava!)
Sure, T-​Shirts are $ 20 or so, but you’ll find some really nice designs here.
It reminds me a bit of a cross between Marc Ecko /​Ecko Unlimited as well as a little bit of a chain store like Spencer’s Gifts, Hot Topics, and those other novelty T-​Shirt type stores.
It’s located in SoHo, downtown NY near Little Italy and Chinatown.
It’s pure eye candy for young fashion. Great for kids and teens as well as hipsters.
They have a series of T-​Shirts designed by DAMION SCOTT, who used to be a famous DC Comics comic book artist a decade or so ago, whose art style is in part graffiti and has lots of colors. I’m a fan of his work, so that stood out right away and was validated when I saw his signature on the shirt design.
I’d make this a «must go to» store if visiting NY and am in the area.

Yellow Rat Bastard has some great clothes and funky stuff, but I find it offensive and strange that they don’t allow dogs in their store.
I was walking Kula, a little poodle-​Shih-​tzu cross today, and the bag-​check guy wanted to argue with me about bringing her in.
«You can’t bring that dog in,» he said.
«What – is there a coffee bar in back?» I asked, indicating the back wall of the store.
«No, you just can’t bring dogs in here,» he replied, shaking his head.
«Do they serve food here?» I asked.
«No – you just can’t bring that dog in,» he said.
I told him I didn’t need to shop there.

Sort of like Newbury comics, only with tons more apparel. Many shirts I have not seen elsewhere. Prices OK.

Supercool, printed shirts and logo tees, some of them featuring images that are waaay out there (hot, nude chicks flipping the bird… some dude doing a mountain of blow). Yellow Rat Bastard is a store that caters to the cool kids, skateboard kids, stoners, «swaggots» or folks like myself who feel like any one of these types depending on their mood. Prices range from nearly a steal to highway robbery. Besides really great tees, they sell coats, hoodies and Levi’s jeans too. Made up of two levels, Yellow Rat Bastard looks like a clothing explosion. There are colors and squiggles and zig zags everywhere and fun gag gifts sold near the register.

The other night I was heading to an event down near Canal Street and since there was plenty of time for my guest and I to arrive we decided that taking the train one extra stop and do a little exploring. The first place we chanced upon was the Yellow Rat Bastard store and this is my kind of place.
For starters there are tons of t-​shirts here and if the classic superheroes are your thing you can expect to pay a lot of money because you are walking out with a stack of them. For those readers of my Unilocal who can do skinny jeans they had a large batch of those and some cool rock and roll memorabilia on various things (belts, key chains, school bags and more). The staff appeared friendly and helpful which is nice to see for sure. I might have to come back and snag a few superhero shirts with those vintage Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko designs.
Check this place out if this is the kind of stuff that appeals to you. I think you will like it.

My go to place if I’m looking for a fresh tee. Great selection and really cool down to earth staff. They don’t carry anything that you cant buy online but i am very picky when it comes to fit and cotton quality so its great to have a place that i can actually see and feel the garments.
If your in the neighborhood definite check this place out!

This right here is the Mecca of Tee Collectors.
The walls are packed with different t-​shirt designs that range from Pokemon to Iron Man. If you’re looking for a particular pop culture shirt this is truly the place to come and check. I must warn you once you look at that wall of Tees you will be overwhelmed with the Awesomeness. You will probably leave the store with your wallet empty. The prices are competitively priced with all the surrounding stores. The ones on the wall sell for about 20 dollars each. There are some racks that have a 2 for $ 25 label. I also saw that they sell skateboard decks, jeans, sneakers and backpacks.
I have to say that amazing Toki Doki wall art right by the stairs is AWESOME! WIsh I could get that artwork up in my room. Its so sweet!
Awesome place! Go and check it out! See if you find any cool designs, that you like.

To me this just seemed like an edgier Hot Topic. The music was so loud when we went in we couldn’t hear the gentleman behind the counter asking us for our bags to check in.
A few hipster wannabes also inside the entrance who wouldn’t move for us to come in either, it was pretty annoying like we were bothering them because we wanted to come into the store.
There is a vast selection for everyone, from Star Trek to Disney T’shirts, cool jackets, etc. But honestly pricey and overwhelming — the store is HUGE.
They seem pretty popular because there are quite a few items with their logo so I guess some of the kids are like «yeeeaahhh I got this at YRB in NYC». Mine wasn’t that impressed and much preferred Muji over YRB.

I used to visit the old location of Yellow Rat Bastard, buying the occasional superhero t-​shirt. What was most memorable (aside from many of the awesome funny sayings on their clothing) was the way the interior was decorated. Instead of the usual Soho elegance, they go the opposite direction. Each wall is lined with (for lack of a better term) set displays paying homage to areas of the Village including a police precinct, theater, strip club and church. The ground has faux cobblestone on the walkways and graffiti lines the walls (on purpose). I love this set up partly because it is so different than what you’d expect, but also partly because it pays homage to a piece of New York City history that is nowhere near as prevalent as it used to be.
The prices range from high to fair depending on what you’re looking for. If you just want some cheap (but amusing) t-​shirts this place will do the trick. If you’re looking for more high end clothing this may not be the first place you want to visit. There is definitely a very specific demographic being targeted here including those who love some variant of punk, grunge or old fashioned rock and roll.
This is a fun and different place to check out if you’re in the area, and for the area it’s an institution that I’m glad to see has continued.