Must-see shopping in North America

  • Merz Apothecary in Lincoln Square stocks a variety of natural health and beauty products.

    Merz Apothecary

    Chicago

    Merz is a true turn-of-the-century European apothecary. Antique pharmacy jars contain herbs, homeopathic remedies, vitamins and supplements, and the…

  • Green Arcade bookstore on Market Street.

    Green Arcade

    The Haight & Hayes Valley

    Everything you always wanted to know about mushroom foraging, worm composting and running for office on an environmental platform – plus poetry and…

  • An interior view of Humboldt House.

    Humboldt House

    Chicago

    This appealingly curated shop in Humboldt Park stocks vintage modern home goods – from acapulco chairs to retro bar carts to colorful kilim rugs – as well…

  • Austin Art Garage

    Austin

    This cool little independent…well, we hesitate to call it a 'gallery' because that would needlessly scare some people off. Anyway, it features some pretty…

  • Racks of comics for sale at Meltdown Comics, West Hollywood.

    Meltdown Comics & Collectibles

    West Hollywood & Mid-City

    LA’s coolest comic store proudly lets its geek flag fly, with indie and mainstream comic books, from Japanese manga to graphic novels, and all the…

  • Enjoying a yarn in Trident Book Store and Cafe," Boston's Alternative"

    Trident Booksellers & Café

    Back Bay

    Pick out a pile of books and retreat to a quiet corner of the cafe to decide which ones you really want to buy. There’s a little bit of everything here,…

  • Studo 7 Gallery, Holualoa.  Kailua Kona.

    Studio 7 Fine Arts

    Kona Coast

    A serene, museum-like gallery featuring prominent artist-owner Hiroki Morinoue's watercolor, oil, woodblock and sculpture pieces, and the pottery of his…

  • Broadway Antique Market, or BAM, specializes in midcentury-modern furniture and more.

    Broadway Antique Market

    Chicago

    This spacious antique market in Edgewater – 75 dealers spread across 20,000 sq ft and two floors – is a treasure trove of 20th-century furnishings, from…

  • Taylor Books

    West Virginia

    In the heart of the downtown shopping district, this bustling yet intimate gathering place rolls four elements into one: indie bookstore, coffee shop,…

  • Boutique du Vampyre

    French Quarter

    This dungeon-esque store stocks all kinds of vampire-themed gifts. Come here for books, curses, spells, souvenirs and witty banter with the awesome clerks…

  • FAO Schwarz

    Midtown

    New Yorkers mourned the loss of this landmark toy store (c 1862) when it closed its famed flagship on Fifth Ave in 2015 (you might remember Tom Hanks…

  • Barneys

    Midtown

    Serious fashionistas swipe their plastic at Barneys, respected for its collections of top-tier labels like Isabel Marant Étoile, Mr&Mrs Italy and Lanvin –…

  • Tamarack

    West Virginia

    Let's clear up some confusion about this oft-maligned place. Yes, the miserable gas-and-fast-food travel plaza at Tamarack evokes the 7th ring of hell,…

  • Montana House

    Glacier National Park

    A Glacier Park institution since 1960, Montana House offers a wide selection of quality jewelry, Montana-inspired artwork and photography, and books about…

  • Search & Rescue Denim Company

    Vancouver

    You'll walk into this busy workshop thinking you don't need an apron. Then you'll fall in love. These handmade, sometimes punkish and always sturdily…

  • Obscura Antiques

    East Village & Lower East Side

    This eclectic trove pleases both curio-lovers and inveterate antique hunters. Here you’ll find taxidermied animal heads, tiny rodent skulls and skeletons,…

  • Guillermina Aguilar

    Valles Centrales

    Ocotlán's most renowned artisans are the four Aguilar sisters and their families, who create whimsical, colorful pottery figures of women with all sorts…

  • Pacific City

    Huntington Beach

    Just south of downtown HB, this flashy, futuristic new mall sits right across Pacific Coast Hwy from the ocean. Besides large, chain retailers like H&M,…

  • Rocketbuster Boots

    El Paso

    Even if you can’t round up the money ($1100 to $4000!) for a custom pair, make an appointment to visit Rocketbuster Boots and you’ll see what all the fuss…

  • Lagusta's Luscious

    Hudson Valley

    The most amazing sweet creations come out of Lagusta's Luscious – strawberry-balsamic caramels, delicate macarons ranging in flavors from sesame matcha to…

  • Marché du Vieux-Port

    Québec City

    At this heaving local food market, you can buy fresh fruits and vegetables as well as dozens of local specialties, from Île d’Orléans blackcurrant wine to…

  • 3x1

    SoHo & Chinatown

    Design your most flattering pair of jeans at this bespoke denim factory/showroom, with three levels of service. Quick, on-the-spot 'ready-to-wear' lets…

  • Catbird

    Brooklyn: Williamsburg, Greenpoint & Bushwick

    Specializing in dainty jewelry, like moonstone rings, exquisite necklaces and minimalist anklets, Catbird is a fixture of Williamsburg's artisanal scene…

  • Rough Trade

    Brooklyn: Williamsburg, Greenpoint & Bushwick

    This 10,000-sq-ft record store – a London import – has a cult following as a shopping experience and hangout for music-lovers. Deep racks of vinyl and CDs…

  • New People

    Japantown, Fillmore & Pacific Heights

    A three-story emporium devoted to Japanese pop culture, New People brings Tokyo style to SF. Get dolled up in Lolita petticoat dresses at 2nd-floor Baby…

  • Kitsilano Farmers Market

    Vancouver

    This seasonal farmers market is one of the city's most popular and is Kitsilano's best excuse to get out and hang with the locals. Arrive early for the…

  • Apolis

    Downtown Los Angeles & Boyle Heights

    A tremendous, but not cheap, menswear brand that creates tailored chinos, jeans, T-shirts and blazers. Owned by two Santa Barbarian brothers, the line…

  • Front & Company

    Vancouver

    You could easily spend a couple of hours perusing the new and vintage clothing in the main space of Front & Company, which colonizes a row of storefronts…

  • Bedford Cheese Shop

    Union Square, Flatiron District & Gramercy

    Whether you’re after local, raw-cow’s-milk cheese washed in absinthe, or garlic-infused goat’s-milk cheese from Australia, chances are you’ll find it…

  • Brooklyn Flea

    Brooklyn: Brooklyn Heights, Downtown Brooklyn & Dumbo

    Every Sunday from spring through early fall, 80-odd vendors sell their wares inside a giant archway under the Manhattan Bridge. There's everything from…

  • Smoking Lily

    Vancouver

    Art-school cool rules at this mostly womens wear boutique, with skirts, belts and halter-tops whimsically accented with prints of rabbits, narwhals and…

  • Salt Island Provisions

    Key West

    This crafty little shop is a fun place to browse for gift ideas. You'll find delicate jewelry made by local artisans, beeswax candles, organic coffee,…

  • Paper-Ya

    Vancouver

    A magnet for slavering stationery fetishists (you know who you are), this store's treasure trove of trinkets ranges from natty pens to traditional washi…

  • Funky Monkey

    New Orleans

    You’ll find wigs in every color at Funky Monkey, which sells vintage attire for club-hopping men and women. This fun-house of frippery is also a good spot…

  • Benton's Country Ham

    East Tennessee

    Benton's bacon graces the menus of fancy farm-to-table restaurants across the US, but its shop and smokehouse in tiny Madisonville are decidedly no-fuss…

  • Housing Works Bookstore

    SoHo & Chinatown

    Relaxed, earthy and featuring a great selection of secondhand books, vinyl, CDs and comics you can buy for a good cause (proceeds go to the city's HIV…

  • Pearl River Mart

    Financial District & Lower Manhattan

    A local institution since 1971, Pearl River offers a dizzying array of Asian gifts, housewares, clothing and accessories: silk men's pajamas, cheongsam…

  • Able

    Nashville

    Stunning leather products and simple, elegant fashions are highlights in the flagship store of this sustainable fashion label. Able was started by Barrett…

  • North Shore Soap Factory

    North Shore & Central O‘ahu

    Located in the Bagasse bin (the huge, cone-shaped building at the front gate of the Waialua Sugar Mill), the North Shore Soap Factory is home to Hawaiian…

  • Fishs Eddy

    Union Square, Flatiron District & Gramercy

    High-quality and irreverent design has made Fishs Eddy a staple in the homes of hip New Yorkers for years. Its store is a veritable landslide of mugs,…

More destinations you need to see