Best of Philly

Best Boutique

2023 Best Shop for Breezy Summer Vibes

Pretty on You

Peep the window display, then pop into Venezuelan-born Maria Chirinos’s boutique, which opened quietly in December. The minimal design highlights the resort-ready products, ensuring that you won’t have to search long for what you’re looking for — like Current Air’s striped shorts and matching flowing top. Don’t leave without a pair of Ximena Castillo earrings; the beaded baubles are crafted by indigenous Colombian women and look good with just about any outfit this season. Read More »

1726 Sansom Street, first floor, Philadelphia, PA Website

2023 Best Second Act

Skirt

The 22-year-old destination women’s-wear boutique debuted a new look in early 2023 that echoes owner Maureen Doron’s home — a floor-to-ceiling revamp rooted in soft hues and sleek materials sourced from a bevy of local makers. Doron also called on Stephen Wilson Studio, based in North Carolina, to create custom wall art using Skirt bags from the past two decades. Shoppers will love the oversize dressing rooms for trying on new labels Loretta Caponi and Emporio Sirenuse. Read More »

931 West Lancaster Avenue, Bryn Mawr, PA Website

2023 Best New Women's-Wear Opening

Veronica Beard

Stop by Veronica Beard to buy one of the brand’s beloved blazers to throw over your new summer dress. Those structured Dickey jackets have been a staple of King of Prussia department-store collections and Main Line closets since the label launched in NYC in 2010. But the new shop’s edit focuses on VB wardrobe heroes — all in one place. For summer, that means delicate knit tops, slinky silk dresses, linen blazers galore, and wooden heels courtesy of a collab with Dr. Scholl’s. Read More »

47 St. Georges Road, Ardmore, PA Website

2023 Best New Boutique

Flourish Market

This nook from Allison Hendler and mom Patricia Van Hook will wrap you in a warm hug — it’s thoughtfully stocked with local or sustainable goods that support the community. (Hendler’s a champion of circular retail.) A Hendler favorite: baby products from B Corp-certified Bello Tunno. For Van Hook? Vintage glassware. There are tea towels hand-sewn in Bucks County, fresh bouquets, and new philanthropic partnerships — a bit of everything to help you flourish. Read More »

2227 Grays Ferry Avenue, Philadelphia, PA Website

2023 Best Forward-Thinking Fashion

Blk Ivy Thrift

Kimberly McGlonn’s fashion-as-activism vision is fully realized at the new Blk Ivy Thrift. Her thrift-and-vintage shop, housed in her former Grant BLVD space (which found new digs on Penn’s campus), stocks styles from the ’50s, ’60s and ’70s that were often worn by Black creatives and civil rights champions. Retro-hued knit dresses, button-front cardigans and classic true-blue denim are just a few of the finds that define McGlonn’s entirely original retail concept. Read More »

3605 Lancaster Avenue, Philadelphia, PA Website

2023 Best Barbiecore Must-Haves

Shop Sixty Five

If Barbie were a local girl, her Malibu beach house would be a Margate mansion, she’d drive a Range Rover instead of a convertible, and she’d scoop up Barbiecore staples like Paris Texas peep-toe mules, frilly Bronx and Banco frocks, and baby-pink Liselle Kiss metallic leather handbags from Linda LaRosa’s outpost down the Shore. Read More »

8411 Ventnor Avenue, Margate, NJ Website

2022 Best 50-Year Old Boutique That's Still Going Strong

Joan Shepp

Joan Shepp — both the store and the woman behind it — has dominated the Philly fashion conversation since 1971. Whether filling the racks with unknown labels on the edge of global greatness (Maison Margiela) or launching a Y-3 shop-in-shop (a collab between Adidas and Yohji Yamamoto) years before the concept would go mainstream, Shepp, along with daughter Ellen, seems to always be consulting a couture crystal ball. Read More »

1811 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA Website

2021 Best New Boutique

Midnight Lunch Studio

This boutique is both woman-owned and woman-curated, selling artwork, housewares and clothing designed and made by women or people of color. Pick up floral prints, paintings and photographs, or snag peace-sign candles and stress-relief shower steamers to make your home feel like a sanctuary. Read More »

20 South 3rd Street, Philadelphia, PA Website

2021 Best Retro General Store

Weavers Way Mercantile

The Weavers Way Co-Op has long been a part of the Mount Airy community (48 years and counting!), but the mercantile shop across the street opened in 2016. The space itself — a former­ garage — makes for a highly pleasant browsing experience, and the home goods and vintage clothes on offer will add retro personality to any home or closet. It’s not just limited to secondhand goods, though: Ceramics, candles, jewelry and more from local makers serve as reminders of the area’s rich artistic history. Read More »

559 Carpenter Lane, Philadelphia, PA Website

2021 Best Ceramics Shop

Ceramic Concept

Last November, Stefani Threet opened this storefront in the West Philly neighborhood where she grew up. You’ll find pieces by nearly 120 artists, many of whom are makers of color, women and/or Philly locals. A mug wall provides a tangible way to compare cups; we’re eyeing the collar necklaces from Melted Porcelain. Read More »

5015 Baltimore Avenue, Philadelphia, PA Website