Boston's Best Shops

BACK BAY: Newbury Street, Boston's Victorian answer to the Champs-Élysées, is the spine that runs through Back Bay's frenzy of stores. International outposts from Valentino to Chanel line the street and are a hop, skip and a jump from equally luxe shops, like Louis Boston (234 Berkeley St.; 800-225-5135; louisboston.com), a three-story palace of fashion (the Proenza Schouler and Marni selections are standouts, as is the entire men's department) and home accessories (antique ceramics, Italian linens). The racks at the octagonal Gretta Luxe (10 Huntington Ave.; 617-536-1959; grettaluxe.com) are hung with gutsy Chloé numbers, stovepipe pants by Michael Kors and Stella McCartney tunics and chunky knits. Nearby is Daniela Corte (91 Newbury St.; 617-262-2100; danielacorte.com), the retail-studio space where the Argentine-born, Boston-bred designer creates statement-making blouses, bright jersey wrap dresses and flattering pencil skirts. Pieces from Malene Birger, Rutzou, Camilla Staerk and Baum und Pferdgarten drive progressive Bostonians to the dressing rooms at Stil (170 Newbury St.; 617-859-7845; stilinc.com), whose owner, Betty Riaz, keeps the stock fresh with regular purchases from Scandinavia. Contemporary meets classic in the furnishings and accessories at Bliss Home (121 Newbury St.; 617-421-5544; blisshome.com). Here you'll find Bernardaud china, funky Italian glassware, sculptural barware and lavish eelskin-covered dressers.

BEACON HILL: Brahmin families may have once dominated the town houses and brick sidewalks of this quaint area, but these days Beacon Hill is a convergence of preppy and contemporary style. Exhibit A: the eclectic mix of modern and whimsical housewares at Koo de Kir (65 Chestnut St.; 617-723-8111; koodekir.com), where owner Kristine Irving fills shelves with scores from all over the globe, such as elongated minimalist stemware, ceramic chandeliers that resemble antlers and faux bois mirrors. Sweetly feminine but unquestionably sophisticated, Holiday (53 Charles St.; 617-973-9730; store.holidayboutique.net) is packed with an outstanding selection of women's clothing, including the best offerings from Mint by Jodi Arnold, Lauren Moffatt and 3.1 Philip Lim. You'll find what to wear underneath in abundance at French Dressing Lingerie (49 River St.; 617-723-4968; frenchdressinglingerie.com), overflowing with gauzy Cosabella and Aubade bras, delicate Hanky Panky thongs and sweetly simple Eberjay camisoles.

SOUTH END: The neighborhood of choice for the city's most style-conscious citizens, the South End is also where many of its most avant-garde retail sources reside. Take Turtle (619A Tremont St.; 617-266-2610; turtleboston.com): its funky but pretty aesthetic brings together work by up-and-coming designers from Boston as well as Iceland, Israel and Argentina. Then there's Showroom (240 Stuart St.; 617-482-4805; showroomboston.com), a seamless orchestration of neutral-toned modern European furnishings, courtesy of designer Doug Gates, and D Scale (520 Harrison Ave.; 617-426-1055; dscalemodern.com), a space Dennis Duffy has fashioned for the sleek sofas, multifunctional coffee tables and handmade accents, among them lustrous ceramic vases and glossy oversized glass bowls, that he has crafted for clients over the years. At Tadpole (37 Clarendon St.; 617-778-1788; shoptadpole.com), everything a cool baby needs is in the spotlight — Salvor onesies, Trumpette cowgirl socks, Plan toys made of recycled rubber-tree wood — plus waterproof, pvc-free Fleurville diaper bags for Mom. Clever Hudson (312 Shawmut Ave.; 617-292-0900; hudsonboston.com) is a blend of the funky (Holstein-hide rugs), the classic (upholstered chairs and sofas) and the vintage (well-treated travel trunks and 1940s fauteuil chairs).

DOWNTOWN Located between Chinatown, the Waterfront and Fort Point Channel, downtown Boston is a rapidly developing hodgepodge of office towers, tourist spots, artists' studios and chic outposts, like the Achilles Project (283 Summer St.; 617-695-2257; achilles-project.com), a brand-new mixed-retail spot where how you shop is as important as what you buy. Customers can hunt through the loftlike place to find pieces by Filippa K., Acne and Earnest Sewn, or they can repair to the adjoining lounge for a cocktail, to watch TV or to play Guitar Hero while salespeople bring said clothing from the tall frosted-glass cases straight to the barstools.

CAMBRIDGE: It may have been the definition of boho chic at one time, but these days Harvard Square is notably more chic than boho. The sparsely decorated Tess & Carlos (20 Brattle St.; 617-864-8377; tessandcarlos.com) is where Harvard undergrads and mit profs alike turn for Jil Sander booties and Barbara Tfank dresses. Mint Julep (6 Church St.; 617-576-6468; shopmintjulep.com) has fast won devotees for its shelves full of Tibi and Nanette Lepore dresses and Cynthia Steffe sweaters. By contrast, Grolier Poetry Book Shop (6 Plympton St.; 617-547-4648; grolierpoetrybookshop.org) has been around for more than eighty years and is one of the country's only shops dedicated to verse. Despite its small size, it holds some 15,000 volumes and hosts regular readings by contemporary poets. Scholarly and recreational readers browse shoulder to shoulder at the beloved Harvard Book Store (1256 Massachusetts Ave.; 617-661-1515; harvard.com). The epic selection of titles veers from academic to classic to cutting-edge — much like the neighborhood itself.