Best of Philly

Best Boutique

2025 Best Shop for Chic Cowgirls

Vanner House

Main Liners didn’t know how badly they needed a boutique catering to all things equestrian until Vanner House trotted into Villanova in December. Horsey hostess gifts abound (pewter napkin rings designed like English saddles, anyone?), and serious riders will be pleased to find smart essentials like breeches, riding gloves, and sustainable knitwear worthy of any afternoon spent at Radnor Hunt. Read More »

601 Conestoga Road, Villanova, PA Website

2025 Best Worldly Goods

The Silk Tent

Owned by West Philly native and art curator Rashida Watson (pictured here with daughter Inshirah Kenya, who assists in the shop), this boutique specializes in jewelry, decor, textiles, and other one-of-a-kind gifts originating from around the globe. In just one walk through, you might find a carved Ethiopian headrest or an Indonesian woven bamboo box embellished with cowrie shells. Even better: Ultra Silk Gallery, its sister company mainly focusing on art from the traditional to the contemporary, is now under the same roof. Read More »

3859 Lancaster Avenue, Philadelphia, PA Website

2025 Best Clothes for New Adults

August Moon Boutique

If you’re a few years out of college and ready to start dressing like it, but you’re not quite sure how to dip into mature styling, stress no more. This shop offers a keenly curated selection of cute, trendy picks and real adult staples for both the everyday and all kinds of special events, from garden parties to galas. Maybe the question “What should I wear?” won’t be so torturous anymore. Read More »

1729 East Passyunk Avenue, Philadelphia, PA Website

2025 Best Cottage-Core Essentials

Meadowsweet General Store

Live out your Little House on the Prairie daydreams at this new venture from Stacy Morris, who previously ran women’s vintage shop Meadowsweet Mercantile. The general store, which operates out of Kensington’s historic Star Carpet Mill building, offers plenty of textile goods such as cozy knits and washed-canvas jackets, as well as goodies for the home like hand-dipped beeswax candles sourced from a Lancaster farm. Read More »

1801 North Howard Street, Philadelphia, PA Website

2025 Best Place to Shop For Jeans

Rebel

It’s a bit ironic that a boutique that got its start as an activewear mecca is now our go-to for hard pants, but it’s impossible to deny Rebel’s rise. The store now stocks chic womenswear — a surprisingly vast selection, given the small Rittenhouse footprint — and we trust them to help us navigate the ever-changing post-skinny-jeans landscape with a curated collection including brands like Pistola, Hidden, and RbLpuppeT. Read More »

116 South 19th Street, Philadelphia, PA Website

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 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