Shopping in Camden

The wedding-attire experts at Philadelphia Bridal Company Bridal Loft dress the betrothed in avant-garde gowns from couture design houses including La Chatuise, Paloma Blanca, and Winnie Couture. The window-fronts’ intricate gowns entice brides to enter the shop's chandelier-lit confines, where a bridal specialist stands ready to help them try on fascinators, find a stylish veil, and snag the right shoes. Once brides-to-be have found their gowns, the staff can also alter threads to fit perfectly, rather than requiring too-long dresses to be worn with stilts.

Art Star Gallery’s wares include offbeat threads and home goods to furnish well-considered lives. Jewelry reflects influences ranging from high art to childlike impishness, including patterned glass earrings and mustache cufflinks, and tank dresses in funky prints swish around knees as they draw admiring glances. Shoppers can stock their homes with eccentric touches by purchasing paper goods such as greeting cards and prints to put in kitchens, in bedrooms, and over failed tunneling experiments in the cellar.

Fashionably Ever After outfits children in both trendy, playful styles and traditional looks from its designer lines. Opening its doors in the center of south Philadelphia, the boutique welcomes boys and girls alike to try on clothing and accessories for newborns, infants, toddlers, and man-childs. Fashionably Ever After's expanded selection for girls runs up to youth size 16.

Through their shop and sustainable vertical-landscaping services, Urban Jungle aims to cultivate green space wherever possible throughout Philadelphia's brick-and-concrete ecosystem. Indoor plants, air plants, containers, and pockets that hang from vertical-gardening structures cater to apartment dwellers without a yard of their own to mow. Those lucky enough to have a rooftop or an open green space can personalize their landscapes with outdoor plants, recycled-metal sculptures, and stone fountains. Their gardening gurus also lead workshops throughout the year on topics such as making terrariums, vertical gardening, arranging floral centerpieces, or reinforcing beanstalks in hopes of reaching the Cloud Kingdom.

After moving from London to Philadelphia, Elena Brennan needed a way to fulfill her desire for hard-to-find designer shoes without hopping a transatlantic flight back home. In 2007, she stashed away her aviation goggles in favor of opening Bus Stop, a boutique specializing in stylish kicks and women's apparel. The quirky spot carries lesser-known brands, such as Jeffrey Campbell, J Shoes, and FarylRobin, as well as fashionable favorites from Toms and Fluevog.

White walls outfitted with monochromatic shelves pull shoppers' attention towards a collection of shoes so eclectic it helped Bus Stop win an award for best women's shoe store in 2008 from Philadelphia magazine. Antique wooden tables heave under the weight of handmade accessories and apparel from local and national designers and wayward elephants that thought they smelled peanuts. This Fabric Row boutique also holds monthly events that showcase the work of emerging artists and local fashionistas.

Owner Steve Jamison, who has more than 25 years of experience in the retail industry, founded Sole Blue Shoes as a haven for Philadelphia’s style-conscious men and as a contribution to the city’s budding fashion scene. Five years later, his 1,300-square-foot boutique stocks an extensive collection of men’s high-end footwear, including dress shoes, suede oxfords, and canvas sneakers. A range of belts complements soles, as do 150 pairs of upscale Robert Graham and Marcoliani Milano socks, which are, according to the Inquirer, woven with colorful polka dots and vivid argyle stripes and packed into contemporary cubbyholes.