Shopping in Council Bluffs

By eliminating traditional numbered sizing and adopting a user-friendly color-dot sizing system, Beyourself promotes a positive shopping experience focused on finding clothes that accentuate your shape. Rather than worrying about brands’ inconsistent measurements and complex sizing algorithms, shoppers can put down their graphing calculators and proudly proclaim they're a green, purple, or taupe. In addition to jeans ($40–$170), dresses ($35– $50), basic tees or tanks ($10–$18), and tops ($20– $40), Beyourself offers jewelry, accessories, handbags, shoes, and customized jetpack holsters, so you can fly around town in style.

Stanton Optical treats shoppers to a selection of more than 3,000 frames from designers such as BCBG, Coach, Tommy Hilfiger, and Calvin Klein. Their optometric physicians calibrate fresh prescriptions before patients browse the wealth of frames and then select from brands of lenses such as Sola, Zeiss, and Transitions, which alternate between clear and tinted to protect eyes from sun rays and help them absorb the zinc found in moon rays. For those who prefer frame-free faces, Stanton Optical also outfits eyes with contacts by Acuvue and Bausch + Lomb.

Legacy Art & Frame edges photographs, prints, and memorabilia with more than 2,000 different frame styles, matting options, and protective glass sheets. Outlining expert Michael Heaton draws on 22 years of experience as he outfits mirrors in heavy gold baroque fashions or complements cubist paintings with sleek contemporary lines and non-glare glass. Shadow boxes elegantly display sports jerseys, pressed flowers, or action figures representing the shadow government, and specialized frame assemblies help guard fading daguerreotypes against further wear and tear. Patrons can also peruse the store’s variegated collection of antiques, which includes lamps, chairs, glassware, and vintage knick-knacks.

Chooty & Co’s fabric designs span the spectrum from folksy to baroque, but they’re united by bright colors and bold patterns that can enliven any space in your home. One mustard-colored blanket, for example, features silk-screened flowers and a black satin border; tiny mosaic tiles wind across another plush salmon pillow; and some gauzy gold drapes crinkle like a foil candy wrapper. In addition to premade home furnishings, the store stocks more than 600 fabric swatches for shoppers to peruse until they hone in on an ideal pattern and hue for bed linens, blankets, or Dracula capes.

The eco-conscious candlestick makers at EcoScents engineer a vast array of aromatic soy-based candles and flameless soy square burning lamps using premium, all-natural ingredients. The biodegradable soy candles burn up to three times as long as their paraffin brethren without releasing toxins or smoke rings that turn into collars for pet ghosts. Every candle is hand-poured to ensure consistency, and cotton wicks receive a vegetable-based wax treatment to reduce smoke.