Shopping in Groton

Providence Optical beautifies the shelves of its optical boutique with a wide selection of vintage and contemporary frames from hard-to-find local and overseas brands. After detecting the font-size inconsistencies on the optometrist's chart during an eye exam ($60), customers can peruse the vision center's collection of fashions from popular international designers including Bruno Chaussignand, Strada Del Sole, and Swissflex. The experienced staff at Providence Optical can work with customers to customize frames while thwarting attempts to make squinting fashionable.

On Woodside Nursery and Garden Center's 5-acre grounds, a sprawling greenhouse hosts seasonal, Long Island–grown florae. The nursery staff cultivates its own flowers, vegetable plants, and herbs onsite to oversee every facet of growth and read each plant its preferred bedtime story at night. With photos and measurements for reference, these green-thumbed experts will also help customers design lush landscapes free of charge. Woodside's stock changes with the necessities of the seasons, with sundry flowers in the springtime, pond fish in the summer, pumpkins in the fall, and Christmas trees and wreaths in the winter.

Jeff Lederman took a hobbyist's interest in personalized crafts more than 30 years ago, and today that hobby has blossomed into a gift mecca tinged with a distinctively masculine edge. RhinoGifts.com and its sister storefront Recognition Inc. fill orders big and small for all kinds of inscribed paraphernalia, from apparel and watches to cedar humidors for stogies, and incorporates customers’ own artwork, logos, and personalized messages to complete each gift. The outfit also emblazons trinkets for companies with no minimum order sizes, meaning big corporations and mom-and-pop shops alike can treat their employees to a commemorative pen on Dr. Spock’s half birthday.

The styles in the window and the way people pay might have changed since Berk’s Store opened up shop in 1900, but the store still maintains its commitment to providing its customers high-quality casual footwear and apparel. As they peruse the store, shoppers can find boxes filled with desert boots by Clarks, stylish thong sandals by Jack Rogers, and the ghosts of basketball players past wearing classic Chuck Taylor high-tops by Converse. For those who prefer to shop by phone or telegram, the store offers free shipping within the continental United States.

Over the course of 20 years, family-operated Just Like New has inspected apparel, accessories, and home furnishings from thousands of consigners, accepting only the pieces that meet strict quality and style standards. At the start of each fashion season, the family treks to New York City to gather enough designer duds to restock two 5,000-square-foot locations. Clothing, shoes, and accessories by classic brands such as Coach and Ann Taylor adorn shelves and keep mannequins from being charged with public indecency, and a children's section outfits youngsters in apparel purchased exclusively from catalog brands and specialty stores. Just Like New's jewelry selection glitters with 14-karat gold and sterling silver; vintage and costume jewelry occasionally makes the cut by way of jingling the shop owners' favorite songs. Vintage glassware, furniture, and artwork make unique design accents for the home.

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