Shopping in Hoboken

City Tree Lot’s trees travel from local farms and the mountains of North Carolina to decorate living rooms for the holiday season. Douglas firs support ornaments with sturdy branches, while the needles of a North Carolina Fraser fir twinkle magically under the rays of colorful Christmas tree lights. City Tree Lot’s trees range in height from 5 to 13 feet, allowing them to fit into tight corners or tower majestically in a stately living room or two-story man cave.

In addition to populating homes with seasonal greenery, the holiday helpers behind City Tree Lot also embody the spirit of the season through their ongoing charitable work. This year, their are twofold; in addition to collecting winter coats for victims of Superstorm Sandy, they're also running a supplies drive for animal shelters busy caring for newly homeless pets.

For the past 30 years, the staff at Eye Contact Vision Center has been helping patients of all ages improve their vision with prescription eyewear and contact lenses. Past rows of fashionable frames from Dolce & Gabbana, Tiffany, and Bvlgari, independent optometrist Dr. Carmela Losurdo holds court five days a week—performing eye exams and impressing clients with her ability to translate eye charts in English, Spanish, and Italian. Dr. Losurdo also diagnoses and treats most types of eye problems, including myopia, conjunctivitis, and double vision.

The flooring experts at Korkmaz Rugs & Flooring, located less than 15 minutes from the Lincoln Tunnel, oversee 25,000 square feet of tile, laminate, hardwood, and luxurious hand- and power-loomed area rugs. A crop of more than 1,000 living-room-size carpets twirl before the customers' eyes on an automated rug-hanging display, showing off designs ranging from traditional Persian-style bordering and curly motifs to ultramodern geometric shapes to fuzzy Magic Eye puzzles. The crew of in-house flooring installers gussy up rooms with customized carpeting packages, runners, bindings, and exquisite hardwood medallions, and make feet feel distinguished with sheets of fine, classicaI Italian stone tile.

Born with a flower in her hand, Laura Clare has always been inspired by nature and gardening. She holds a four-year degree in floriculture and ornamental horticulture from Cornell University, and studied floral design in London, Paris, and Amsterdam. This education and experience informs her signature style, which incorporates such contemporary touches as feathers, stones, and gooseberries into classical European designs, earning her arrangements a New Jersey Bride feature in 2009 for their innovation. Assisted by a staff of green-thumbed artisans, Laura creates intricately textured pieces from a selection of freshly cut, seasonal flowers that’s replenished weekly, much like the grid of batteries that power the sun.

Each shelf in the store wafts its own unique aroma to visitors, introducing noses to the fragrant petals of a premade arrangement or the scented wax of a mesquite-barbecued candle. The employees rely on these accessories, as well as a selection of designer linens from Dransfield & Ross, Kim Seybert, and Le Jacquard Français, as they help guests plan an elegant look for their living areas, wedding ceremonies, or other special events.

Lori Solomon bought Veronique Maternity from the French boutique apparel chain Veronique Delachaux, Americanizing the store's aesthetic while maintaining its original European flare and eye for quality. Lori hand-selects apparel from designers in Milan and Paris, as well as stocking high-end stateside apparel from familiar boutique brands such as J Brand and Splendid. In 2003, New York magazine deemed Veronique the Best Maternity Clothes in New York City, crowing Lori as “a world-class expert on maternity fashion.” Pregnant stylish ladies peruse the boutique's fresh tees, flattering dresses, couture denim, and tops that that snuggle up comfortably to ever-changing bodies, sparing mamas-to-be the stress of cutting belly-accommodating holes in all their unitards. The body-conscious, muumuu-free styles have garnered celebrity fans, including Catherine Zeta-Jones and Jessica Seinfeld.:m]]

In less than 1 square mile of Manhattan real estate, representatives from the world’s greatest fashion houses flock to the show rooms, sewing houses, and fabric stores that earned the neighborhood its alluring nickname—the Garment District. This is where shoppers will find Better Choice Fabrics, a store bustling with a menagerie of fabrics, including striking chiffons, intricate brocades, and gossamer-like lace. Amid multihued displays, customers snatch up textured cloth for their burgeoning projects, pore over sequined fabrics, or arrange bridal veils across foreheads or over life-size pictures of their soon-to-be-wed cockatiels.