Shopping in Mount Lebanon

With a focus on footwear for children aged 6 months–8 years, Sten's Stride Rite outfits tykes with kicks from brands including Stride Rite, Nike, New Balance, and Timberland. The shop's seasoned associates perform specialized fittings to ensure that footwear doesn't suddenly fall off or attract rental applications from an old woman who lives in a shoe. When the store's not selling shoes, it supports such organizations as Make-A-Wish, Project Bundle-Up, and The Children's Home of Pittsburgh.

An independently owned lingerie boutique for more than 40 years, The Pussycat outfits ladies in sophisticated underpinnings, legwear, and well-fitting bras from brands such as PrimaDonna, Spanx, and Hanky Panky and lines imported from Paris and other far-flung locales. The shop's knowledgeable staff answers a variety of questions, helping shoppers find undergarments ranging from bustiers to soft-cup bras. Shapewear helps sculpt and slim lower halves, and boyshorts marry comfort and style. Customers can cover up legs in fashionable printed tights or step into tantalizing fishnets designed to make waves on subway cars.

A party just isn't a party until someone recites "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" in a top hat shaped like a beer mug. With today's hard-partying Groupon, $15 gets you get $30 worth of party supplies and Pittsburgh-themed merchandise at the legendary Mike Feinberg Company in the heart of the Strip District.

Typhoon Lighting especially specializes in everything light related: repair services, refurbished antique lighting fixtures, and classic and contemporary new designs to lustrously illuminate any roost. The company's domestic fixtures include pendants, chandeliers, sconces, and lamps that, when nicely light-bulbed, scare ghosts and shed light on ping-pong balls' hidden hideaways (prices vary, depending on limited items and specialty lines). Luxurious lampshades are available to enhance any immodest bare bulb ($30 to $50 on average). The radiant retailer also stocks a wide selection of accessories, including finials and hard-to-find antique bulbs (average $50–$200). If you already have an item that needs fixing or you would like to have a unit customized or embellished with a handmade lampshade, Typhoon's friendly, experienced staff is also eager to lend a hand ($70/hour). All repair and fabrication services are done in-house by highly skilled craftspeople, ensuring special attention and glowing service.

The Book Cellar escapes the curse afflicting many book fairs of being littered with endless copies of Dianetics and Windows 95 for Dummies through support from vivacious readers whose donations have created an intriguingly eclectic selection of literary milestones, pulp-fiction treats, and fascinating non-fiction. With the store's pleasant pricing, your $10 voucher could have you walking home with shelves' worth of material. Kindle and iPad owners can pick up analog copies of their digital favorites, since coverless tablets offer no way to broadcast to your coworkers that you're reading Nabokov.

After working at eyewear centers for three years, a 21-year-old Norman Childs took a tremendous leap of faith when he opened his own in 1979. In the inaugural years, Norman developed close relationships with his customers and began building Eyetique’s reputation for carrying high-fashion frames by the likes of Oliver Peoples, Prada, and Chanel––brand names that were hard to find in the area. Norman’s brainchild grew even larger with the help of a massive ad campaign showing more than 600 actors, musicians, and local celebrities donning the shop’s eyewear. With an entrepreneurial spirit that never yields, Norman also developed his own brand of eyeglasses, the Norman Childs line, which features frames made in the USA.

Today, Eyetique has since expanded to eight locations and continues to outfit visitors in sunglasses and prescription eyeglasses, which empower wearers with 20/20 vision and the ability to always spot Waldo in games of hide-and-seek. Staff members work one-on-one with customers to ensure that frames reflect the their personality, helping guests choose from a variety of designer brands including Coach, Gucci, Ray-Ban, and Silhouette.