Shopping in Somerville

The staff at Advanced Vision Center stays up-to-date with trends in eye care, from the latest diagnostic technology to the most sought-after ocular fashions. The crew employs modern digital equipment during comprehensive eye exams, and within about an hour, pairs high-tech lenses with frames from high-end designers such as Mykita, Oliver Peoples, Gold & Wood, and Ray-Ban. They also stock a wide variety of contact lenses for people who hate explaining to their children that taking glasses off creates the exact opposite effect as when Clark Kent does it.

The team includes a certified specialist in orthokeratology, a nonsurgical technique that gently reshapes the cornea with custom-designed retainer lenses that clients wear as they sleep.

Peter H. Reynolds, co-owner of The Blue Bunny Books and Toys, knows his books—he’s even a published author, with his illustrations adorning popular children’s titles such as the Judy Moody series and several Judy Blume novels. That love of the printed word is reflected in his family’s store, filled with an array of books for children and grownups. In addition to literature, customers can peruse a selection of DVDs and children's diversions such as albums, sticker books, craft kits, lunchboxes, and puppets that can be trained to bark on command. The Blue Bunny also hosts special events, such as workshops, preschool story hours, and book signings from celebrities such as Diary of a Wimpy Kid author Jeff Kinney.

With FPgirl, little ladies are the designers, wielding an artistic eye to customize their own clothes to their personal style. The FPgirl cache of threads includes articles such as tops, hoodies, jackets, pants, and tees, which girls can customize based on a variety of options such as style, color, and embellishments, and then finish with their own customized brand label. More than just an online clothier, FPgirl also lets girls express their creativity and create customized items that are uniquely theirs.

Since 1988, Carolyn McCoy's car-trunk stationery business has unfolded into a flourishing shop vending stationery, gifts, and printed ephemera. McCoy's passion announces itself in the form of resplendent displays of notepads, precious writing implements, and custom printed gifts popping with patterns. In-house printing facilitates smooth event planning, and a monogram decal machine tattoos cell-phone cases and totes with names or notes for physics exams.

Fashion, function, and fit were Michele and Marina Rubini’s core values when they founded Rulls Clothing From Italy in 1989. With more than 45 years’ experience in the apparel industry, Michele brought his extensive knowledge of quality fabrics and timeless styles to the Massachusetts Avenue shop, while Marina, an expert tailor, brought careful craftsmanship and impeccable fitting skills. Today, the husband-and-wife team helps customers select fine, Italian-made suits in styles ranging from traditional to modern, then tailors them to form-fitting perfection. Along with luxurious sweaters, dashing hats, and dress shoes, Rulls’ inventory includes more than 600 men’s dress shirts sized 15 to 18.5, and more than 400 ties by brands including Armani and Prada in a variety of colors and patterns, such as stripes, paisley, or Rorschach.

In 1927, Jack Cohen had a vision. Packing a pushcart full of high-quality frames, he began to sell fashionable spectacles to his fellow merchants along New York City's Orchard Street. After expanding into a small shop on a Lower East Side corner, that humble little cart has since evolved into more than 100 retail outlets known as Cohen's Fashion Optical, where customers fortify their eyesight with a range of acuity-boosting products and services. Rows of frames boast the signature contours of several designer brands, including Tag Heuer, Dolce & Gabbana, Bulgari, and Gucci. In the onsite lab, opticians craft brand-new, custom lenses, including ones that self-adjust to different lighting conditions. Meanwhile, licensed optometrists help renew prescriptions and ensure ocular health during eye exams that measure eye coordination, refraction, and the curvature of the cornea, a concept originally discovered by Ferdinand Magellan when he looked through the wrong end of his spyglass.