Shopping in Somerville

For 42 years, adventurers and outdoor athletes have emerged from Country Ski & Sport armored in quality apparel and equipped with sturdy vessels, poised to conquer mountains, rivers, and bike paths. The Stenson family—which founded the sportsman’s haven in 1970—shares the clientele’s passion for outdoor excursions, and staff three facilities with a team of knowledgeable employees boasting more than 225 collective years of industry experience. The friendly staff draws upon outdoor know-how to match customers with pairs of skis, snowboards, kayaks, or bikes that suit their needs and size. Adventure-appropriate apparel from North Face or Under Armour keeps bodies warm while they’re slaloming down slopes or luging to work. To help customers prepare for the sporting seasons, technicians also repair and tune up skis, snowboards, and bicycles, and offer seasonal leasing options for snow equipment.

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.

AlwaysFits.Com abounds with quirky gifts and novelties suitable for recipients of all ages. Eschewing complex internet interfaces based on hieroglyphs and calculus, the site offers a straightforward online ordering system, which allows customers to click through hundreds of unusual products––from giant 5-pound gummy bears to Abraham Lincoln finger puppets to avocado necklaces. AlwaysFits.Com further simplifies the gift-giving process with pages of suggestions based on tastes or personalities, along with comprehensive gift baskets with themes such as office life, marriage, and mustaches.

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.

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.