Shopping in Tonawanda

Boa, rated one of the Best Places to Shop in Toronto by Toronto Life Magazine, is the fashionable brainchild of twin sisters Daphne and Ofra Nassani, geared toward chic-minded gals on a budget. Curating a collection of versatile day-to-night pieces, the sisters stock an inventory ranging from sparkling evening dresses to comfortable sweaters and bamboo leggings. In addition to keeping a close watch on the fashion world, the sisters pride themselves on being socially and environmentally conscious. They host in-store fundraisers and clothing drives to benefit Free-Them—a volunteer-run organization working to combat human trafficking—and make efforts to reduce their carbon footprint by sending their customers home with their new duds in paper bags, rather than plastic bags or in the hands of coal-powered personal bag-carrying robots.

Run Girl Run wants to keep ladies stylish and performing at their maximum capacity when they’re hitting the pavement. It carries running-related apparel, including performance tops, bottoms, outerwear, and accessories that range from hoodies to visors and totes. Run Girl Run also sponsors a women’s running club designed for beginner or intermediate runners who wish to learn about training, stretching, and nutrition. Regatta Sport located inside of Run Girl Run, features men's rowing apparel such as performance tops , uni-suits, outerwear, and headwear.

When they were hairstylists, Lisa and David Robinson spent years listening to their clients complain about the difficulty of finding a lingerie shop whose bras came in a wide range of sizes and styles. Inspired, they decided to remedy this with their own boutique: My Top Drawer. The shop stocks bras in band sizes from 28 to 54 and cup sizes from A to M. Its professional fitters help customers find creations from brands such as Chantelle, Freya, PrimaDonna, and Goddess that are more comfortable than traditional corsets made from chainmail. If customers can’t find the right seamless, molded, pushup, or nursing style and fit in the store, the experts will custom order bras and mail them at no extra charge.

The shop’s wide range of supportive upperwear pairs with panties in thong, bikini, and brief cuts from Hanky Panky and Minerva. Additionally, customers can pick up both romantic lingerie and everyday sleepwear that keeps them warm when they go outside to count sheep in the pasture before nodding off. Spanx and Body Wrap shapewear smooth silhouettes, and the shop’s swimwear includes suits that accommodate full busts with larger cup sizes and supportive underwire.

With an enormous inventory of instruments, a dependable technician, and friendly instructors, The Guitar Factory is the kind of store that performers come to count on over the course of their musical evolution. Here, musicians can browse from simple-starter electric guitars from Ibanez to high-end acoustics from Martin. Keyboards, percussion, amps, basses, and other gear are also available. When wear and tear strikes, the shop’s in-house repairman, Charles J. Quagliana, can nurse instruments back to functionality. Charles has honed his handiwork by working for superstars such as Mary J. Blige, Prince, The Beach Boys, and the Mos Eisley Cantina band.

In the studio’s 10 air-conditioned lesson rooms, a team of teachers with more than 30 years’ experience teach guitar, drums, bass, keyboard, and other instruments. Joe Shanahan, who teaches bass, guitar, vocal, keyboards, and drums, was inducted into the Buffalo Music Hall of Fame with his band, Only Humen, and guitarist/singer/teacher Tommy Z has performed for the U.S. troops in Afghanistan and Iraq. Instructors tailor each lesson to student’s individual needs; with a current student pool ranging from ages 4 to 70, instructors are comfortable working with a wide range of skill sets.

After years sewing funky, girly clothing for her young daughter, Lisa Jamieson began to sell her creations online, founding the business that would become Tutu Girls Boutik & Kids Spa. Colorful leg warmers, flowered headbands, and the boutique's namesake tutus line shelves and fill racks throughout the boutique's pink and zebra-striped space inside the Boulevard Mall. A licensed cosmetologist, Jamieson also makes over petite patrons' hair, faces, and nails alongside staff in the spa, forgoing techniques such as cuticle trimming that might be unsafe for tiny digits. A make-your-own-lip-gloss station grants visitors the chance to craft their own sparkly solutions, and a pink catwalk mural encourages two-dimensional guests to work the runway.: