46 Best Shopping in Portland, Oregon

It's safe to assume that Nike's flagship Portland store, just a short drive from the company's mammoth HQ campus in Beaverton, has the latest and greatest in swoosh-adorned products. The high-tech setting has athlete profiles, photos, and interactive displays.

Fine charcuterie and cheeses, organic produce, and an exceptional selection of Italian wines, cookware, and fresh-made pastas and sauces are all sold at this spacious market in Hawthorne, adjoining Powell's Books for Home and Garden. There's a second location in Nob Hill.

Here, science and biology mix with whimsy and imagination. You'll find everything from taxidermied scorpions and baby goats to ostrich eggs and ceramic chimes. It's a fascinating and strangely beguiling mix of goods, although not for the faint of heart.

One of Northwest Portland's longest-running and most respected art spaces, this large gallery features rotating exhibitions in a range of materials from an impressive roster of both local and national artists. The striking space is inside a quonset hut in Slabtown.

A trip to the perfume counter at a large department store is for amateurs. If you're seeking an olfactory experience and a signature scent, you'll find it at this emporium to fragrance. Hundreds of big-name fragrances for women and men are sold here under the guidance of a trained and knowledgeable staff.

If you want real-deal western gear—saddles, Stetsons, boots, and shirts—head to this old-school, no-nonsense store which stubbornly resists all that is trendy, both in clothes and decor. The red neon sign, depicting a cowboy riding a bucking horse, is a Downtown icon.

This store stocks clothing by the famous local apparel maker, whose woolen mills were established in 1863 and continue to produce sturdy, brightly patterned blankets and rugs as well as men's and women's shirts, sweaters, outerwear, and gear that's as popular with octogenarians as with twentysomethings.

The inventory at this Powell's location, a couple of doors down from a general outpost on Hawthorne, focuses on cooking and gardening books, with a sizable selection of crafting books and unique gift items.

Portland's largest antiques mall, Stars has two stores across the street from each other in the Sellwood-Moreland neighborhood. Since it rents its space to about 200 antiques dealers, you might find anything from low-end 1950s kitsch to high-end treasures.

The urbane, free-spirited fashions carried in this friendly Alberta Street boutique capture the essence of the neighborhood—many of the short dresses, leather handbags, and unpretentious necklaces and bracelets are in the blacks, grays, and tans favored by East Sider Portlanders, although you'll find the occasional floral-print top or rose-hued handbag in the mix. Major brands include Pink Martini, Biko, and Spitfire.

The retail shop of the eponymous Portland record label founded by Jared and Brianne Mees carries not only music but also cool hand-printed cards, posters, and T-shirts, along with an artistic selection of handcrafted lifestyle goods, from pastel miniature vases and squiggle-shaped earrings to ceramic fox trinkets and illustrated prints. You'll find additional locations on Hawthorne, in Nob Hill, at Bridgeport Village, and in the airport.

Billing itself as Portland's "most hands-on store," Thinker Toys offers puppets, games, educational toys, and a large wooden playhouse that kids can hang out in.

Carrying fun and stylish designer clothing, you might describe Tumbleweed as "country chic," for the woman who likes to wear flirty feminine dresses with cowboy boots. There's also baby and toddler clothing in their children's shop next door, Grasshopper.

Stocking an exhaustive selection of trendy men's underwear, this boutique has a strong following with Portland's gay community, but any guy with a discerning eye for quality boxer briefs and ribbed trunks will appreciate underU4men and its helpful sales staff. In addition to more than 50 underwear brands, from good old Levi's boxers to sexy Unico and Andrew Christian briefs, the shop also carries thousands of swimsuits and a range of apothecary products.

For distinctive women's fashion and accessories designed and made in Portland, check out this boutique in up-and-coming Montavilla. Though there are scores of dresses for any season, including a very good selection of dresses and skirts in plus sizes, there's also plenty of everyday wear, like hoodies and hats.