104 Best Places to Shop in Pennsylvania, USA

Woven rugs, pottery, carvings, and other handcrafted gifts made by skilled artisans in 32 countries such as Kenya, Thailand, and India make this fair-trade store a favorite for innovative gifts with a social conscience.

This hub for the international wood-art community recently moved to a more visible new home and changed its name from the Wood Turning Center. Housed here is a store with gorgeous work—some by the accomplished artists whose work has been displayed in the adjacent gallery, including those who come every year as part of the organization's annual Windgate ITE International Residency program. There is also a free museum on the premises.

The Horse Soldier carries one of the country's largest collections of military antiques—everything from bullets to discharge papers. Its Soldier Genealogical Research Service can help find your ancestors' war records prior to 1910.

It's easy to get lost amid the arcana at this charmingly cluttered shop, which has been dealing in historic prints, antique maps, and related reference books for more than 35 years.

The frequent exhibitions at this two-story gallery down a charming side street attract fans of contemporary printmaking and photography.

You can find art glass and jewelry at Topeo. A sister store, Topeo South, located at 15 North Main Street, offers art pottery, garden art, and Judaica as well.

What started out as a storefront selling used jeans to students in West Philadelphia is now a trendsetting chain on campuses across the country. Three floors showcase an eclectic array of hip clothing, unusual books, and funky housewares that can go from the dorm room to the family room.

Furniture and accessories are what the owner calls "global modern," reflecting a fusion of different styles, periods, and materials. Accent pieces, like picture frames and mirrors, are interesting and affordable.

The two designing women/co-owners of Vagabond pioneered a formula—selling vintage wares alongside new, edgy labels and featuring under-the-radar brands like their own (Stellapop and City of Brotherly Love). It's been imitated plenty ever since, but this boutique still does it best.

If you're hunting for a gift that makes you look thoughtful, this is the place to go—here you'll find gorgeous, fresh bouquets of flowers; sparkly jewelry, scarves, and stylish handbags with a handcrafted look; and a smattering of easy, pretty clothing. This is also the home of Marcie Blaine Artisanal Chocolates with delicious, exotic flavors like blood orange, spiked eggnog, and elderflower and champagne.

Local artists and designers consign their works—from ceramics to handmade hats—in this former millinery with the original built-in cabinetry and beveled-glass windowpanes. The owners, a couple, both have a background in retail and are artisans themselves—she makes jewelry and he's a graphic designer. That's typical of the creative entrepreneurs popping up in West Philadelphia.

This gallery is known for specializing in historic and contemporary glass, but it always has an interesting mix of 20th- and 21st-century handcrafted furnishings and art.

The contemporary prints here by American masters like Chuck Close and Robert Rauschenberg and by artists represented by the gallery have won Works on Paper a reputation as one of the city's best.

Asher chocolates and Philly souvenirs from key chains to T-shirts are stocked here, near the sights of the historic district.