Best of C-VILLE 2017: Shopping

What are you spending your money on? Just about everything, from furniture and books to kids’ clothes and potted plants. There’s no end to your love for shopping local (and, occasionally, not-so-local). Like *NSYNC sang: baby, buy, buy, buy!

Best place for music gear 2013: Stacy’s Music

Stacy’s Music Rio Hill Shopping Center 974-1555 stacysmusic.com Runner-up: Heinz Musitronics 2171 Ivy Rd. 977-2797 heinzmusitronics.com What readers know about Stacy’s Music shop is that it’s the best in town. What they might not know is that the shop has been around since 1945, when Carl “Stacy” Monk, the member of a dance orchestra band […]

Best place for furniture 2013: Circa

Circa 1700 Allied St. 295-5760 circainc.com Runner-up: Artful Lodger 218 Market St. #4 970-1900 artful-lodger.com Readers know that when it comes to buying furniture, the top consideration is longevity. Will this piece be something I can pass down to my kids?, you might ask yourself when out shopping. At Circa, you find the kind of […]

Best boutique clothing store 2013: Bittersweet

Bittersweet 106 E. Main St. 977-5977 shopbittersweet.com Runner-up: Eloise 505 W. Main St. 295-3905 shopeloise.com Mary Quant, in the late 1960s, became a British fashion icon with her invention of the mini skirt. It’s not difficult to be a fashion icon in Charlottesville. All you have to do is head to Bittersweet, where you can […]

Best florist 2013: University Florists

University Florists 1929 Arlington Blvd. 973-1381 universityflorists.com Runner-up: Hedge Fine Blooms 416 W. Main St. 817-9950 hedgefineblooms.com Need a quick fix? Readers head to University Florists for all things bright and blooming when it’s a special occasion (or they’re looking to create one). In second place, Hedge Fine Blooms’ two locations keeps readers peppered in […]

Best place to buy shoes 2013: DSW

DSW 29th Place 326-0066 dsw.com Runner-up: Scarpa Barracks Road Shopping Center 296-0040 thinkscarpa.com One thing’s for sure: You folks like choices. DSW, which opened this past spring in 29th Place (formerly Shoppers World Court), provides shoe shoppers with plenty of options and steps into the winners’ circle for the first time this year. Scarpa, in Barracks […]

Best jewelry store 2013: Angelo

Angelo 220 E. Main St. 971-9256 angelojewelry.com Runner-up: Keller & George  1149 Millmont St.  293-5011  kellerandgeorge.com In 1862, Czar Alexander II, the Emperor of Russia, purchased a 260.37-carat oval-cut blue sapphire brooch at the Great London Exhibition for his empress, Maria Alexandrovna. That must have cost a pretty penny. And while you’re likely to encounter […]

Best vintage clothing store 2013: Vintage Vixen

Vintage Vixen 300 E. Market St. 244-0778 vvclothing.com Runner-up: Glad Rags 1923 Commonwealth Dr. 979-1816 mygladrags.com Coco Chanel famously said, “A girl should be two things: classy and fabulous.” Readers know that in order to achieve both of those things, they need to go vintage. After all, you can’t do “classic” without “class,” right? Vintage […]

Best place to buy beer 2013: Beer Run

Beer Run 156 Carlton Rd. #203 984-2337 beerrun.com Runner-up: Market Street Wineshops 311 E. Market St. 305 Rivanna Plaza Dr., Suite 102 964-9463 marketstreetwine.com Tucked into what’s essentially a mini mall on industrial Carlton Avenue, Beer Run doesn’t look like the kind of place you’d find 400-plus different kinds of beer. But it is—and with […]