Best Shopping

Formal Dresses
Nothing can grind prom-night merriment to a halt like seeing another girl wearing the exact same dress. Allay your teen’s look-alike fears at Charisma in Zionsville, where owner Linda Davis keeps track of who is wearing what to which formal occasion at which school, so the chances of her kooky Betsey Johnson find or classic Maggy London cocktail dress showing up on that girl from study hall are next to nil. 20 N. Main St., Zionsville, 733-0990, charismazionsville.com.

Yoga Clothes
As any true yogi knows, actual yoga apparel can be, well, impractical. It’s challenging enough to remain modest during downward-facing dog without daring necklines and slippery fabric working against you. But Definitions for Her in the Carmel Arts & Design district has you covered. Literally. While the workout apparel retailer has a couple of racks of clothing marketed as yoga wear, most shoppers will have more luck rifling through the running and aerobics gear for supportive running bras, sweat-wicking capri pants, and tanks and T-shirts that stay put. 111 W. Main St., Carmel, 818-1065.

Soap
Luxe bath towels and delicate china aside, the real reason to stop by Honeysuckle Home is its array of specialty suds. The Broad Ripple shop stocks Claus Porto—Oprah’s favorite—as well as SunFeather soaps, wrapped in calico fabric. For a can’t-miss hostess gift, wrap up a few bars of Nature’s Emporium soaps—made with feel-good ingredients such as organic herbs and natural honey. 920 Broad Ripple Ave., 202-4663.

Market Bags
The reusable totes at Whole Foods are made with 80 percent recycled plastic bottles and feature an abstract tree with the message “I love my home … planet earth.” Pick one up for a buck, and your eco-friendly purchase will benefit the Natural Resources Defense Council. If it tears or breaks, Whole Foods will replace it. 1300 E. 86th St., 706-0900, wholefoodsmarket.com.

Place to Furnish on a Budget
Indy doesn’t lack for spacious showrooms of beautiful home furnishings, but for the thrill of the bargain-hunt, nothing beats Homegoods. Two Indianapolis locations are chock full of furniture of all kinds, gleaned from overstocked retailers and discontinued lines. Stock is constantly changing, but a recent trip yielded a black and white brocade “fainting couch” for just $599, and a solid maple dining table with turned legs marked down to $999 from $1,995. 5502 E. 82nd St., 576-0427; 10025 N. Michigan Rd., Carmel, 228-0485; homegoods.com.

Holistic Pet Food Store
If your cat or dog has a sensitive tummy, consider the cuisine at Purrs & Gurrs. Everything is made with human-grade ingredients—no animal by-products, fillers, or preservatives. Biscuits sold by the pound ($7.99) may remedy various ailments; two popular versions are the ginger treats that aid with digestion, and the honey ones that help with allergy relief. 8795 E. 116th St., Fishers, 915-8700, purrsandgurrs.com.

Kitchen Gadgets
The joy that comes with a visit to Williams-Sonoma lies not in finding the kitchen gear you need, but in discovering the treasures you don’t: the chestnutter, the egg-topper, and the cranberry mold. How, for instance, have you made it this far in your culinary life without an asparagus-colored asparagus peeler? Keystone at the Crossing, 848-1431, williams-sonoma.com.

Fragrance Line
Broad Ripple massage therapist Ambre Ashley blends amber oil and other all-natural essential oils to create her three signature essences—Solace, Invoke, and Ambre, a clean unisex scent that some wearers claim has aphrodisiac properties. No wonder some of the hippest boutiques in town (like Frankey’s, Curiosities, and Girly Chic Boutique) tout Ashley’s Ambre Custom Blends line. ambreblends.com.

Tights
You will find a vibrant stash of chic-cheap tights and leggings among the sunglasses, jewelry racks, and purses at DJ Beauty Supply. Traditional blacks and sheers get plenty of shelf space, but it’s the teals, yellows, purples, and reds in fishnet, textured, and opaque that impress, especially at prices that range from $1 to $6 a pair. 4235 Lafayette Rd., 328-0298.

Custom Western Wear
Jerry Lee Atwood, the man behind the sewing machine at Jerry Lee’s Western Wear, has been creating one-of-a-kind cowboy-inspired shirts, jackets, and accessories since 2002. Rhinestones, hand-stitched yokes, pearlized snaps, and other customized flair are available for around $80 a shirt. myspace.com/jerryleeswesternwear.

Couture Baby Gear
Jon Bon Jovi’s Rock Star strollers, cashmere onesies, and premium crib bedding line the shelves at Bebe Gate, the Broad Ripple boutique that has become the mecca for chic moms seeking the best of the best for their little ones. You can’t keep your baby from crying, but you can make sure she looks adorable while she is. 824 E. Westfield Blvd., 253-9500.

Chandeliers
On their regular trips to Europe, Bob and Michelle Beauchamp hand-select antique chandeliers, from the tastefully simple to uber-ornate, for their Westfield showroom, R. Beauchamp Antiques. There, customers can browse the impressive collection of 300-plus Italian, French, and Dutch chandeliers and sconces, ranging in era from the 1700s to the early 20th century. 16405 Westfield Blvd., 896-3717, beauchampantiques.com.

Trunk Show
Denver-based jewelry designer Samantha Hurst Larkins returns home to Indiana twice a year to showcase her feminine-yet-bold Samantha Louise line at the northside estate home of her parents, Lisa and Needham R. “Rick” Hurst, president of the N.K. Hurst bean company. For the designer’s August show, described by one guest as “a cocktail party with jewelry on display,” the Hurst pool house was overtaken by glittering diamonds, sapphires, and semi-precious stones in Larkins’ classic-yet-funky designs (influenced, she says, by her days working at Broad Ripple’s late Turandot). samanthalouisedesign.com.

Frocks
The one-year-old Carmel shop La Clothiere has the market cornered on semi-formal frocks fit for upscale holiday soirees and rockin’ cocktail parties. From basic black shifts to flouncy chiffon numbers, the stock achieves the complex task of being neither too trendy nor too classic. Standout labels include Hale Bob—a Hollywood celebrity favorite. And it’s the only place in Indy to carry the exclusive Italian line, Rinascimento. Get on the store mailing list, and you’ll receive a $25 gift certificate on your birthday. 1323 S. Range Line Rd., Carmel, 569-9940.

Knitwear
The name has changed, from Tree Haus to Curiosities, but this popular spot in Carmel’s Arts & Design District has stuck to the cozy bourgeois bohemian aesthetic first made popular by big-sister boutique Haus. Here you will find the dreamiest collections of knitwear. You can snuggle up to sweaters of every shape, style, and heft. The time-tested brands include Burning Torch, Twill 22, and Velvet, whose line of cashmere tops are the ultimate in casual luxury. 15 E. Main St., Carmel, 218-8328.

Tabletop Accessories
At Addendum Gallery in Carmel, chichi home accessories pass for works of art. No surprise, then, that it also has the area’s largest inventory of New York designer Michael Aram’s nature- inspired pieces, like bumblebee hors d’oeuvres picks, serving bowls shaped like giant hosta leaves, salt-and-pepper shakers in the form of pomegranates, and cake stands with delicate vine motifs. As an added bonus, you can heed the expert styling advice of store owner Shane Hartke. 111 W. Main St., Carmel, 575-1700, addendumgallery.com.

Shopping Carts
The spiffy rolling baskets queued up at Glendale Town Center’s brand-new Target look like a fleet of shiny new Mini Coopers, with their sturdy plastic construction and squatty cargo space. But they move through the aisles like finely tuned sports cars, with wheels that turn on a point and a body that narrows at the front for easy maneuvering. As if shopping at Target weren’t dangerously convenient enough. 6101 N. Keystone Ave., 454-7504.

Yarn Store
In the business of purling and popcorn stitching for 21 years, Mass. Ave. Knit Shop is your one-stop-shop for natural, silk, and merino yarn—as well as books, patterns, classes, and expert advice from seasoned needle clickers. For full immersion, try one of the shop’s $20 in-store retreats (next one is in April). 862 Virginia Ave., 638-1833, massaveknitshoponline.com.

Vintage Barware
Eric Lausch, of Vi Walker Silver, has culled a small but handsome array of antique barware from around the country. His current inventory includes an Arts and Crafts silver-plated martini set, as well as several turn-of-the-century pieces, such as a sterling-silver wine cooler, silver Tiffany pitcher, and antique cocktail forks with an olive motif. Cheers! 5209 N. College Ave., 283-3753.

Throw Pillows
At Interior Life, Shannon Roark’s well-edited home-decor store on Mass Ave, they understand that bringing life to your old beige duvet or turning up the volume on a blah living room can be as simple as adding pops of color and whimsy via throw pillows. A recent trip turned up looks to suit every taste: reversible pink-and-green dupioni silk, linen with a Roman silhouette, a stitched leather argyle print, an edgy skull-and-crossbones design, even a plush faux tiger-fur piece. 614 Massachusetts Ave., 423-2331, interiorlife.net.

Newstand
Whether you’re a traditionalist (Ooh, is that the Financial Times, in all its pink-paper glory?), gossip junkie (OK! Hello!), or someone who turns to the Web for all your info (Extreme Tech) at home (House Beautiful, Dwell), with your cats (Cat World, Cat Fancy), the newsstand at Borders at River Crossing is the place for you, with more titles than we’ve seen anywhere in town. We lost count at 2,500! 8675 River Crossing Blvd., 816-0134.

Vintage Games
In the tiny town of Fayette sits a little general store where you’ll find Bob Peltz, a guy you should meet if you want to outfit your home with a retro-style game room. Peltz’s Big Boys Toys Restorations brings vintage jukeboxes, pinball machines, arcade games, and soda machines back to life with a little love ... and a lot of sandblasting. 7506 S. State Road 267, 730-0018, homespunantiques.com.

Curated Piece of Furniture
Just about everything at the new IMA Design Center catches the eye, but the $8,000 Vitra Alcove Sofa stands out even in a crowd of eccentrics. World-renowned curator of design R. Craig Miller approved the Vitra line for display in the museum. We figure that makes it good enough for our living rooms. 4000 Michigan Rd., 923-1331, imamuseum.org.

Handbags
The stock at Be: The Boutique ranges from vegan (faux leather) Matt & Nat purses to the Glenda Gies collection of ladylike bags in vintage tweed and boucle that are perfect for modern-day Jackie O’s. 5367 N. College Ave., 257-3826.

Old World Frou-Frou
The trick to getting the most out of Artichoke Designs is to take your time soaking in the ceiling-to-floor details—from the mini-artichoke accents scattered about the boutique to the walls of discounted couture fabrics by Robert Allen, Lee Jofa, and Fabricut. 10 S. Range Line Rd., Carmel, 587-7411.