What's in Stores?

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If you've been watching our stations, you've probably seen one of my Top 10 Shopping segments by now. As I do with Top 5, I take you behind the scenes, introduce you to owners, and enrich your understanding of a business by letting you in on how it operates and who operates it.

Some of the most fun I had was trying on Sunglasses! If you haven't been to Sunglass World or Eye Gallery, you have no idea what a huge statement a cool, artistic or state-of-the-art (or both!) pair of sunglasses can make.

This has been a lot of fun for me for a number of reasons. First of all, there is nothing more fun than talking to people about what they're passionate about, and what they're good at. Just as I love hearing a chef flip out about new ingredients or seasonings they're working with, I love hearing a shop owner talk about the special understanding they have about their products, and the relationships they have with the people who produce them.

Archeo Gallery in Key West, for example, where Wendy, the owner, and her staff, Ashley and Jenny, literally travel through dusty deserts, up mountains, and into Bedouin villages in Iran to purchase their Gabbeh rugs. Each rug, each statue, each piece of furniture in the store comes from a personal adventure, and direct commerce with craftspeople.

John Brandolino, a.k.a. The Sole Man of the store by that name in Key West, is so informed and excited about a quality shoe, he makes you think about it not as just a piece of clothing but as a piece of equipment. He'll tell you why you don't want to wear junk on your feet, and why you want to, instead, wear something smartly and aesthetically designed.

The Towels of Key West guys with their velvet-soft, Key West-designed beach towels, are experts when it comes to an everyday luxury, and the Emeralds of Key West staff will have you in awe at a miracle of nature (it's as much a natural history as a fashion experience to go there).

On the Emerald Coast, I've enjoyed meeting Kim and Jim at Today's Woman (I love a husband and wife pair who can work together side by side, not only selling accessible fashion but raising money for breast cancer). Every clothing store should be as comprehensive as theirs (bras, to shoes, to jewelry, to every kind of outfit, to shawls and jackets), and I'm pretty sure the reason the lounge area offers refreshments is that Jim knows the husband needs a place to chill out while the lady shops.

Some of the most fun I had was trying on Sunglasses! If you haven't been to Sunglass World or Eye Gallery, you have no idea what a huge statement a cool, artistic or state-of-the-art (or both!) pair of sunglasses can make. The fact that these two different businesses had thousands of sunglasses and didn't (at least to me) seem to overlap says a lot. Stay tuned for more shopping feedback and tips as I expand my area of expertise, checking out more stores.

Hey, as with dining, it's a tough job but someone's got to do it…