Style+Wellness
Best of Baltimore
Style+Wellness
BY JANELLE ERLICHMAN DIAMOND
Photography by Matt Roth
FASHION BOOK
CLAIRE McCARDELL: THE DESIGNER WHO SET WOMEN FREE by ELIZABETH EVITTS DICKINSON
A BIOGRAPHY ABOUT AN INFLUENTIAL FEMALE American fashion designer who revolutionized women’s ready-to-wear sounds intriguing enough, but put that subject in author Elizabeth Evitts Dickinson’s hands and it’s a gamechanger. Her book is vivid, immersive, and brilliant. And you don’t need to take our word for it: The New York Times put it on their “100 Notable Books” list and it was hailed as a best book of the year by NPR, Time, and The Washington Post. Plus, if you get a chance to see Dickinson speak in person, you must—you can hear the admiration and awe she holds for McCardell. Next up—a true-crime object biography about the famous ruby slippers from The Wizard of Oz. We’re clicking our heels in anticipation.
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BRA FITTING
BRA LA LA
It’s worth the trek to Fulton (trust us) to shop at this hidden gem. Bra La La has an extensive selection of bras— in every possible proportion, style, material—and excellent sales associates who don’t make it weird or shameful that you’ve been wearing the completely wrong size all these years. Trust us, they’ve seen it all and are so patient and knowledgeable. And they always share how to care for your bras, so they don’t just fit perfectly, they last a long time, too.
CONSIGNMENT
WEAR IT’S AT
This non-fussy Reisterstown shop is a favorite among consignment connoisseurs—mostly because of owner Molly Scaljon’s keen eye, love of fashion, and sweet disposition. She’s been the owner of WIA for more than a decade (the shop has been open since 2006) and is known for her luxury fashion—Christian Dior, Louis Vuitton, Cartier, Jimmy Choo, Chanel, Valentino—at stellar prices in a wide range of sizes. Scaljon also offers trust and estate closet clean-outs using the same energy and expertise that her customers love.
INCLUSIVE ENVIRONMENT
SKYLIGHT BOUTIQUE
This summer’s blockbuster exhibition “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style” at the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute includes more than 200 items that tell the story of Black dandyism in America. One of the show’s most crucial artifacts comes from Baltimore’s own Maryland Center for History and Culture—livery worn by an unidentified enslaved man most likely in the 1840s. By preserving and contextualizing these garments, MCHC has helped to show how Black culture transformed dandy dressing from a tool of oppression into a tool of self-definition.
NEW GIFT SHOP ON THE BLOCK
BALSTON MERCANTILE
It always makes us happy when a new store opens on The Avenue in Hampden, especially one of this caliber. Balston Mercantile was founded by Andrew Hatch and Jonathan Todd, business and life partners who combined their hometowns of Baltimore and Boston to create the name. The beautiful shop is well curated with tons of great home and gift items including candles, artwork, accessories, knickknacks, and bar and tableware. You can tell Hatch and Todd love what they do—they’re always suggesting great items, chatting up customers, and talking highly of their fellow merchants.
PHOTOGRAPHY BY SCHAUN CHAMPION
REFILL
MARKET GOODS
IT’S BYOC—bring your own container—at this Harford Road zero-waste bulk refillery in the Hamilton-Lauraville neighborhood. That’s because the whole point is zero waste for both the products and the packaging. Inside the sun-drenched Mother Earth apothecary, you can find shower steamers, dishwasher tablets, shampoo and conditioner, wool dryer balls (much more eco-friendly than dryer sheets), and Who Gives a Crap recycled toilet paper. Owner Hailey Graef keeps the website up to date with what’s available at the refill station from liquid laundry detergent to floor cleaner to toothpaste tablets. And by bringing your own vessel, you can buy as little or as much as you need.
It's Merch, Hon
FIT CHECK
BRIGHTSIDE BOUTIQUE
This clothing and accessory shop has been adding more and more fantastic options (hats, tees, tanks) for the Orioles, Ravens, and Baltimore City itself. Our current fave? The Charm City Love mock neck.
LOCAL LOVE BOUTIQUE
FOUND STUDIO
No one cheers and loves local Baltimore products more than Kacey Stafford. Her Lauraville shelves are filled with art, totes, cards, mugs, and cutting boards made locally. She promotes not just the products but the makers, too.
PLACE TO KICK IT OLD SCHOOL
RETROSPECT
Located less than a mile from Camden Yards and M&T Bank Stadium, Retrospect is filled with Ravens and Orioles vintage tees, hats, and sweatshirts. Follow owner MJ Broderick on IG for all the latest drops.
SPOT WHERE THE COOL KIDS SHOP
PANGEA PRINTING
Our go-to festival booth—Pangea Printing—is pretty perfect. They’re known for their spoopy (that’s spooky, but in a cute way) Baltimore shirt, lemon-stick hat, Jaws-inspired crab tee, and Grateful Boh merch, among many other favorites.
STUFF TO PUT ON YOUR WALL
GLOBE AT MICA
Globe at MICA prints are basically Baltimore’s official posters, their neon colors and assertive fonts promoting everything from festivals to concerts to deviled-egg pageants to social-justice issues—most available to purchase.
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PREGNANCY WELLNESS
THE WOMB ROOM
In 2019, following her own struggle with postpartum depression and anxiety, Karen Kindig stepped into a leadership role at The Womb Room, a community for growing families. In the years since, The Womb Room has grown from a small team into a collective of more than 50 birth professionals with the same mission—to be the support system often lacking for new and expectant parents. That includes doulas, education, lactation, yoga, massage, and therapy—services that bridge the time from when you’re trying to conceive to pregnancy, postpartum, and finally parenthood.
VINTAGE
A DAY IN JUNE
Why do we love Lindsey Brown’s vintage shop in Fells Point? Let us count the ways: curated vintage clothing that just feels happy, tons of local art, an in-house coffee shop, and a dried-flower bar. Brown also stocks new stuff like notebooks, hats, and greeting cards. You can just feel how much she loves what she does—and why she has so many repeat customers. And now that she’s opened her sister shop, St. Taylor Studio, a concept store and creative space also on Fleet Street, Brown is simply unstoppable.
COURTESY OF DOUBLE DUTCH BOUTIQUE/LESLEY JENNINGS
INSTAGRAM:
@doubledutch_boutique
Lesley Jennings opened Doubledutch Boutique in 2006, which makes her a fashion matriarch. And yet despite all those decades under her (funky) belt, she’s kept her shop fun, fresh, and delightful—by highlighting not just local makers but brands that aren’t ubiquitous. She has a keen eye for what works—pattern mixing, hair accessories in pops of color, unique handbags, retro items that don’t feel tired, plus lovely non-apparel items like embroidery and paint-by-number kits. We can’t wait to see what our favorite Hampden redhead does next.
WELLNESS
HARP VISION
April and Tyron Harper have created not just a wellness brand, but a movement. After both suffering from chronic pain, but without a natural remedy they could turn to, they started their own wellness line with the belief that selfcare is not a luxury but a necessity. Now they’ve opened a brick and mortar in Highlandtown filled with vegan products including soaps, body scrubs, creams, bath teas, and aromatherapy candles. They also host workshops including perfume blending and a body scrub lab.
WOMEN’S FASHION
RUTH SHAW
Yes, owner Ray Mitchener—along with husband and co-owner Brian Comes—has enough business savvy to stock his boutique with all the best luxury designers like Nili Lotan, A.L.C., Leo Lin, Jenni Kayne, La Double J, Veronica Beard, and Simkhai. But it’s his passion for the work that comes through in everything he does. He loves it all—the brands, the shows, the history, and dressing generations of clients. He lets his employees— including long-time store manager Tobi Thompson Chiampou—have fun on the store’s Instagram page with entertaining posts. When he thought the boutique needed a fresh address, Mitchener moved to Kenilworth in 2017 and then last year returned home to The Village of Cross Keys where Ruth Shaw, the store’s namesake, opened her original boutique more than 50 years ago.
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Explore The Winners
