The Best Shopping in Portland
An international spread of garments from textile-focused designers compliment owner Brookes Boswell’s millinery at Shop Boswell.
If the internet is supposed to kill retail, today’s boutiques combat that soulless optimization with a profoundly assured point of view. They don’t just tip you off to designers and brands; they put them together in a way no one else would have. Clothes are expensive, especially those worth holding onto for years, decades, or even generations. Unless you were born with a taste level that rivals Anna Wintour’s, filling your closet with heirloom-worthy garments will require some help. As will figuring out how that pile of clothes becomes your style. Portland, big-little town that it is, has a handful of places capable of pulling off such a feat, whether your tastes run minimal and gothic or you’re most comfortable in bouncy and vibrant silks and tulles. In contrast to the New Yorks and Parises of the world, where designer boutiques are a dime a dozen, Portland’s small market forces shops to hone their distinct identities to stand out—to sharpen their style. Something entrancing underpins each of these stores. You can’t quite put your finger on it (though we’ve tried in the listings below), which is exactly what you want people to say when trying to describe how you dress.
Fine Art Fruit
Northwest District
Years after selling their influential aughts boutique Seaplane, local designers Holly Stalder and Kate Towers opened Fine Art Fruit in 2022. Today, their ruffled organza dresses and paint-splattered knits share real estate with a mix of curated vintage—Armani, Marni, and Levis relics—and Laurs Kemp’s new pieces made from old garments and found materials.
Frances May
Downtown
For most of this millennium, Frances May has been the Portland shop where style and fashion meet. Clothes here are very wearable but push the bounds of everyday. Throughout its newish, multilevel downtown space, you’ll see classy and trendy labels for all genders, like Ganni, Our Legacy, Acne Studios, Rachel Comey, and Lemaire, as well as locals Dehen 1920, Bare Knuckles, and Laurs Kemp.
Machus
Downtown
Machus crafts its own niche, right where high-fashion goth meets tech-oriented menswear. Minimalist label Helmut Lang, Rick Owens’s streetwear diffusion line DRKSHDW, and the high-end Veilance line from Arc’Teryx give the general sensibility. Also: limited-run Hokas, daily staples from John Elliott, and sleek Côte&Ciel bags. Pretty much all of it’s black.
Shop Boswell
Buckman
A casual and modest storefront matches Boswell’s quietly luxurious garments. Find shirting, trousers, and everyday outerwear with an emphasis on superlative
textiles (touching anything warrants a gasp) to match owner Brookes Boswell’s
millinery. An androgynous, global spread of designers includes Camiel Fortgens, Casey Casey, Evan Kinori, Auralee, Man-tle, and Portland’s Graziano and Gutierrez.
Stand Up Comedy
Downtown
Calling Stand Up Comedy a “store” feels like calling a gallery an “art shop.” Former museum curator Diana Kim contextualizes the designers she stocks the way a curator champions a painting. Kim lines a single rack with primarily women’s garments from dozens of labels, including SC103, Lauren Manoogian, Julia Heuer, and Portland’s gnuhr, while accessories and shoes fill the original tenant’s jewelry cases.
Una
Buckman
Beside world-class pottery and home goods, Una showcases a deeply researched list of independent womenswear designers you’re unlikely to find in the Times style section. Staples like simple ballooned jeans range into one-off marvels, such as a sheer jacket from Parisian designer Quetsche with tulle rosettes, or India-born, London-based designer Ashish Gupta’s georgette gowns with glittery hand-embroidery. It’s a certified wonderland.
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