Guest Bests• —————————————————-•

Laurie Kearney

went from a role as wandering curator to Capitol Hill fixture quite quickly, her formerly roving Ghost Gallery now a lively hub of arts and fashion. As if running that show wasn’t enough, Kearney also just jumped on board with Riot Act PR, which will benefit from her charm and, as demonstrated in her list of bests, her excellent taste. more…

Staff Picks• ———————————————————————————-•

Fashion & Accessories

Best Clothing StoreSince it opened in 2003, Totokaelo has become a Seattle institution, the place to go for the most coveted designs and fashion lines. The modern, light, open space it now occupies in Capitol Hill is like a beautiful art gallery, where the staff is incredibly knowledgeable and avant-garde. more…

Best Women’s-Wear DesignerPaychi Guh’s gorgeous knitwear line is the epitome of everyday luxury, with cashmere pieces that are gorgeous and eternally stylish. The appeal of the silhouettes is certainly in their modern take on a wardrobe staple, with cool graphics and beautiful texture. more…

Best Men’s-Wear DesignerThe sharp silhouettes and cryptic prints of local clothing line Actual Pain can be spotted up and down the West Coast. Their thick-billed caps, comfy sweaters, jackets, and loose tanks and Ts are mostly monochrome and casual yet edgy, making them easy to integrate into any outfit. more…

Best MillinerFor those who want to keep the sun out of their eyes in style, Seattle has many options, but it’s milliner Kelly Christy who offers a range that exceeds the norm for both men and women. Her hats come in classic shapes, are made from fine materials, and, once in your closet, will have you looking forward to the right season to wear them, year after year. more…

Best Jewelry DesignerJoanna Morgan’s hand-cast pendants, earrings, and rings have a softness and warmth that isn’t easy to achieve in silver and brass. Sometimes abstract, sometimes organic in shape, Morgan’s designs make a statement, but with such simple subtlety that they can be worn with any outfit for any occasion. more…

Best Local Cosmetics and Skin CareAfter noticing the abundance of toxic and hazardous chemicals found in skin-care products and cosmetics—even in high-end and “natural” brands—biochemist Dr. Jennifer Dietrich decided to make her own. Atomic Cosmetics and Xerion Skin Care were born, and in 2012 they were made available to the public via Dr. Jen’s House of Beauty. more…

Art RetailBest Art Pop-UpGallerist Beth Cullom closed her brick-and-mortar gallery last year, but undaunted and devoted to the arts as she is, she has taken Cullom Gallery on the road and staged mobile art viewings around town. Cullom specializes in works on paper, including antique and contemporary woodblock prints, lush and unique watercolors, and genre-breaking abstract works, including her recent staging of Ellen Ziegler’s series Vermilion at the LxWxH Gallery space in Georgetown. more…

Best Place to Buy ArtSeattle’s highest concentration of art galleries is in Pioneer Square, and given the ease of perusing them all during First Thursday, it’s tough to choose a Best Place to Buy Art from this neighborhood alone. However, G Gibson Gallery stands out as an essential stop for active collectors and those just starting out. more…

Best Place to Buy Affordable ArtCurator Laurie Kearney staged shows in stores and restaurants around Seattle for years before setting up her permanent space in 2010. Tucked in the wedge between Denny and Olive on Capitol Hill, Ghost Gallery offers an eclectic mix of accessories and vintage treasures in addition to the monthly shows from emerging artists. more…

Odds & Ends

Best Vintage ShopCairo is not for shoppers who want to rummage through lots of racks and shelves. The thoughtful selection of vintage clothing and wares at this little gem in a quieter corner of Capitol Hill invites one to relax and reminisce instead. more…

Best Pop-Up ShopSeattle has plenty of pop-ups, but the best examples are still the Seasonal Pop Ups in our own Nordstrom flagship. Rather than the bazaar-meets-trunk-show admixture that one sees at plenty of pop-ups, Nordstrom models how to unite a lot of different products under one concept that is timely, fun, and beautifully displayed. more…

Best Pacific Northwest

Lifestyle StoreIt’s rare for a boutique to create a complete story about a place and time with its inventory, but Capitol Hill’s Glasswing does just that with its carefully edited selection of decor, accessories, clothing, and art. Clothing and accessories for men and women include national brands, but also collections from some of the best local designers, including Wyatt Orr and Silvae of the Woods. more…

Best Monochromatic BoutiqueIs purple your favorite color? Mine is. If so, your mecca might be inside a nondescript Aurora Avenue storefront under a sign that looks like it was made from strips of masking tape. more…

Best Shop for SeagoersThe ground floor of Captain’s Nautical Supplies—which can trace its roots, entwined with Seattle’s long seaport history, to 1897—is jam-packed, a browser’s dream. Maps by the hundreds evoke the romance of the ocean (here’s one for the Leeward Islands, Anguilla to Dominica)—or maybe not (Lake Sammamish). more…

Best Downtown Bike ShopThis is a highly subjective category. Your best LBS (local bike shop) ought to be your closest bike shop. In Pioneer Square, that means Back Alley Bike Repair, located in Nord Alley between South Jackson and Main Streets. more…

Tech

Best Start-UpPlanetary Resources? Is that the name of a company from a sci-fi movie, you ask? NOPE IT’S A REAL LIFE GODDAMN ASTEROID MINING STARTUP FROM REDMOND THAT’S WHAT. more…

Best InnovationTinder has the tendency to get creepy fast. Screencap after screencap of skeezy would-be-gentlemen’s overly forward messages have flooded the Internet, proving that online dating as a lady seems more about wading through fields of freaks than meeting nice people. more…

Best Game Maker, AnalogWe’re a city of gamers, so we’re proud that Robot Turtles was the most-backed boardgame in Kickstarter history. Created by Seattleite Dan Shapiro, Robot Turtles is a game designed to teach children how to program. more…

Best Game Maker, DigitalSeattle is known as a hub for independent game developers, so it might seem impossible to pick “the best”; however, I’m going to take that leap and say that Spry Fox deserves the title. Spry Fox has proven itself time and time again, creating games that are both beautiful and fun. more…

Geek Picks• ———————————————————————————-•

Best Geeky HangoutGeeks of all kinds will find sanctuary at Ada’s Technical Books. (Yes, it’s named after the one and only Ada Lovelace, the world’s first computer programmer.) As the name suggests, this place has every kind of technical book you could imagine needing or wanting, and then some! more…

Best Geeky StoreGreenwood Space Travel Supply Co. insists on its website and on Facebook that it’s a real business, but you can’t blame people for asking, since it’s not everyday you?re confronted with a store that offers space-travel supplies and rocket parking. The quirky shop offers a wide selection of science gear and novelties; where else can you find a jar of Chaos, a globe of Mars, and a Cherry-Scented Diversion Deployment System (a raygun that shoots smoke rings)?! more…

Best Gaming StoreWith wall-to-wall games and ample space to play, Card Kingdom is a gamer’s paradise. Even the maker of Cards Against Humanity delightfully declared to me that it’s the best place on earth, and I can’t argue. more…