Crossing Main
This Best of Boston hall-of-famer continues to preside with authority over South Shore style, offering a citified mix of party dresses and casual daywear from girly favorites Tracy Reese, Nanette Lepore, and Vera Wang Lavender. Upcoming spin-off Crossing Main for Shoes, set to open in the fall, promises the well dressed will be equally well heeled. 5 Main St., Hingham, MA 2043, .
Marathon Sports
Boston is (as a running city should be) chock full of running shops. But none provides the level of personal attention offered at Marathon Sports, where the staff is rigorously trained to labor over every sale. Salespeople here will consider your budget, your running level, and—above all—your foot structure and stride (test runs included) before weeding out your ideal buy from the store's epic stock. 1654 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, MA marathonsports.com.
Sandy Poirier, Shag
Some say you should never trust a bald barber, but there's an exception to every rule. Poirier, the tonsured and tattooed owner of this year-old salon in South Boston, is ours. He uses a straight razor and skills acquired during a two-decade tour on Newbury Street to create the kind of just-got-outta-bed looks that hipsters know can only be crafted by expert hands. 840 Summer St., South Boston, MA shagboston.com.
Ecoluxe
With reports out almost daily about the dangers of chemical cleaning solvents (perchloroethylene, for example, has been linked to liver damage and cancer), the organic and biodegradable cleaning methods at owner Shelly Mars's Ecoluxe are literally a breath of fresh air. Crunchy ethos notwithstanding, this small Boston chain is also a modern and decidedly bourgeois establishment. The clean, streamlined storefronts are so pretty they could be mistaken for boutiques, the polite and efficient service (from cleaning to pressing) never wavers, and home delivery is available. 1018 Beacon St., Brookline, MA .
Nine Zero
It may be the newbie on the block, but Nine Zero has swiftly wooed the city with its soft contemporary design and sleek sense of comfort. The posh small hotel effortlessly blends style, luxury, and practicality. And you can't beat the hospitality and attention to detail: goose-down comforters, Mario Russo bath products, and a CD library. If you're having a bad fashion day, ring the personal shopper from Louis Boston—then wear the spoils to dinner at Spire, the hotel's hip glass-walled eatery. 90 Tremont St., Boston, MA ninezero.com.
Vidal Sassoon
Still think Vidal Sassoon is about those cheesy '80s commercials? Not anymore. This international house has spearheaded trend after trend, and the Boston branch is particularly blessed with a dream team of hair artistes in colorist par excellence Laurel Elliot and the exacting stylist Dirk Diegel. Add to all that a widespread practice of professional but personal treatment punctuated by a notable lack of pretense, and you've got the consummate coiffure. 14 Newbury St., Boston, MA .
B.J. Wang
The renowned proprietor of E. Shan Tang apothecary, Wang stocks an exotic A-Z of medicinal herbs. But his clinical expertise is what sends Bostonians flocking to him for treatment: He teaches at the Boston Shiatsu School, lectures at Harvard Medical School, and is widely acclaimed as a leading practitioner of toyo hari , or traditional Chinese pulse diagnosis. He's also a trained chef—ask about his herbal recipes for soups and main dishes, a clever way of masking his prescriptions' pungent flavors. E. Shan Tang, 157 Harvard Ave., Allston, MA .
Umbria
Does Boston need another Italian restaurant? If it's Umbria, the answer is a resounding yes. Chef Marisa Iocco is turning out flavorful cuisine from Italy's bucolic central region, which means straightforward grilled, slow-braised, or brick oven-roasted food. It also means melt-in-your-mouth buffalo mozzarella with heirloom tomatoes, and moist, pan-seared cod loin with creamy celery root purée. And unlike its North End brethren, Umbria offers desserts—amazing ones, at that. 295 Franklin St., Boston, MA umbriaprime.com.
Toscanini
There are plenty of Boston ice cream shops worthy of caloric indulgence, but none as enticing as this one. The selection may not be the biggest in town, but it's varied enough for even the pickiest of palates, with about a dozen incredibly smooth and rich flavors including Hydrox cookie, Vienna Finger, burnt caramel, and ginger-snap molasses. The real draw, though, is the super-light texture, which especially comes through in the richly flavored nocciola (hazelnut) and Belgian chocolate varieties. 899 Main St., Cambridge, MA tosci.com.
Akris
The praise doesn't get any higher: The late Liz Tilberis, editor in chief of Harper's Bazaar, once commented at a charity event in Boston on how elegant the women looked in their Akris suits. The suits are exquisitely crafted in fabrics like double-faced wool, cashmere, silk chiffon, linen, and cotton voile; even those of us who have to work for a living can appreciate that. 16 Newbury Street, Boston, MA akris.ch.
Cafe Vanille
Boston doesn't have many patisseries, and our bakeries feel like coffee spots that just happen to have cinnamon buns and cupcakes. Café Vanille, however, seems like a French pastry shop that just happens to serve espresso and tea. One look at the lineup of flaky napoleons, ganache-glazed éclairs, colorful petits fours and fruit tarts, and buttery brioche makes the cookie-and-donut offerings everywhere else seem downright dull. 70 Charles St., Boston, MA 2108, frenchmemories.com.
Bond Restaurant & Lounge
Boston is often called the most British of American cities, so it's only natural that it offer plenty of afternoon tea options. Bond's daily Metropolitan Tea takes place under a soaring red ceiling and enormous chandeliers, making it feel like a swanky retreat. But the unusual teas, exquisite sandwiches, homemade scones, and attentive servers are what make this tea service tops. If you linger, you'll see the transformation from posh lounge to upscale watering hole. 250 Franlin St., Boston, MA 2110, bondboston.com.
Flat Breads Cafe
At this clean, bright restaurant across from Boston College they've spent six years perfecting roll-up combinations with ingredients such as their own homemade roasted red-and-green-tomato-cilantro salsas, Haas avocados, premium breast-meat chicken salad. Specials include Asian, Mexican, deli, barbecue, and even seafood roll-up combos. And the frequent-eater program gets you one free wrap for every 10 you buy. 11 Commonwealth Ave., Newton, MA .
New Leaf Flores
From 1 to 3 p.m. each day, Jeb Taylor and Daniel Lopez-Ospina close up their petite J.P. shop for an afternoon siesta. Perhaps that's when they dream up otherworldly designs for their host of high-end clients, from the Boston Lyric Opera to L'Espalier. They also provide seasonal décor and stunning arrangements with unexpected textural elements (fruits and herbs, painted twigs, leaf-wrapped stems) for posh area homes. 599 Centre St., Jamaica Plain, MA 2130, newleafjp.com.
Brasserie Jo
Not only is the airy, spacious feel of this Alsatian bistro a great atmosphere in which to conduct business, but the lunch menu is a treat. Any appetite can be satisfied: There are fresh omelets, spunky sandwiches (roasted chicken and brie on a baguette), plentiful salads (a traditional frisee et lardon avec ouef), and the best fries in town. We should know: Noontime here is the best place to spot a Boston Magazine employee. Note: For those who don't practice midday prohibition, the martinis are classic. The Colonnade Hotel, 120 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA brasseriejoboston.com.