10 shops in Boston selling stuff you totally don’t need

Some shops are about the essentials. These are where you start considering a vintage silk scarf, an antique map or a fountain pen that deserves better handwriting than yours.

These ten shops around Boston, Cambridge and Somerville reward a little aimless browsing. Pick a neighborhood and make an afternoon of it: Topdrawer and Trident share Newbury Street, We Thieves and WardMaps are practically neighbors, and Magpie and Comicazi are both in Davis Square. No need to turn recreational shopping into a ten-stop assignment.

122 Charles Street, Beacon Hill
Clothes, jewelry, and home objects from independent designers make December Thieves a good stop when your taste runs beyond the standard gift-shop shelf. Founder Lana Barakat works with small producers, and the selection includes leather accessories, statement earrings, fragrance, and decorative objects.

Give the accessories as much attention as the clothing. A single earring or an unusual brooch is a smaller commitment than reorganizing your wardrobe around one coat. The current shop is at 122 Charles Street, so use that address when planning your visit.

273 Newbury Street, Back Bay

Topdrawer makes a persuasive case for owning better pens, notebooks, and bags than your daily errands strictly require. Its selection includes fountain pens, leather journals, watercolor supplies, wallets, and house shoes. The stationery is the draw if you enjoy comparing paper and writing tools in person.

You can assemble a small drawing kit here or spend considerably more on one pen. Look at the prices before getting attached. Pair the Newbury Street location with Trident farther along the same street.

A coffee stop becomes a book purchase very easily at Trident. Bernie and Gail Flynn opened the bookstore and cafe at 338 Newbury Street in 1984, and it remains a family business. You can come looking for a specific title or give yourself permission to browse while deciding whether this is also going to become lunch.

Trident is a useful place to pause between shops, particularly if your shopping companion has reached their limit before you have. Look over the bookstore’s event calendar before choosing a night: a talk or reading can give the visit a purpose beyond adding to the unread pile at home.

9 West Street, Downtown Crossing

Brattle Book Shop has two floors of general used books, a third floor devoted to rare and antiquarian books, and an outdoor sale lot. That range matters: you can browse without treating every old hardcover as a serious investment.

The pleasure is in coming across a subject you weren’t looking for. Leave time for the ordinary used-book shelves as well as the rarities. For a longer afternoon without buying anything else, our free and cheap things to do in Boston guide has more stops to consider.

676 Centre Street, Jamaica Plain

On Centre covers a lot of gift territory: Jellycat stuffed animals, puzzles, stationery, kitchen towels, jewelry, and Jamaica Plain merchandise. It’s useful when you know the person you’re shopping for but have absolutely no idea what to get them.

The neighborhood goods give you something more specific than a generic Boston souvenir. There are also cookbooks, drinkware, and small kitchen items if you need a host gift. Start there before deciding that the stuffed animal is somehow also for the host.

Shopping by weight is still an option at The Garment District. In its By the Pound section, clothing costs $2 per pound, with men’s, women’s and children’s pieces mixed together. If you remember it as Dollar-A-Pound, that was the original name. The price has changed. The need to supply your own patience has not.

Elsewhere in the building, clothing hangs on racks and Boston Costume handles the dressing-up possibilities. Choose your approach: browse the organized selection or spend time sorting through the by-weight stock. Check the section hours before making a special trip; By the Pound closes earlier than the rest of the store on Fridays.

Vintage clothing is the main reason to visit We Thieves, with estate jewelry, scarves, bags and decorative objects providing additional distractions. The selection spans different decades rather than asking everyone to dress for the same imaginary year. Start with a piece you would actually wear, then see what else catches your attention.

The shop is at 1735 Massachusetts Avenue, near Porter Square, rather than its former Inman Square address. WardMaps is just along the same block, which makes it easy to combine vintage clothes and old maps in one outing. Leave room in the afternoon to try things on; a familiar size on an old label tells you only so much.

1731 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge

WardMaps sells antique maps, reproductions, vintage transit memorabilia, and MBTA-themed gifts. It’s a particularly good stop for someone who has strong opinions about both neighborhood boundaries and public transportation.

Look for a map of somewhere you’ve lived, compare old street plans, or browse the cartographic mugs and other smaller gifts. Check whether a piece is an original or a reproduction before buying; the distinction matters to both the price and what you’re taking home. We Thieves is just along the same block.

Magpie stocks jewelry, greeting cards, art, stationery and housewares, with an emphasis on independent designers and makers from New England and beyond. The shop says most of its selection is available in person, so the website only gives you part of the picture.

At 416 Highland Avenue in Davis Square, it is a useful stop for a small gift when you would rather see several possibilities than order the first thing that appears online. Give the cards a look, too. Comicazi is nearby if your shopping interests extend from handmade goods to superheroes.

Comics and collectible figures give Comicazi plenty of material for purchases that require explaining when you get home. The shop is at 407 Highland Avenue in Davis Square, close enough to Magpie to visit both without planning another leg of the day.

If you are buying for someone else, find out which character or series they actually follow. A little specificity helps more than a vague memory that they like Marvel. For your own shelf, measure the available space before falling for a large figure. Spider-Man does not get a separate room.