Carter Vintage Guitars
Carter Vintage Guitars
A frequent winner of Best Place to Buy a Musical Instrument in the Scene’s annual Best of Nashville readers’ poll, Carter Vintage Guitars has long been one of the city’s most valuable and beloved spots for procuring vintage guitars. Since merging with The North American Guitar in 2022, the Nashville institution has expanded and moved its showroom to a new spot, filled with history for guitarists and music lovers of all stripes.*
Emerson Grace
This corner spot offers a tight curation of feminine, stylish designers, with lots of pretty blouses and designer jeans. Under new management as of January 2026.
Forts
Specializing in men’s streetwear, Forts carries vintage shirts, watches, novelty hats and a large selection of footwear.
Gardens of Babylon
One of Nashville’s favorite plant shops, Gardens of Babylon is the top spot for scoring houseplants and hard-to-find accessories — but perhaps most importantly, really good advice from gardening experts.
The Getalong
The Getalong offers drop-in art and music classes for kiddos, along with a thoughtfully curated mix of toys, games, clothes and more.
Gift Horse
Perhaps the essential East Nashville gift shop, Gift Horse is always stocked with a fresh selection of stationery, novelties and fun local items.
Hail, Dark Aesthetics
The walls of this East Side outpost are covered with the heads of various taxidermied critters and framed bat and insect corpses. It’s not all about death and bones, though — they also carry gorgeous Victorian-inspired jewelry, crystals, Garbage Pail Kids cards and goofy vintage patches.
Hester & Cook
This Hillsboro Village store contains beautiful display platters, golden measuring cups, colorful glassware and all the materials needed to throw a sophisticated party.
Icon Tattoo and Body Piercing
One of Nashville’s longest-running tattoo shops, Icon has been around since 1997 and features a range of tattooers — some specialize in fine-line work, others in traditional styles or realism. That variety means there’s something for everyone.*
Imogene + Willie
This staple of Nashville’s slow-fashion scene is known for high-quality denim and small-batch graphic T-shirts.
Kick Ass NDLPT/Mary Kathryn Designs
For the crafty and bold among us, Kick Ass NDLPT is the one-stop shop for all things needlepoint. The brainchild of designer Mary Kathryn Martinson, this thread shop offers classes on needlepoint for beginners, and offers a variety of fun, tongue-in-cheek designs for hobbyists. *
The Makeup Altar
Melanie Mills is a longtime television and movie makeup artist with her own line of shining body products, but that’s just a small part of her treasure-filled East Nashville store. She has a bevy of professional beauty brands and tools as well as tarot cards, crystals and the like. *
Perfect Tenn
Nashville’s legendary Tomato Art Fest is so weird and fun that plenty of locals celebrate it all year long — including the folks at Perfect Tenn. The T-shirts on sale in this East Nashville shop are all designed in-house and feature playful riffs on Tennessee and Nashville culture, from music and possums to tomatoes to sports teams. *
Serendipity
This 12South staple is a modern mom-and-pop shop that has something for everyone — novelty T-shirts printed by local favorites Friendly Arctic, jewelry, candles, toys for kids and more.*
A Shop of Things
A fun and irreverent gift shop with a clear point of view — cute and weird.
Shoppes on Fatherland
This cluster of locally owned stores offers everything from handcrafted jewelry to
quirky gifts, garlicky goods and vintage knickknacks.
STAG Provisions for Men
A satellite of the Austin, Texas-based boutique, this shop is perfect for men’s basics — think of J. Crew’s cooler cousin — at a variety of price points.
Totally Rad Toyhouse
Totally Rad Toyhouse is sure to elicit an “I remember that!” from every visitor — from G.I. Joe to Barbie to Marvel, there’s something for everyone. Collectors can buy, sell and trade, or hunt for rare finds.
UAL
When The New York Times wrote about Nashville’s UAL in 2017, the headline was: “Is This Store the Best-Kept Secret in Fashion?” If you’re looking for off-price deals on designer clothes — from Celine to Balenciaga — you might agree that it is.
White’s Mercantile
This gift shop features upscale fashion and accessories along with a good selection of locally made products. Locations are in 12South, Green Hills and Franklin.
