When you think about shopping in midtown Manhattan, the Big B’s may come to mind (Bloomingdale’s, Bergdorf’s and Barney’s, of course), but this bustling neighborhood has a lot more than overstuffed department stores to offer the adventurous shopper. Whether you work in the area and are sneaking out on your lunch hour, of you’ve come to visit and need a post-MoMa shop-op (that is, aside from the Moma Design store itself, which is one of our faves for sleek smartly curated gifts), there are plenty of worthwhile boutiques amongst these skyscrapers. We recommend a stroll down swanky Madison Avenue, where aside from the couture staples (hey, window shopping is free!) we love Searle for that fearlessly glamorous night-on-the-town dress, Eres for a flattering bikini that’s worth the splurge and Molton Brown. (We like the latter’s “take 5″ bar, where customers can select certain products for one set price. Talk about a quick and simple way to class up a restroom!) If you find yourself in historic Grand Central Station, snack on some cheese form world-famous Murray’s and check out The Pink Slip, a sliver of a shop selling the sexiest lingerie in town. Check out the full New York Midtown East Shopping TourMidtown West Shopping Tour here and here.

My dear friend’s wedding is coming up — so fast, I swear! — at the end of July. It’s actually my first close friend’s nuptials, and the first time I’ve had to shop for a gift I really care about. Yes, couples love it when guests cull from their registries, but I’m a Store Adore girl, so I consider it my personal duty to go above and beyond Crate & Barrel. Considering how many little shops are now online, purchasing a creative gift easy easy on the on the one hand, yet really damn difficult on the other, since it’s so hard to know where to begin.

This conundrum is the reason I dedicate today’s post to the webshops that do the gift-choosing for us. From the plethora of catch-all sites offering items from myriad brands, a few stand out to me because of their superior choices, easy browsing setup, and certain little extras that make me trust them (and their shopping experience) 100 percent.

Redpig

When it comes to choosing gifts, former model Jacqueline Staph and ex personal personal shopper to the stars Kiirsten Daniels know their (luxury) stuff. Thanks to their combined experience in the worlds of art and culture, Staph and Daniels’ e-boutique Redpig is stocked with gorgeous pieces that together make up an affordable collection of the highest order. I was struck by Redpig’s selection of decorative pieces, like handpainted votives and polished birchbark vases (shown above, $100). Personally, I’d shop Redpig over some other sites because of the artful giftwrapping: the ladies pride themselves on their packaging and handwritten notes.

Maxwell-Silver

Wedding-minded website Maxwell-Silver acts as matchmaker for seekers and sought-after items, connecting discerning shoppers with a selection from a roster of participating Manhattan and Brooklyn boutiques. Locally heralded shops like Nancy Koltes, John Derian, and Bark furnish Maxwell-Silver’s e-commerce shop with some of its finest and most interesting pieces for the home and entertaining. Even in the rare case that I can’t find what I want directly from the Maxwell-Silver site, the the e-collective is nevertheless a fabulous introduction to the style and selection of each participating store. Maxwell-Silver is big on serving and tableware, but I love the addition of Nancy Koltes linens, like these hotel towels ($55 for a bath sheet, above), and a selection of paintings.

MoMA Design Store

The name says it all. A favorite resource of chic New Yorkers for gifts that are equal parts functional, sophisticated and tongue-in-cheek, the MoMA Design Store is not just for tourists. With every single item having been approved by MoMA’s curators as the world’s chief purveyors of modern art, you can be sure your purchase will pass a “taste test” with even the most discriminating recipient. The site includes a guide to featured artists like the Eames team, Le Corbusier and Frank Lloyd Wright, and offers everything from Mondrian tumblers to this painfully gorgeous clock from Yee Ling-Wan (above, $125). Gift wrapping is, of course, available.

Zanisa

With a selection of eco-chic products marked by museum-quality artistry and gourmet excellence, Zanisa is the premier online destination for earth-friendly gifts. With exhaustive attention to detail, each accessory, tasty treat, beauty product and home accent links to a bio of its designer so that customers can learn the story and ideology behind the item. We applaud and appreciate the greenness of the site — but that almost takes a backseat to the sheer loveliness of the items. Pets, men, women and kids all get categories, and a separate department caters specifically to gift-givers: I stammer over this natural-wood bowl by Neal DeVore ($425), but adore everything from the mod pear plates to the douglas fir home scents.

Nova68

Nova68 knows that fans of mod furniture and conceptual decor are ultra-passionate about design. This sleek e-shop all-out seduces modern aesthetes with its diverse selection of furniture and accents, which encompasses everything from Aarnio’s suspended Lucite bubble chairs to Gollnick steel fire pits and Stotz wall hooks. Small details and impactful centerpieces are present in equal measure — so even though the site’s big on hard-to-find furniture, the smaller gifts are to die for. To me, these sleek serving tongs are as artful as an Eames chair ($130 from Isamu Noguchi); also of note are the mobiles and glass objects. As with MoMA’s store, Nova68 is browsable by designer, and offers detailed info and historical context about the goods.

(Above: Meg Rush and her husband on their London honeymoon)

The votes are in, and we have a winner!

Congratulations are in order for Meg Rush of Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, who won a super-indulgent Vosges Haut-Chocolat La Grande Hatbox, a luxurious box set packed to the brim with exotic gourmet chocolates! Read her winning story here.

We asked Meg a few question about her favorite shopping haunts and habits.

Meg’s favorite home decor shops:

1. Diptyque has the most heavenly candles. My favorite, especially for winter, is essence of John Galliano and I love to burn the lavender candle right before bedtime.

2. I am a big fan of Etsy, especially for artwork! My husband commissioned a portrait of me by John Clark for Christmas.

3. The MOMA Design Store is a great place to buy home accessories or gifts.

4. Bliss Home on Newbury Street is the only place I know of in Boston to buy luggage by Mandarina Duck. They also have a great collection of pieces by alessi.

5. I fell in love with Whittard of Chelsea while studying abroad in Oxford. I’ve been collecting pieces for my tea set over the last seven years. I stocked up on my honeymoon in London, to come home and discover that Whittard was opening its first US store in Boston.

Meg on her “personal style uniform”…

In the summer I tend to wear “thow and go” sun dresses, so that I look put together with minimal effort. I almost always have on a piece of jewelry that I’ve designed myself, or something by Les Nereides. I tend to wear a lot of headbands during the summer because they help tame my curly hair!

What style are you ready to see go?

I’m currently reading Eccentric Glamour: Creating an Insanely More Fabulous You by the fabulous Simon Doonan. I have to agree with Doonan, I wish more girls would just “Say no to Ho!”

Congratulations to Vivian Tong of New York, winner of our Blessed Charm giveaway contest! Her story about an especially kind shop owner won her this necklace, a $325 value!

“When I was a poor student, I went window-shopping at a consignment vintage store and tried on a pair of Michael Kors strappy sandals that were a perfect fit on me…except for the price tag. I was in love but knew I couldn’t afford them. As I was leaving, the owner called me back and told me he’d give it to me for as much as my student budget could afford. I still remember his generosity that day and think of his kindness everytime I wear those shoes.”

Here are Vivian’s five favorite Store Adore stores: