On SE Hawthorne the street itself has just undergone a facelift making it even more pedestrian-friendly than it was before, with lots of crosswalks and additional streetlights. It reflects the slow change on the street that still remembers its vaguely hippyish past (with clog shops and import stores and the smell of incense) but now is studded with contemporary shops from 33rd to 38th with a few outliers further East plus plenty of restaurants perfect for lunching.

Start near 33rd where two houses and a home face off with one another. On one side of Hawthorne, find the Perfume House (3328 SE Hawthorne) stocked with impossible-to-find and imported scents. Across the street, if vintage is to your liking House (3315 SE Hawthorne) is a huge multi-vendor vintage store skewing late 20th century. With furniture and apparel, this shop is by far the biggest in South East Portland. A few doors away, find
Home Ec. (3327 SE Hawthorne) with anything you might want for your kitchen (and home), provided it’s circa 50’s: tumblers, tables, ashtrays, shot glasses, and bubble gum cigarettes.

Just up the street on the Perfume House side of SE Hawthorne, find modern shoe boutique Imelda’s and Louie’s (3426 SE Hawthorne) with brands like Faryl Robin, Cydwoq, Detny, and Corso Como. And yes, it’s a chain store unlike most of the rest of Hawthorne, but American Apparel (3412 SE Hawthorne) definitely fills in the wardrobe gaps with LA-made basics and it’s only doors away.

If you’re a DIYer, Beads Forever (3522 SE Hawthorne) is the bead-lovers dream come true…all shapes, sizes, and colors adorn the walls, tables, and counters.

Local 35 (3556 SE Hawthorne) is a rarety among Portland shops with equally cool looks for girls and boys, modern, streety, with stuff from Anzevino and Florence, Surface to Air, WESC, Cheap Monday, and Modern Amusement as well as Portland-labels like Hecklewood, Monsieur T, and db clay. Local35 owner Justin hosts in-store events, art exhibitions, gets DJs in often, and sponsors collaborative art projects.

The vintage Valhalla, Red Light Clothing Exchange (3590 SE Hawthorne) has generally late-model vintage clothing for men and women from feather boas to prom dresses and ties.

For gifts, Presents of Mind (3633 SE Hawthorne) is an easy one-stop. This store has such a variety paper goods, jewelry, little things, bags, almost any object you can giftwrap. Find many local designers such as Rebecca Pearcey, Handmade Jultz, and Sarah Utter. Gregs (3707 SE Hawthorne) is a little store stocked with modern gifts, object, book, paper goods, jewelry. And Sorels (3713 SE Hawthorne) with more gift and home objects — wind chimes, couches, knicknacks — is right next door.

The legendary Powell’s Books (3723 SE Hawthorne) has its Eastside outpost on Hawthorne. It’s smaller than the City of Books but still is an amazing bookstore.

Stop in for a snack at Hawthorne’s European-flavored grocery Pastaworks (3735 SE Hawthorne) or a cone at dueling ice-cream shops Cold Stone Creamery (3420 SE Hawthorne) and Ben & Jerrys (3638 SE Hawthorne).

Crossing SE 39th, the shops become few and far between, but heading up a few blocks pays dividends. Garment (4139 SE Hawthorne) is a boutique owned by designer Jenny Greenup and an artist Brenda Dunn that carries apparel, accessories and jewelry by Pacific Northwest designers like Portland’s Midgewear and hand-drawn shoes by Portland-based Emily Katz as well as lovely separates from Seattle’s Suzabelle and basics by Lucia.

Carla Mink’s eponymous boutique Mink (4314 SE Hawthorne) is further still up SE Hawthorne. Wonderfully curated - one of those shops where you buy something even when you’re pocketbook is running on empty because you feel so good being there. Find goods from Nick and Mo, Soda Blu, Kim White, Flux Nouveau, Weston Wear, Soundgirl, Piourette, Kenzie, Mac and Jac. Jewelry from Portland-based designer Kiersten Crowley.

Further toward the Willamette River you’ll find Dragonlily Boutique
(1740 SE Hawthorne) which carries work by a raft of freespirited Portland independent designers.