It’s no secret that Montclair is bustling with chic boutiques, some of which are very well-hidden gems. But we’re here to uncover them for you — so you can plan your next shopping day knowing you’ll be coming home with the good stuff. There are so many places to shop to find a one-of-a-kind gift or just the thing you’ve been looking for. Read on for a list of must-shop boutiques in Montclair, New Jersey.
2nd Street USA | 10 South Park Street
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2nd Street USA is a second-hand clothing chain with origins in Japan. New to the Montclair scene as of May 2023, this spot has a huge selection of styles, from streetwear to vintage to Japanese designer and luxury accessories. 2nd Street also has online selling + shopping options as well.
Village Vogue/Barbara Eclectic | 594 Valley Road
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Also known as Village Vogue, this Valley Road boutique carries all of the latest trends in women’s fashion. From workwear to transitional pieces, Barbara Eclectic carries bold prints and striking colors suitable for women of all ages. Online shopping and private, in-person shopping appointments are available.
Read More: A List of Women-Owned Businesses to Support in Montclair
Bridal Atelier Montclair | 623 Valley Road
Bridal Atelier is home to hundreds of designer wedding dresses. For the bride-to-be, this Upper Montclair boutique should be the first stop on your list of wedding to-dos. The showroom is beautifully decorated, well lit, and contains racks of gorgeous gowns as far as the eye can see. The team at the shop gives the personalized attention every bride craves by hosting one appointment at a time. Fun fact: one of MG’s very own writers got her dress from Bridal Atelier and had the best experience there.
Co Co an Experience | 206 Bellevue Avenue
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Owner Roz Connolly’s long-time passion for fashion resulted in the creation of a high-end women’s boutique that offered brands that clients could not find elsewhere. Over the years, Co Co an Experience evolved with its loyal clientele but continues to showcase emerging lines and quality staples at inviting price points. Seasonal clothing — from BOHO-type skirts and dresses, to jeans and t-shirts as well as camis, blouses, and jewelry, some made by local artisans — can be found at this Montclair boutique.
Culture Couture | 53 Church Street
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This eco-friendly shop located right on bustling Church Street sells a variety of lifestyle items. From the inspired collections that include essential oils and spirit animals to accessories and home decor, Culture Couture truly has it all. If you’re looking for gifts for just about anyone in your life, add this boutique to your shopping list.
Curated Home + Living | 102 Walnut Street
Curated Home + Living is a lifestyle and home décor shop that focuses on authenticity, materiality, quality, + craft. The spot sells a mix of New York artisans and European brands, and was born out of founder Danielle Zinn’s passion for design, travel, + home.
Dody’s Dresses | 24 South Fullerton Avenue
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Dody’s Dresses is home to a wide selection of couture gowns and the shop is open by appointment only. Whether you are a bride in search of bridal party attire, a mother of the bride, or simply searching for a prom dress that sets you apart from everyone else, this spot is for you. Dody’s carries gowns from high-end designers including Gemy, Mac Duggal, Feriani, and more.
Dot Reeder | 129 Watchung Avenue
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Dot Reeder was created and founded by a former New York City stylist in 2007. Needless to say, this boutique has all of the on-trend pieces you’re searching for. The store’s Instagram page is a great resource to search the inventory so when you see something you like, be sure to stop by and snag it.
The Eclectic Chic Boutique | 547 Bloomfield Avenue
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Since 2018, this boutique located right on Bloomfield Avenue has sold handmade, locally sourced, and small-batch goods. Not only does this boutique provide a unique shopping experience, but the team also works to mentor over 30 artists from New Jersey to build the brand and help them grow. The Eclectic Chic Boutique does a lot to make this possible by providing virtual shopping experiences, hosting virtual celebrations, and creating custom goods.
Forever Welded | 314 Bloomfield Avenue
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Forever Welded is the first permanent jewelry store to come to MTC. You can get luxury custom jewelry at this Montclair shop (they also do various pop-ups around NJ) like necklaces, bracelets, and more. Forever Welded is also available for private parties, girls’ nights, bridal showers, and business collabs.
Giftbar | 465 Bloomfield Avenue
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Ted Lasso Christmas ornaments, beer-making kits, and a Soprano family cookbook walk into a bar… Giftbar that is. This trendy store is filled with greeting cards that will make you laugh before even opening, retro-style board games, and even handmade jewelry among other things. Sisters and co-owners Carli and Jordyn are self-proclaimed pop-culture fanatics so customers can trust the products for sale will not only satisfy the ultimate recipient but provide a good laugh for the gift-giver too.
Grace Loves Lace | 6 South Park Street
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Grace Loves Lace is a local bridal boutique on South Park Street. Here, you can find the perfect dress to embrace your body shape and make you feel unique, with the help of a stylist. Choose from ready-to-wear gowns or made-to-order gowns at this shop.
Haus of Hilights | 212 Glenridge Avenue
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Haus of Hilights is both a salon and boutique — who doesn’t want to get their hair done and do a little shopping at the same time? The boutique section of the space sells women’s clothing and accessories based on the latest fashion trends including clothing, outerwear, jewelry, and purses. The owners hand-picked all goods and everything sold is something they would wear themselves.
Monty | 12 North Willow Street
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Monty is a boutique that brings a breath of fresh air and whimsy to the Montclair shopping scene, with a strong focus on independent and emerging designers. Monty works with designers from across the globe, featuring brands from Europe, Asia, and the Middle East, as well as some North + South American designers. The spot curates a selection of garments from each of the designers they work with, and all of the selections can also be shopped online.
Noellery | 4 Church Street
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Noellery is a New Jersey-based jewelry brand that is founded on the inspiration of creative design, vibrant color palettes, imperfect beauty, and quality materials. The collections are a mix of bold statement pieces and intricate and delicate designs. Whatever your style is, you will be sure to find something that suits your taste.
Nouvelle Upper Montclair | 629B Valley Road
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This chic boutique really has it all. When customers walk through the doors of this Valley Road spot, they can expect to find clothing, accessories, jewelry, and even gifts, healing stones, and wine accessories. As if that wasn’t enough, Nouvelle also shares space with the sister store, One Savvy Design, a luxury consignment boutique. You can shop designer apparel either new with tags or gently worn and walk out with style.
Oasis | 40 Church Street
Oasis was first founded 30 years ago in 1981. It has since made its move from different cities like Soho, Englewood, and Ridgewood, before making Montclair its permanent home. Since 2007, Oasis has been serving the Montclair community when it comes to fashion needs. When walking into the boutique, guests can expect clothing and accessories to be categorized by color and season.
Over the Moon | 619 Valley Road
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This children’s boutique is full of adorable sets, accessories, and toys for children. All of the inventory is also available to shop online where you can easily find outfits for special occasions, specific clothing lines, and more. Littles will love everything this cute shop has to offer.
Parcel | 608 Bloomfield Avenue
The allure of a store like Parcel is not only its contents but also the shopping experience. Opening the small cubbies of vintage toys, grazing through shelves of stationery, and spinning wheels of ribbon or racks of greeting cards make customers feel as though they are on a treasure hunt. The treasures include a variety of paper goods and tools for wrapping and crafting, which are sprinkled with vintage objects throughout.
Pazzazed | 11 Midland Avenue
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Pazzazed is a boutique gift shop selling a selection of goods from Papyrus, Michael Aram, and other nationally recognized brands in addition to artists from all over New Jersey. There are candles and picture frames, which make great housewarming gifts, light fixtures, wall decor that adds character to any space, and coasters and hats beaming with New Jersey pride.
Pink Bungalow | 211 Bellevue Avenue
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Whether you’re celebrating a birthday, expressing appreciation, sending congratulations, or a get-well-soon gift, Pink Bungalow has exactly what’s needed. The store carries popular brands such as Alex + Ani, Corkcicle, and Voluspa. Pink Bungalow also has monogramming, which gives any gift an extra special and personal touch. What’s not to love?
Salt Air{e} Collective | 7 South Fullerton Avenue
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Salt Air{e} is a New Jersey-based brand featuring apparel, home, and lifestyle goods inspired by the ocean. Started by NJ native Jennifer Caramma, this brand has everything from gorgeous hand-dyed kimonos and loungewear sets, to throw pillows and luxe beach blankets for anyone craving an endless summer.
See More: Hoboken Boutiques to Shop Locally: A Guide
Urban Natural Home | 5 South Willow Street
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This shop recently moved from Bloomfield to Montclair to have a bigger space so they could carry a larger variety of items. Urban Natural Home sells ethically and responsibly made pieces of furniture, organic mattresses, and home decor. From accent chairs to lamps and everything in between, the spot specializes in Modern American-made, heirloom quality furniture.
White Rabbit Black Heart | 219 Glenridge Avenue
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When passers-by see the window of White Rabbit Black Heart, they are almost compelled by the stunningly intricate display to walk in and take a closer look. “Stop by and create a great story,” is what the store owner and Montclair native, Paul Giordano, encourages shoppers to do. The interior is stocked with jewelry, candles, and cards representing over 30 different women-owned businesses across the U.S. and U.K. Treats from Sweet Home Montclair, Giordano’s other brand behind the deliciously handmade chocolates known in town for over 10 years, can also be found here.
Struggle Summer Continues as Delays + Cancellations Disrupt EWR
On April 15th, 2025, Newark International Airport shut down one of its biggest departure runways in alignment with a $121 million rehabilitation project to repair its infrastructure. The 60-day closure is meant to give the facility time to work on the runway to bring it up to current safety standards. Passengers were warned to expect delays and plan accordingly, but the situation has devolved into a series of infrastructure malfunctions and staffing issues. The work is just beginning, but it would appear that so are the headaches for passengers, with countless delays and cancellations. Read on for the latest about the flight issues occurring at Newark Airport.
Newark Update
In mid-April, The Montclair Girl shared a report about upcoming disruptions at Newark Airport. One of the airport’s largest runways would be shut down. Runway 4L-22R closed on April 15th due to renovation plans that include a paved runway surface, updated lighting, improved airfield signs with LED lighting, new electrical infrastructure, and drainage improvements, as per EWR’s construction advisory. This runway will remain closed until mid-June.
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This project is part of a two-year construction initiative to renovate and upgrade several of EWR's sites. This started in 2024 and is expected to continue into 2026. The next planned upgrade will be on September 16th, 2025, for the Corbin Street Ramp Project. The ramp will be closed for one year, and “all vehicular traffic will be detoured via Marlin and Kellogg streets,” as per EWR.
Read More: 19 New Businesses in the Montclair Area This Spring 2025
While customers were forewarned about possible issues flying in/out of EWR, it took a few days for the full brunt of the work to be felt by fliers. The week of April 28th saw over 100 flight delays and cancellations each day at Newark Liberty International Airport. Since then, the number of delays and cancellations has been rising. According to the flight tracking website FlightAware, there have been 208 flight delays and 112 cancellations just at 1PM on May 6th.
Newark is a major hub for United Airlines, and fliers on that airline have experienced the most disruption. In a message sent to customers, the CEO of United Airlines, Scott Kirby, stated that the shortage of air traffic controllers, which has been “chronically understaffed for years,” coupled with outdated technology at EWR, was to blame for the week-long flight issues. He also claimed that “over 20% of the FAA controllers for EWR walked off the job."
"It’s now clear – and the FAA tells us – that Newark airport cannot handle the number of planes scheduled to operate there in the weeks and months ahead,” CEO Scott Kirby said.
Starting the weekend of May 10th, United Airlines will cancel 35 round-trip flights per day at EWR. “It's disappointing to make further cuts to an already reduced schedule at Newark,” CEO Scott Kirby stated, “...but since there is no way to resolve the near-term structural FAA staffing issues, we feel like there is no other choice in order to protect our customers.”
On Monday, May 5th, Delta Air Lines Inc., which has about 30 departures a day at Newark, announced that it would also cancel a “small number” of flights due to air traffic control restraints, as per Bloomberg.
Deeper Issues
On April 28th, air traffic controllers from the Philadelphia Terminal Radar Approach Control, which directs planes to Newark Liberty International Airport, lost radar and radio communication with incoming flights and were “unable to see, hear, or talk to them,” Galen Munroe, spokesman for the National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA), first shared with The New York Times. According to Bloomberg, communications were lost for 90 seconds.
The FAA shared in a post on n X that multiple air traffic controllers at the Philadelphia TRACON have taken government leave to recover from the trauma. CNN reported that at least five employees took 45 days of leave. NATCA said via a statement to CNN that these air traffic controllers “did not ‘walk off the job,'” as claimed by United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby.
Frequent equipment and telecommunications outages can be stressful for controllers. Some controllers at the Philadelphia TRACON who work Newark arrivals and departures have taken time off to recover from the stress of multiple recent outages. While we cannot quickly replace them…
— The FAA ✈️ (@FAANews) May 5, 2025
“Frequent equipment and telecommunications outages can be stressful for controllers,” the FAA said in the post. “While we cannot quickly replace them due to this highly specialized profession, we continue to train controllers who will eventually be assigned to this busy airspace.”
“Our antiquated air traffic control system is affecting our workforce,” the FAA also said in an earlier post. “We are working to ensure the current telecommunications equipment is more reliable in the New York area by establishing a more resilient and redundant configuration with the local exchange carriers. In addition, we are updating our automation system to improve resiliency.”
New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy sent a letter to Transportation Secretary Duffy calling for more resources for the airport. “Decades of underinvestment in the maintenance of critical air traffic control infrastructure, delays in upgrading to modern 21st-century air traffic control technology, and inadequate air traffic control staffing have resulted in a frail system nationwide,” wrote Governor Murphy.
“The FAA has stated that American airspace is short 3,000 air traffic controllers, and I appreciate your efforts to retain and hire additional controllers. As the FAA works to address the years-long shortfalls, I urge you to prioritize the region, the busiest airspace in the nation, by immediately addressing Philadelphia TRACON Area C staffing levels and developing a plan to address chronic staffing shortages at New York TRACON."
“As you work with Congress to fund additional investments in air traffic management systems, the New Jersey-New York region should be prioritized for technology and facility upgrades to help the more than 144 million passengers coming through Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ) operated airports annually,” continued Governor Murphy. “We expect millions of additional passengers next year as we prepare to host the World Cup Finals and must avoid additional disruptions or strains on the system.”
In the meantime, passengers are encouraged to check with their airlines for updates and passenger policies. The Newark Airport website also has resources for passengers.
See More: Union Strike May Shut Down NJ Transit Lines Completely on 5/16: What to Know
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