Shop Beautiful

Shop Beautiful is a perfect place to search for a gift for your aunt, sister, or friend. You will find pretty little things for women (and a few for babies) in various price ranges, from inexpensive ($ 30) to higher end.

The staff at Shop Beautiful are very accommodating. It is wonderful to speak to knowledgeable sales clerks who really want to make the whole shopping experience good for the customer. I received several of the wonderful armetal serving dishes as wedding gifts, and although I love armetal, some of them are in patterns that are not to my taste. I went in and asked one of the sales clerks if I could return them, and they were very kind to say that they would be happy to exchange the merchandise if the patterns were still in stock held by the store. They even took the extra step to give me the store’s card so that I might telephone with the patterns rather than lug the platters and such into the store in case the exchange wouldn’t work out.
This is certainly a shop that is intended for a certain type of woman. Some of what they sell is quite wonderful and charming to look at, but this is not a store that caters to the «trendy,» «modern,» or «masculine» audience. Shop beautiful is what it is; however, it is worth a visit for purchasing a nice gift or just for a quick browse.

There are a lot of unique knick-​knacks in here– it’s like your grandmother’s house where you find a new and interesting thing every time you go in.
Like Jeremy said, this is the Christopher and Banks of the gift shop world. But, you can use this to your advantage, especially if you are shopping FOR someone who is an older matronly figure in your life– whether that be your grandma, your mom, or even your mother-​in-​law.
Like Amy said, this shop was founded in 1936, but it is also the oldest gift shop in Kansas City! Amazing that it has been going this long. The staff is very friendly, usually women the few times i have been in there, and they know a lot about the products, which range from gift-​type items and home décor, like plates and seasonal items.

Staying on a positive note, Shop Beautiful will be beautiful to some. I am not one of those people.
If Mariposa bunnies and off the wall knick-​knacks are you’re thing, then Shop Beautiful is a nice little spot along Brookside’s main storefront. It really does cater to women (which isn’t a bad thing) but does seem to only open its charm up to one specific type of customer — 40 years and over women. That certainly is fine as we all have target markets. But I wasn’t pleased by the rather quiet and somber attitude while I was finding things to appreciate and really trying to enjoy this rather lifeless store. There I said it.
Randomized home décor items and jewelry seem to be the high notes. I just coudn’t find the music.