Shopping

It could be a pair of perfectly deadly stiletto heels...

a perfectly balanced hammer...

the kind of cool Japanese robot you always wished for as a kid....

If you want to buy it, Possibility City sells it.

As the region's major retail destination, Louisville's shopping runs the gamut from big-box chain to hole-in-the-wall independent. Shoppers skip between the suburban malls; the locally owned, idiosyncratic businesses that line Bardstown Road and Frankfort Avenue; the gallery district on east Market and Main streets; and intriguing antique stores across the map.

And they make sure to stop off for groceries: In addition to a growing roster of ethnic food shops, Louisville locavores have a choice between more than 20 farmers' markets - one is open every day of the week during growing season - as well as you-pick farms in the surrounding counties.

Watch for this sign: "Buy Local First." It's campaign by a consortium of over 70 local enterprises, from dry cleaners to coffee shops, from music stores to flag makers - the places that give Louisville its unique flavor.

And what a tasty flavor it is. Louisville's shops draw the likes of Ralph Lauren (to study styles at Elizabeth's Timeless Attire), Jackson Browne (to shop at the Guitar Emporium) and David Sedaris (to read at Carmichael's Bookstore).

Join them in the bustling bazaars of Possibility City.