The Fair Trade Store, 519 S. Higgins Ave. (tel. 406/543-3955), is a project of the Jeannette Rankin Peace Resource Center, selling jewelry, clothing, and musical items from communities around the world. Butterfly Herbs, 232 N. Higgins Ave. (tel. 406/728-8780), features an eclectic collection of items, including jewelry, coffee mugs, teapots, and handmade paper and candles. If you begin to feel the bohemian spirit and suddenly want your own pair of Birkenstocks, just go next door to Hide & Sole, 236 N. Higgins Ave. (tel. 406/549-0666), for reshodding.
Pipestone Mountaineering, 129 W. Front St. (tel. 406/721-1670; www.pipestonemountaineering.com), has an excellent range of outdoor gear for serious climbers, river runners, and campers. The Trail Head, 221 E. Front St. (tel. 406/543-6966; www.trailheadmontana.net), is another good outdoors store, with gear for snowshoers, kayakers, and just about everybody in between.
Missoula is home to an impressive literary community, and the city's bookstores are among the state's best, including Fact and Fiction, 220 N. Higgins Ave. (tel. 406/721-2881). Vintage, rare, and first-edition books are available from Bird's Nest Books (tel. 406/721-1125) at 219 N. Higgins Ave.
If you're looking for clothes, the Macy's, 110 N. Higgins Ave. (tel. 406/542-6000), is an old standard and Missoula's only downtown department store. For that perfect Montana gift or souvenir, try the Moose Creek Mercantile, 314 N. Higgins Ave. (tel. 406/549-5375), which offers a vast selection, much of it in wildlife themes.
Monte Dolack is one of the best-known artists in Montana. His often-humorous posters and prints are available at 139 W. Front St. in the Monte Dolack Gallery (tel. 406/549-3248; www.dolack.com). The gallery also features works of other prominent Montana artists, including Mary Beth Percival. Other top Missoula galleries include Larry Pirnie's Pirnie Art Showroom, 337 E. Broadway (tel. 406/543-2317; www.pirnieartshowrrom.com), and the Montana Museum of Art and Culture in the PAR/TV Building on the campus of the University of Montana (tel. 406/243-2019).
