My Group Chat Is Obsessed with the Vermont Country Store, So I Finally Shopped It
The two stores and the catalog sell retro, nostalgic, and delightful things that I can’t easily find anywhere else.
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One of my favorite places to shop for birthday presents, holiday gifts—and, let's be honest, the occasional treat for myself—is The Vermont Country Store, a charming retailer with two Vermont locations and a catalog that brings me all kinds of joy.
So much in it is delightful and retro: shampoo I thought was discontinued, candy like my grandma used to serve, even genuine chenille bedspread I thought had disappeared decades ago. Me and my 50-something friends are obsessed.
When one told me she was looking for a white nightgown, I sent links. And if anyone is looking for holiday decorations, this is the first place I recommend.
I've traveled to both stores multiple times, with friends and with my mom. Recently, I started making a list of everything from The Vermont Country Store that's currently in my house... and, honestly, I got a little embarrassed. In the name of journalism, I'll share a few of my favorites, along with other finds that perfectly capture what makes the store so unique.
Tonics made for The Vermont Country Store are created with a wink—they are not making any major medical promises. But I love the allure of something exotic and healthy, and this only has three ingredients: sour cherry, turmeric, and ginger. I mix my creatine supplement into a splash of the tonic, then add water and ice.
Ginger and Turmeric Tonic gets a lot of positive reviews, but it doesn't have the most fun name. That belongs to Strength of the Hills, an apple cider vinegar tonic that I have yet to try.
This scent—Estee Lauder’s first, created in 1953—reminds me of a grandma with a bar cart, in the best way. It’s not discontinued, but it can be hard to find. At the brand’s web site Youth Dew costs $15 more.
I bought this (and wear it) because it reminds me of my Nan. Top notes include rose, middle notes include jasmine, and bottom notes include patchouli. I think the smell of Scotch is imaginary on my part. They also sell the similar Arpege.
I love the store’s Easter mix which is similar to this: mellocremes, malt balls, and chocolates. This one-pound Halloween mix adds green apple sour balls, while the Easter mix adds jellybeans. I'm going to try the Halloween mix and compare. #research
This is the only Christmas decoration I have in my upstairs, a nightlight I use in the bathroom during the holidays. In my bag right now, because I might need it for the fall, is a similar version: the Halloween Pumpkin Night-Light.
My Brooklyn bathroom is tiny, but this cute 17 x 24 inch rug fits exactly in front of my small sink and I love it. Mine is blue, but I am ordering another one in white. It's just on backorder at the moment. These are popular items!
About those nightgowns! My friend was looking for something sort of Stevie Nicks, and I think this nails it. It's 100% cotton and exclusive to The Vermont Country Store. They also sell a lot of flannel, and a lot of long, Victorian nightgowns, but my friends and I are in a too-hot-to-sleep phase so this one's more our speed.
The pine scent in this soap is fir real and glorious. It reminds me of the Vermont outdoors. The price is for one box, which has three bars. For anyone looking for an old-fashioned scalp remedy there's also pine tar shampoo.
This is what I get my mom each year at Christmas, her favorite assortment of good licorice all-sorts, the kind usually only sold in England.
The Vermont Country Store has a truly insane candy section, both in the store and online. The classic candy is especially exciting, full of things I don't see anywhere else: Clark Bar Candy Cups (Clark was from my hometown of Pittsburgh), candy fruit slices from the Greatest Generation’s age, and pastel French cremes.
Walking through the store I quickly picked up on how popular old-fashioned bubble lights are. The shop features them in the Christmas display, which is up all year.
In addition to this candolier for a mantel or a window, you can snag a 7-light Bubble Light String Set for your tree. Or if Halloween is more your thing, there's a Mr. Ghost Halloween Bubble-Light
I mentioned finding shampoo I thought was discontinued—Lemon Up is one of them, and it gets great online reviews at The Vermont Country Store web site.
I fell for buying Gee Your Hair Smells Terrific, which I remembered from my childhood. And though it was a real trip to smell the scent again, the Terrific shampoo didn't do anything for my hair. Stick with the Lemon! There's a Lemon Up Bubble Bath as well, which also works as a shower gel.
My Nan’s summer cottage in Ohio had chenille bedspreads but I never saw them anywhere else until I visited The Vermont Country Store. They live here! I remember them as lightweight and I’ve always loved the fringe around the bottom. This one comes in sizes from Twin to King, and in six colors, including white. The floral chenille is a little more aggressively “back in the day.”
No surprise, you can get all kinds of exclusive maple syrup from The Vermont Country Store. Also popular: maple sugar (you use it 1:1 in any recipe that calls for regular sugar), maple butter, and maple hard candy.
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