Best Boutique

Nine Inch Nails pumps through the store, indicating that a trip to Rhythm Clothiers is not your typical shopping excursion. Street-savvy duds by Miss Sixty, Diesel, and Juicy share the racks with more refined designs from BCBG Max Azria, Vertigo, and Parallel. "It's all in the mix," co-owner Gerry Novoa says of his take on trends and the attention he pays to fresh, durable fabrics. The Rhythm staff unpacks new pieces every day but stocks only a few of each so that, out on the street, customers don't run into other folks wearing the same outfits. Although women's clothes -- sheer skirts, slinky dresses, metallic slacks -- fill most of this funky boutique, the velour pullovers and retro-patterned shirts in the back of the shop tempt fashion-conscious men. Collaged wallpaper fragments cover the walls of dressing rooms outfitted with vintage chairs. In one stall stands a regal mannequin with arms of red wood, decked out in an AstroTurf bustier and skirt of faux poinsettias. The patron saint of Rhythm Clothiers, she has attitude and style to spare.