The funky attitude of Block Island extends to the shops lining the harbor. Archipelago (Water St., 401/466-8920, 10 a.m.–10 p.m. daily) features clothing and accessories from Southeast Asia, along with its own line of custom-designed sarongs and bikinis from Bali.

High-quality men’s clothes are on sale at Mahoney’s Clothier (Water St., 401/466-8616 10 a.m.–5 p.m. Tues.–Fri.; 10 a.m.–3 p.m. Sat.; closed Mon. June–Oct.), which sells a popular line of polo shirts and silk ties with a Block Island logo.

Sailors delight in The Glass Onion (Water St., 401/466-5161, 10 a.m.–6 p.m. Tues.–Sat., closed Mon. June–Oct.), which features antique yachting books, nautical charts, and Victorian-era engravings.

Lazy Fish (235 Dodge St., 401/466-2990, 11 a.m.–4 p.m. Mon.–Tue. and Thu.–Fri., 10 a.m.–5 p.m. Sat.–Sun., May–Oct.) sells affordable old furniture, attractively weathered by decades of salt and sun, as well as vintage children’s toys.

Making salt water taffy from scratch with a 1940s taffy-pulling machine, Old Salt Taffy Co. (Chapel St., 401/466-5005, 11 a.m.–7 p.m. Thurs.–Sun., 11 a.m.–5 p.m. Mon.–Wed., May–Oct.; 11 a.m.–5 p.m. Thurs.–Sun. Nov.–Apr.) is the closest you’ll get to recapturing those youthful memories of the beach.