Talk about brand loyalty -- three out of four winners in this year's "Services Stuff" category also topped last year's picks. Eyes of the World and Ecco, Soapdish, Sweet Lady Jane and about a dozen other businesses make Daysies look as perennial as their floral namesake. Which should come as no surprise to Kathy Co. Flowers and Gardener's Supply. Neither one of those growing concerns has lost its bloom, either.

Shoppers even stood by their stores when the retailers underwent a change of address. Though sassy Stella took a stroll in the spring from its upstairs stomping grounds to down-under digs on the other side of Church Street, footwear fans are still giving it the business. The bodacious boutique kicked butt once again as Chittenden County's best place for footwear.

When Outdoor Gear Exchange took a hike in '04 -- from cramped quarters on Bank Street to an expansive Cherry Street location -- customers didn't need a map to follow along, whether hardcore campers or Patagonia poseurs. This year, OGE one-upped its own personal best, earning Daysies for both outdoor outfitting and women's sportswear in Chittenden County.

Elsewhere in Vermont, ladies looking for clothes in which they can work up a sweat are still running to Onion River Sports in Montpelier. For dressier attire, though, capital-area females have found a new fave: This year, Damsels picked up not one but two Daysies. That youth-spirited emporium is the venue of choice for women, whether they're dolling up for dancing or dressing down to browse the latest discs at Buch Spieler -- which won for best record store outside Chittenden County, by the way.

If that Damsels dame is with a guy, he's probably wearing Carhartt's from Lenny's. With branches in Williston, St. Albans and Barre -- where the local chain got its start and has recently expanded -- the store rose to the top this year among men's clothing stores outside Chittenden County. It's probably no coincidence that out in the boondocks, guys go for clothes that can stand up to mud season, while in the greater Burlington metropolis, designer neckties and tailored suits from Michael Kehoe still make the man.

When our readers are shopping for the hangers on which to keep those threads -- or an armoire for the overflow -- for the last two years, the answer was the same. Pier 1 Imports won both in the "furniture" category, for its comfy chairs and sweet side tables, and in the "housewares" division, for its great gadgets and wonderful whatnots. The four-level Church Street store still rules for housewares, but it's ceded first place among furniture retailers to newcomer Ashley's, which opened this year next to the Burlington Price Chopper on Shelburne Road. Pier 1 owner Frank Bouchette won't be sweating it, though -- he owns Ashley's, too. The guy seems to know what Burlington-area buyers want to take home. Let's see where that savvy takes him as he makes his next business move: On August 1, Bouchette is departing from the Pier 1 mothership and changing his store's name to Homeport. Chances are the customers will continue to dock there.