It’s not always easy to find cutting-edge men’s fashion in the Tampa Bay area. One of your best bets is Urban Body, tucked conveniently behind the Starbucks in South Tampa. The airy shop stocks a variety of hip brands — Ben Sherman, 1921 Denim, 4 You, Z Brand, 191 Unlimited — most of which can’t be found in local department stores. Looking for tight low-slung jeans, tapered-fit shirts, unique sweaters or some, uh, interesting underwear? Point your chiseled bod toward Urban Body.

Gift this: T-Shirt by Division E (pictured), $64.50; jeans by Silver Denim, $86.50. 715 S. Howard Ave. #130, Tampa, 813-251-5522, urbanbody.com.

Photo by Eric Snider

See other stops on CL’s Indie Holiday Shopping Spree here.

This article appears in Dec 3-9, 2008.

Eric Snider is the dean of Bay area music critics. He started in the early 1980s as one of the founding members of Music magazine, a free bi-monthly. He was the pop music critic for the then-St. Petersburg...