TEL AVIV — Finding the best shopping in a foreign city isn’t easy. Uninspired friends or a misguided concierge can send you off to a shopping center crammed with the same brands available all over the world. Tel Aviv, however, is awash in young designers with fresh takes on fashion and design. Neighborhood after neighborhood is loaded with small shops selling clothing, jewelry, and accessories made by local talent. It’s a jolt to the jaded — and a relative bargain compared with the shopping in the world’s fashion capitals.

In many cases, the designers themselves are minding the store, selling their own goods — and hustling over to their studios, which are typically just around the corner from their shops. These small businesses make the shopping experience here memorable and personal. On a recent trip, I met with some of the designers and boutique owners who are fueling the city’s vibrant design scene. While they’re at different points in their careers, their success suggests how deep the talent pool here is.

Sheinkin Street

Ask around about shopping in Tel Aviv, and you will inevitably hear of this street. It’s a lively, bustling place teeming with foot traffic, largely of the teenage variety. But like the SoHo stretch of Broadway, it was such a magnet for creative types that as its popularity increased, so did rents. Casual-sportswear chains — both Israeli brands and international labels like Rocket Dog and Nike — dominate.

That said, I stumbled into one of the most fun shopping experiences I’ve had in years. Designer Ron Mandelman’s eponymous shop (43 Sheinkin St.) is packed with a wild grab bag of clothing. Diving in is mandatory.

Mr. Mandelman combines an excellent understanding of proportion with a sense of whimsy. There are dresses and skirts made in his own print design, highly conceptual pants (which fit perfectly), jeans (blue and tie-dyed), a smattering of jewelry, and anything he felt like making on any given day.

Mr. Mandelman’s clothing ranges broadly because his influences are highly varied.

An Observant Jew, he incorporates his study of the religion into his work. On one slim-cut pair of pants, he embroidered the word “love” in Hebrew using the Rashi font created by Rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki (1040–1105 the common era). But that inspiration, he said, exists side by side his love of Modigliani’s elongated silhouettes.

After 10 years on the street, Mr. Mandelman is a veteran who has declined to move to trendier shopping neighborhoods. “I like to see many people. I have a collection for young people,” he said. “My customers are age 12 to 80.”

Within a few blocks of Ron Mandelman are two must-visit accessories shops. Jopej Bag Concept (57 Sheinkin St.) is a first-rate leather-goods boutique packed with bags and wallets made by Israeli designers. Happy Mess (15 Sheinkin St.) is a jewelry shop in a bright, airy space selling the colorful, affordable work of dozens of local designers.

Dizengoff Street

Every city has its high-end enclave, and Tel Aviv’s is Dizengoff, a wide avenue where major international brands can be found. One recent addition to seek out is the chic boutique Banker (210 Dizengoff St.), which sells labels from Europe, Israel, and America. Owner Keren Banker Cohen opened her boutique here in late 2006, after her first shop, Alma (9 Merkaz Ba’alei Melacha St.), proved to be successful. “People here love fashion. They buy fashion. We’re closer to Europe than the U.S.,” she said.

The spacious, charming store offers collections that range from hard-edged, rock-inspired pieces by British brands including Religion and House of the Gods to flirty dresses by Rebecca Taylor to belts made with prayer shawl fabric by the Israeli label Bellinky.

Banker is one of the stores to feature the up-and-coming Israeli designer Mirit Weinstock, based in a studio just minutes away in Jaffa. Ms. Weinstock spent time working under Alber Elbaz at Lanvin in Paris. In 2004 she returned to Israel and launched her own line — starting with 15 garments that she sold at a flea market.

Made in Tel Aviv and distributed internationally, the Mirit Weinstock line is distinguished by details, fine fabrics, and femininity. Pieces are made with equal attention to the front and back of the garment. “I use designs from the ’20s and ’30s, but I take it to a modern place with fabrics,” she said. Her line is also now available in New York at Searle.

Banker’s slickest neighbor is Yossef (213 Dizengoff St.), a minimalist shop that sells evening dresses of aggressive design made in a studio just across the street. The jewelry case, with offerings from several Israeli designers, is an excellent find with reasonable prices.

Gan Hahashmal

The tiny shops that are sprinkled through this formerly run-down neighborhood, once home to the city’s central power plant, sell some of the hippest stuff in town.

Designer Nait Rosenfelder was the first to open up shop here in October 2002, and she has become a bit of an ambassador for the area. Her motivation for the pioneering move was to build a business outside the established shopping areas. “I didn’t want to be on Dizengoff or Sheinken. That’s not me,” she said.

Ms. Rosenfelder studied design, served on the army’s administrative staff, and then attended Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio. Upon her return to Israel in 1998, she started making clothes for herself, then for friends. Now her customers are working women who seek out classic, European chic.

From her self-titled shop, Nait (10 Mikve Israel St.), she has seen the Tel Aviv design scene gain momentum in the past few years. “People are looking for young Israeli designers and that gives us credibility,” she said. “It’s a flourishing place right now.”

The area is indeed replete with hot spots. Delicatessen (4 Barzilai St.) is a multilabel clothing and accessories boutique with an edgy, downtown attitude. The jewelry brand Ruby Star (28 Levontin St.) sells its rocker-ready wares ranging from big, tangled chains to chunky pendants, to leather cuffs. Kisim (8 Hahashmal St.), a brand of chic, modern handbags and leather goods, has a shop here — and its pieces can be found in shops around town. Frau Blau (8 Hahashmal St.) offers wacky, off-beat items.

But the delight in shopping Tel Aviv certainly doesn’t stop here. I was introduced to several shops in the area between Kikar Rabin and Kikar Massaryk, but time did not permit further exploration or, perhaps for the good of my financial stability, further purchases.