A Womantraveler in Seattle for a couple of summer (or early autumn) days ought to concentrate on two areas, especially if you're on business and have limited free time (or like me, plan to add 1-2 days to your trip) -- downtown Seattle and Bainbridge Island 
just 35 minutes away by ferry. Seattle and Bainbridge on foot are simply fabulous for pure shopping and eating. The weather can be in the 70s (or even hotter) by day and cool jacket weather in the evenings. Perfect West Coast summer temps.
Let's start with downtown Seattle, what I call "a good walk" and relatively compact. You can set out in several 
directions in the retail core, including high-end Fifth Avenue stores and boutiques and the home location of Nordstrom's. Art galleries and funkier stores become more prevalent down near the water, where Pike Place Market is a definite trip. Now eight blocks in size, with arcades and below-street corridors, it's a mesmerizing bundle of fresh foods, flowers, fishmongers, artists, one-of-a-kind shops (and off-limits to most chains). 
The smells of coffee, roasting nuts, fresh cooking and, of course, fish, 
pervade the air. A must-see is the fish-throwing at Pike Place Fish. And you'll walk away with the most beautiful bouquet of flowers, even if you don't have a place to keep them, because they are so irresistible. (The good thing about Pike Place Market is that it can be rainy and miserable and it's still entertaining.)
Where to stay: The Fairmont Olympic Hotel for elegance or The W Seattle for hip and cool.
Where to eat: The The Waterfront Restaurant on Pier 70 (outrageously expensive but expansive and on the water, and a short cab ride away from the center) and, right downtown, Union Restaurant on 1st Avenue, Palomino (a reliable upscale West Coast chain) and Shucker's at The Fairmont.
Now, take the ferry to Bainbridge Island...
On Bainbridge Island, truly "island time" pervades. Around the 32-square-mile island, life is casual and simple 
pleasures are highly valued, from lovely shops, to the natural beauty, art and culture and an appreciation of the bounties of the outdoors and of the water. (The island was settled in the mid-1800s and a hub of lumber mills and farms.) Take the ferry from Pier 52 in Seattle and view Mt. Rainier and the Olympic Mountains en route across Puget Sound. 
Don't be in a hurry (but do get to the ferry at least one ferry ahead of when you want to go, especially in high season). You can take a car or simply walk on by foot or with a bike.
Pick up up a Downtown Bainbridge Island Walkabout Guide with a detailed map and contact information when you land. Downtown Winslow is a five-minute walk from the ferry terminal and pleasantly entertaining. What the East Coast island villages or Key West used to be long ago before they got so peopled-up. Wonderful curiosity shops and intriguing boutiques (I liked Noir 
and Blanc's clothing style at 278 Winslow Way), a public art walking tour, galleries, gardens and waterside trails. For dining, Cafe Nola along the main street of Winslow Way or Harbour Public House a few blocks down on the water. And if you can get out on the rural byways of the island by car or foot, don't miss Bay Hay and Feed, an old-timey general store. (For lodging in cottages and guest houses, check out the Bainbridge Island Lodging Association.)
