Shopping

Shopping is practically an art form in Dallas, regardless of your budget and taste. Or, lacking either, just window-shopping in some parts of the city is a blast. Increasingly compared to New York and reportedly containing more retail space, the scene here has been more than a century in the making and is still evolving constantly, as both fresh and established retailers reclaim parts of the city. Western wear, retro furnishings, designer boutiques, art galleries—it’s all here.

The legacy began in 1907 when the first Neiman Marcus store opened, and developed a reputation for high quality and prices to match. The excitement of getting a box bearing the Neiman’s logo became akin to finding a blue Tiffany’s box under the tree. Then came the Neiman’s Christmas catalog, an annual news event as Neiman’s included over-the-top fantasy gifts like limited edition BMWs. Neiman’s put Dallas on the international shopping map, and the high-end, pricey reputation stuck. The shopping was here, and the oil money paid the bill. High-end retailers and designers are still coming: In the newly developed Victory Park area near American Airlines Center, for example, you can pick up a bespoke men’s suit for as much as $30,000 at Duncan Quinn.

Some of the freshest, most exciting shopping is in art and interiors in the Design District on or near Dragon Street. The Design District has always been filled with custom and antique shops, most of which sold “to the trade,” leaving out the majority of consumers. Today those shops have opened to the public, and art galleries are flooding the Dragon Street area, fleeing high Uptown rents. The result is a developing gallery scene that’s been compared to Chelsea or SoHo.

In Fort Worth shopping is less of an obsession, but Cowtown is no slacker in that department. Upscale and casual western wear downtown, interesting boutiques along Camp Bowie, a Neiman’s of its own on the west side of the city, and pockets of sophisticated shops and interesting eateries in the Park Hill area near Texas Christian University make Fort Worth shopping both eclectic and easygoing.

Shopping - The Arts

Occasionally, newcomers to Texas are just the tiniest bit surprised to find out how much folks here love music, theater, and all performing arts. Perhaps you expected to find that our passions run only to football and rodeo? While it’s true that country music remains a favorite, the good people of Dallas and Fort Worth appreciate far more than the banjo and steel guitar. Once you examine all these options, you’ll find that the level of artistic sophistication has been underrated.

The nation’s largest urban arts district is the Dallas Arts District, where five venues have been designed by Pritzker Prize–winning architects: the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center by I. M. Pei, the Nasher Sculpture Center by Renzo Piano, the Margot and Bill Winspear Opera House and the Annette Strauss Artist Square by Sir Norman Foster, and the Dee and Charles Wyly Theatre by Rem Koolhaas. So not only are you treated to great art within, but you’re blessed with seeing magnificent art on the outside, as well.