IE 11 is not supported. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser.

Best bets for shopping in Dallas

In Big D, shopping isn't merely a mundane chore necessary to outfit yourself, your kids, and your home. Shopping is a sport and a pastime, a social activity and entertainment.
/ Source: Frommers.com

In Big D, shopping isn't merely a mundane chore necessary to outfit yourself, your kids, and your home. Shopping is a sport and a pastime, a social activity and entertainment. Dallasites don't pull on sweats and go incognito to the mall; they get dolled up and strut their stuff. Having grown up in North Dallas, I know all too well that locals are world-class shoppers.

NATIVE TO THE BIG D

(which my father-in-law loves to call "Needless Mark-ups"), established in 1907, is a local institution; its annual holiday catalog has become part of pop culture (a once-a-year opportunity to order "His & Her Mummies" or perhaps your own personal $20-million submarine). Beyond those attention-grabbing stunts, Neiman Marcus remains one of the classiest high-end retail stores around, and its downtown flagship store has a chic retro look that is suddenly very hip today. It's not to be missed, even if you can't fritter away your rent money on a pair of Manolo Blahniks. The downtown store at 1618 Main at Ervay Street (tel. 214/741-6911) is open Monday through Saturday from 10am to 5:30pm; stores in the NorthPark and Prestonwood malls are open on Sunday. Another department store where customers are dripping in diamonds and their drivers wait outside to gather the bags is Stanley Korshak, in the Crescent Court hotel (suite 500) on McKinney Avenue between Maple and Pearl (tel. 214/871-3600).

Dallas is an especially good place to pick up Western wear -- boots, hats, shirts, and belts -- whether you want to look the part of a real cowboy or prefer the more adorned "drugstore cowboy" look. Boots of all leathers and exotic skins, both machine- and handmade, from Texas boot companies (Justin, Tony Lama, Nocona) are good deals in Dallas. You can even order custom-made boots if you've got a grand or so to burn. Compare pricing at any of the following, all of which have excellent selections, and be sure to ask about proper boot fit: , 5909 Belt Line Rd. at Preston (tel. 972/385-3052), or 2821 LBJ Fwy. at Josey Lane (tel. 972/243-1151); Wild Bill's, West End MarketPlace, 3rd floor (tel. 214/954-1050); Cavender's Boot City, 5539 LBJ Fwy. (tel. 972/239-1375); and Western Warehouse, 2475 Stemmons Fwy. (tel. 214/634-2668), or 10838 N. Central Expwy. at Meadows (tel. 214/891-0888).

Very fancy Western wear can be found at Cowboy Cool, in the West Village at 3699 McKinney Ave. (tel. 214/521-4500); it's the place to go if you want to drop $500 on a Western shirt or a grand on a pair of boots. Vintage Western clothing can be a bit hard to come by. Ahab Bowen, 2614 Boll St. (tel. 214/720-1874), occasionally stocks vintage Western shirts, along with one of Dallas's best selection of other carefully chosen items for both men and women. Another cool vintage shop is Artfunkles Vintage Boutique, in the West Village at 3699 McKinney Ave., Suite C311 (tel. 214/526-5195). Ragwear, 200 Greenville (tel. 214/827-4163), is a laid-back vintage store that stocks collectible Western shirts at $100 and up, as well as more pedestrian models. (If you're headed to Fort Worth, there are several excellent Western wear stores clustered around the Stockyards.) Fancy gift items for the upscale cowboy -- sterling silver money clips, Michel Jordi wrist watches and belt buckles with longhorns and state-of-Texas and cowboy insignias, and the like -- can be had for a price at , 5440 Harvest Hill, Suite 172 (tel. 972/960-0335).

Dallas Farmers Market, 1010 S. Pearl Expwy. (tel. 214/939-2808), spread over 12 acres just south of downtown Dallas, is one of the nation's largest open-air produce markets. First opened in 1941, it looks across at the glittering Dallas skyline. Farmers from around the area sell directly to the consumer. The market is open daily from 7am to 6pm.

THEY GROW 'EM BIG IN TEXAS, MALLS THAT IS

It would be impossible to cover Dallas's dozens of major shopping malls here -- and more difficult still to hit them all on your visit to Dallas. A few of the best are the following, both for the number and quality of stores and their general ambience:

NorthPark Center, Northwest Highway/Loop 12 at I-75 (tel. 214/363-7441), is the most traditional mall and, to my mind, the most elegant. NorthPark has 160 shops and major anchor stores (including Neiman Marcus, Tiffany's, and Nordstrom), as well as natural lighting and best of all, a rotating display of owner Ray Nasher's fabulous sculpture collection of modern masters throughout the mall. NorthPark is undergoing construction that will double its size and make it the largest mall in the Metroplex. And you can bet, for once, that it will be done in very good taste. Not a mall, but not far from NorthPark, is one of my favorite shopping stops in Dallas: the sprawling flagship store Half Price Books Records & Magazines at 5915 E. Northwest Hwy., just east of Central Expressway (tel. 214/363-8374). The massive selection of books -- including art and architecture books, coffee-table books, books on tape, and language books -- blows away almost any new bookstore, and everything at half-price or less. It's a place to load up.

, LBJ Freeway and Dallas Parkway North (tel. 972/702-7100), is a huge mall with a light-filled atrium (said to mimic the original Galleria in Milan, Italy). It attracts some of Dallas's most sophisticated shoppers to Macy's, Nordstrom, Saks Fifth Avenue, Versace, Cartier, and Hugo Boss. You'll also find an ice-skating rink, a Westin Hotel, and a host of restaurants -- but many people seem to come just to stroll.

Highland Park Village, Mockingbird Lane at Preston Road (tel. 214/559-2740), is as close as you'll get to Beverly Hills's Rodeo Drive in Dallas. This ultrachic corner of high-end shopping in the midst of Dallas's most exclusive neighborhood was built in the 1930s -- it was reportedly the first shopping mall in the U.S. -- and sports an eclectic mix of today's most fashionable boutiques (such as Calvin Klein, Prada, Chanel, Bottega Veneta, and Hermès). Shops aren't enclosed like a traditional suburban American mall; rather, they face inward for a more enjoyable (or shall we say, European) shopping experience.

For more on what to see and do in Dallas, visit our complete guide online at www.frommers.com/destinations/dallas.

Frommer’s is America’s bestselling travel guide series. Visit Frommers.com to find great deals, get information on over 3,500 destinations, and book your trip. © 2006 Wiley Publishing, Inc. Republication or redistribution of Frommer's content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Wiley.