Time to Shop
Folks who live in the DC area are creatures of habit. If you live in Virginia, you tend to stay in Virginia and the same goes for residents of the District and Maryland. Rarely do people seem to cross state lines unless it is for work. I had never experienced anything like that prior to moving here but when it comes to shopping, I don't let a state line scare me!
I must admit it. I love to shop. I like to window shop. I like to purchase. I like it all when it comes to shopping. Last weekend, during the Congressional Black Caucus, I had to entertain some out of towners who wanted something that no one back in their home state would have. They were insisting that it would be upscale. Upscale, no problem. We started out at Tysons Galleria, also known as Tysons II. Since I hadn't been there in while, I was pleasantly surprised to see some new additions. Tysons Galleria is expensive, but on occasion, I am able to snag something on sale. I like to visit BCBG Max Azria and Betsey Johnson. I noticed, much to my surprise a new Bottega Venetta store. This store oozes "new york" to me with their sparse decorations and uber expensive but beautiful handbags. The out of towners ate it up and made a purchase there. This store has only been in Tysons for about a month. We also went to Ferragamo and Hugo Boss just to make sure we had soaked up all the upscale offerings that Tysons had. http://www.tysonsgalleria.com/html/index19.asp
If you are visiting the area and want to be amongst alot of people and activity, look no further than shopping in Georgetown. Due to its close location to the university, there is always movement and activity. In Georgetown, there are lots of shops and restaurants. You can find Urban Outfitters, Intermix (the first DC location of this New York store), Tommy Hilfiger, and Lucky Brand Jeans to name a few. There is also a small mall as well with the usual suspects like Express and J. Crew.
A new, hip shopping area to frequent is the U Street Area. I have come to really like this co-op shop called DEKKA. I did an earlier post on this shop but one of my favorite vendors is Lily Lily Shop. She has pieces from all around the world. In the U Street area, also check out Lettie Gooch and Nana for some funky threads. This area also has numerous choices for nighttime entertainment as well. Many don't know this but U street is a historic area as well with Lincoln Theatre and Ben's Chili Bowl being the only remaining places to survive after the riots in the 60's. There are walking tours of U street that I highly recommend.
The newest area to have more shopping options if the Chinatown/Gallery Place area. This area, near the Verizon Center, has another location of Urban Outfitters, an Ann Taylor loft, and some other shopping places. Best of all, Chinatown has some great restautants like Inde Bleu and Rosa Mexicana (best guacamole).
For more info on shopping in DC by district, please visit: http://washington.org/visiting/browse-dc/shopping/shopping-districts The best thing is that all of these areas are accessible by public transportation.