Over the past few years, we’ve been lucky enough to spend enough time in Dallas to consider it a home away from home. And when we say that, we mean we get comfortable very quickly—after all, it’s pretty difficult not to in the land of incredible vintage, bowls of piping hot, delicious queso, honky-tonk bars, and tequila. In other words, it’s our type of town—so as we touched down for the WCFDA Designer Showcase, we knew we were in for a good time (maybe too good?). We were reunited with a handful of designers we (and by proxy, you!) met at the Incubator’s Punta de Mita kickoff, and we spent the next few days running around with the likes of Aurora James, Thaddeus O’Neil, Ji Oh, Charles Youssef and Haus Alkire as they worked on their showcases for some of the biggest players in fashion media and retail at W Dallas. Here’s everywhere and everything we did, saw, shopped for, and ate.
SHOP
We’re no strangers to the Texan luxury shop, but our personal tour, guided by none other than creative director Rob Dailey and Taylor-Tomasi Hill (her latest gig is as the shop’s fashion director), made the expertly-curated wares even more enticing (if you can believe it). We also spent considerable time taking in the shop’s black-and-white portrait gallery, too.
WCFDA Moment: Not going to lie—it was pretty surreal to spot our first book amongst the Gucci and Mansur Gavriel.
If you make one shopping pit stop in Dallas, make it this. It’s wall-to-wall with the most incredible hand-selected vintage finds, like authentic cowboy boots (when in Texas...), weird and wonderful graphic tees, and vintage Playboys.
WCFDA Moment: Aurora James of Brother Vellies found a yellow fur vest that she snapped up immediately (she also let us in on a little secret: Dallas is one of her favorite stomping grounds for vintage finds).
*The* spot for indie, just-under-the-radar-but-about-to-be-literally-everywhere designers, like Martiano and Rachel Comey.
WCFDA Moment: We loved spotting pieces by WCFDA Incubator Alums like Nomia, Kaelen, and Kara. So much so, we may have walked away with a little more than our credit cards were equipped to handle. What? It’s called supporting your friends. Jeez.
STAY
It’s far from our first rodeo (had to!) at W Dallas, but somehow, the whole thing never really gets old. The spa is a huge factor in this—make a point of booking a Bliss massage (and manicure. And pedicure, and…) during your stay. The pool also has amazing views of the city. And then there’s the beds… Let’s say it would be awfully tempting to skip everything we’ve listed here in lieu of staying in them all day long.
SEE & DO
It’s always cool (and especially inspiring for the designers) to stop by local contemporary galleries and museums, whether it’s to get a sense of the local art scene, or take in bigger exhibits we might’ve missed otherwise. Case in point? The Bruce Weber retrospective at DC.
WCFDA Moment: It was especially neat to take in the exhibit with Thaddeus O’Neil, who grew up next to Weber (!), and who lensed his childhood photos (!!). Casual!
Even the most country music–phobic types would have a hell of a time at this local gay bar. Lady Gaga’s allegedly a fan, too.
WCFDA Moment: We went here for a little Monday-night karaoke and had…well, too much fun. We highly recommend you do the same.
EAT
The Tex-Mex mecca that was made for an Instagram opp. There’s an Elvis cactus (if you know, you know), insane celebrity portraits and murals all over the walls, and massive palm tree lamps. How could you resist? And that’s to say nothing of the delicious, thoroughly indulgent Tex-Mex menu.
WCFDA Moment: We ordered the Elvis Memorial Meal—a beef Tex-Mex enchilada, cheese ranchero enchilada, chicken Tomatillo enchilada, a seasoned ground sirloin crispy taco, all served with homemade tostada chips dipped in chile con queso—to share.
Feeling, uh, out of sorts after said karaoke, or all that queso (or both)? We hear you. Luckily, this juice spot is located just a few minutes from W Dallas, and serves up batches of raw, organic juices (the Blue Lemonade is a favorite) to get you feeling right (and ready to ride mechanical bulls) again.
Grab a seat on the porch, and get yourself an order of their fried chicken and the jalapeño margarita. Also, the Better Than Sex cake. If that doesn’t sound like the best possible way to close out your trip to Dallas, we don’t know what is.
BTW: For more behind-the-scenes shots from the designer's showcase, click here.
