Style
Austin: Secrets to the best spas and shops
See what's new in the capital of cool10:41 AM CDT on Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Who needs long flights and jet lag? One of the best destinations for shopping and spa-ing is just three hours down the road - four if you take the scenic route.
Indie boutiques have long ruled Austin's retail scene. But lately, the city is welcoming more nationally known names – so many, in fact, that Women's Wear Daily recently ranked Austin and neighboring Round Rock (site of the new Round Rock Premium Outlets) as the country's fourth fastest- growing retail hot spot. Here, a few recommendations.
BY GEORGE
Worth a trip to Austin all on its own, By George bears the highly individual style-stamp of husband-and-wife owners Matthew and Katy Culmo. A second location, open since spring on South Congress, offers casual chic from labels such as Ella Moss, Mint and Trovata. But more affluent hipsters head straight to the flagship at 6th and Lamar for its double dose of great design (polished concrete and end-cut mesquite floors, art by former Dallasites Jocelyn Meintser and Malcolm Hill) and expertly curated apparel and accessories from names such as Rozae Nichols, 3.1 Philip Lim, Vena Cava and Isabel Marant. An adjacent By George men's store recently underwent a head-to-toe makeover and now houses cutting-edge designer women's wear (Marni, Dries Van Noten, Peter Sorenen, Derek Lam).
If all that shopping gives you an appetite, stroll a block up 6th Street and enjoy margaritas and blackened catfish tacos on the porch at Z'tejas (ztejas.com).
By George, 524 N. Lamar, 512-472-5951; 1400 S. Congress Ave., 512-441-8600, bygeorgeaustin.com
2ND STREET DISTRICT
If outposts of Octane, Design Within Reach, Paciugo, Cru and Cowboy Cool make this downtown district sound a little like Dallas south, don't be discouraged. Set just a block north of Town Lake and City Hall, the five-block district has enough only-in-Austin names to confer critical cool.
At Mercury Design Studio ( mercurcydesignstudio.com), owned by former Gap exec Steve Shuck, about half the furniture and accessories are vintage finds reinvented with vibrant upholstery or glossy coats of lacquer. The balance is a design dream-team of names such as Jonathan Adler, Michelle Varian, Thomas Paul, John Derian and Douglas Little.
A few doors away, Eliza Page ( elizapage.com) offers owner Elizabeth Serrato's handpicked mix of jewelry and accessories from more than 30 independent designers, about half of them Texas-based. IF + D ( ifdaustin.com) balances sleek furniture with whimsical bird-motif pillows and sachets.
Avian chic also turns up at Finch ( shopfinch.com), where robin's-egg-blue walls are an apt backdrop for nature-themed tableware and home accessories. Finish (or just revive) with java at Jo's ( joscoffee.com), sib of the popular South Congress coffee shack that shares a parking lot with hip Hotel San Jose.
SOUTH CONGRESS
No neighborhood is more quintessentially Austin than SoCo. Anchored by legendary live-music venue the Continental Club and hip trailblazers such as Hotel San Jose ( sanjosehotel.com) and the quirky, oddity-crammed Uncommon Objects ( uncommonobjects.com), the roughly eight-block strip of South Congress Avenue running south from Town Lake toward Oltorf has gentrified without sacrificing its soul. So far, anyway. Shopping is concentrated on the street's west side, but both banks offer not-to-be-missed treasures.
Scores from one recent trip include a kitschy-cool '70s owl necklace from Feathers, a one-of-a-kind Ruby Pearl scarf dress from hair salon and gallery Pink , and, from contemporary stalwart Therapy ( therapyclothing.com), a pair of remarkably chic, patent-look jelly wedges by Alexandre Herchcovitch for the Brazilian label Melissa at the gotta-be-kidding price of $48. Therapy is also the only place in Texas to score Habitude organic sportswear by Dallas-based designer Laura Chapuis.
At Factory People ( factorypeople.com) – recognized by industry trade mag DNR as one of the country's 50 most-influential menswear stores – music is as essential to the neo-Andy-and-Edie vibe as clothes from lines such as Crate Denim, Cheap Monday and Dirty Librarian Chains. Parts & Labour ( myspace.com/partsandlabour), a 3-year-old showcase for handmade clothing, jewelry, accessories and housewares by 150-plus Texas designers, posts its oh-so-Austin manifesto just above the register: "Don't buy the hype. Buy handmade."
Tip: Time your SoCo visit for the first Thursday of the month, when merchants stay open until 10 p.m., with live music, rooftop movie screenings and an all-around street-party atmosphere.
THE DOMAIN
A mere 3 months old, this upscale mixed-use center in northwest Austin boasts the capital's first Neiman Marcus, which played off the famous "Keep Austin Weird" maxim with billboards announcing "Keep Austin Fabulous." Other notable newcomers include Louis Vuitton and Ralph Lauren – not to mention Tiffany & Co., Intermix, Barneys Co-op, Calypso and some 30 other familiar fashion names. For Dallasites, the most novel thing about The Domain may be its open-air setting, reminiscent of Plano's Shops at Legacy, with two blocks of shops set along a serpentine Main Street framed by trees and flower beds. But for Austinites, the opportunity to shop for Chanel, Prada, Thakoon, Cavalli and Chloe (all exclusive to Neiman Marcus) without leaving the city limits is big news indeed.
The Domain, 11400 Burnet Road, 512-795-4230
EARTHLY DELIGHTS
Inspired by Austin's Hill Country-modern architecture and Southwest-Zen landscaping? You're hardly alone. Big Red Sun is a must-stop for distinctive succulents and retro-botanicals, but the restored Eastside bungalow offers non-gardening treasures as well, including apparel, art, housewares and its own children's boutique. The riches at Gardens are equally diverse, from cactus, herbs and seeds, to books, cookware, vases and furniture.
Big Red Sun, 1102 E. Cesar Chavez St., 512-480-0688, bigredsun.com
Gardens, 1818 W. 35th St., 512-467-9934, gardens-austin.com
With hills, trees and lakes galore, Austin offers spa-goers a dose of spirit-lifting natural beauty in addition to a full complement of fitness activities, facials, massages and scrubs.
LAKE AUSTIN SPA RESORT
Recently recognized by Condé Nast Traveler readers as the number-two destination spa in the country, Lake Austin Spa Resort needed more than just a massage when Dallasite Mike McAdams took over in 1997. The subsequent extreme makeover left the 19-acre, lakeside facility's laid-back luxe character intact, but revamped just about everything else, including the organic gardens and the 40 bungalow-style guest rooms. Most visitors stay from three nights (the minimum) to a week. (Rates start at $1,455 double occupancy.) But the 25,000-square-foot LakeHouse Spa, completed in 2004, has a separate entrance and welcomes day visitors, too. Book one of the 100 treatment options (the Gifts of Our Garden exfoliation, shower, massage and wrap combo left us smiling and smelling of fresh lavender), then enjoy lunch in the Aster Cafe and, for an extra $25, full access to the spa's indoor and outdoor pools for the balance of the day.
Lake Austin Spa Resort, 1705 S. Quinlan Park Road, 512-372-7300, lakeaustin.com
LakeHouse Spa, 12611 Riverbend Road, 512-372-7380, lakehousespa.com
LAKEWAY RESORT AND SPA
One pool has a spiraling, two-story water slide. Another has a swim-up bar. The third, presumably, is for those of us who just need a good book, comfortable chaise and sweeping Lake Travis view. Variety is a forte at Lakeway, which caters to everyone from kids to business execs with golf, tennis, sailing, fishing, a conference center, banquet facilities, ballroom and multiple restaurants. (Crescent Club vet Bryce Murphree serves as exec chef.) Built as the Lakeway Inn in 1963, with Lady Bird Johnson and Gov. John Connally both at the grand opening, the venerable property has just undergone a massive makeover under new owner Dolce International. The balconied, glass-walled Vistas ballroom is entirely new. Ditto the full-service San Saba Spa, which offers salon services, bridal packages and treatments designed especially for golfers – not to mention an irresistible chocolate-chip body scrub. Rooms start at $249.
Lakeway Resort and Spa, 101 Lakeway Drive, 512-261-6600, lakeway.dolce.com
THE CROSSINGS
Founded in 2003 as a progressive learning center, The Crossings takes its change-the-world mission seriously: Most of the construction is green. The bookstore specializes in growth, enrichment and spirituality. And bulletin boards are posted with notices of upcoming workshops such as "Boot Camp for Goddesses" and "Dare to Fly: Adventures in Trapeze." The hilly, heavily wooded 205-acre campus is just 20 miles from downtown Austin, but you'd never know it. (Guests setting out on the 2.5-mile hiking trail are offered whistles to scare off the mountain lions occasionally spotted in the surrounding Balcones Canyonlands Preserve.) Spa offerings range from chakra-cleansing aromatherapy massages and acupuncture facials to astrological consults. But the best stress-buster of all may be the $35 day-use pass, which includes a buffet lunch; wellness classes such as yoga, NIA dance and meditation; and access to The Crossings' hiking trails, labyrinth, Sanctuary, hot tub, cold plunge and an infinity pool with view of Lake Travis guaranteed to do your aura good. Rooms (three meals included) start at $115.
The Crossings, 13500 FM 2769, 877-944-3003, thecrossingsaustin.com
Skipping I-35 in favor of the more westerly US Highway 281 is one of those tips you hate to make too public. But the extra 45 minutes to an hour it requires will dissuade the overly goal-oriented anyway. The landscape turns Hill Country pretty just south of Glen Rose and continues all the way into Austin. Stop in tiny Hico for the best homemade pies and antiquing this side of Fredericksburg.
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