Best Austin Shopping

Austin just wouldn’t be Austin without BookPeople, one of the largest independently-owned bookstores in the country. The only day they’re closed is Thanksgiving and, with stellar author and community events, a great café and a chair massage station, you may never want to leave. There’s also great jewelry on the first floor, as well as beautiful scarves in little baskets along the stairs to the second floor. Add a stop at Waterloo Records (600 N. Lamar Blvd.) to your agenda, too. The famed Austin music store that has given many musicians their start is just down the street. Buy your Austin City Limits recordings here; there’s a great selection.

Known to tourists as “SoCo” (though most locals don’t like the “manufactured” nickname), this is bohemian energy with a Keep Austin Weird twist. Find hip stores (Blackmail for cool vintage, By George for hip designers, Crofts Original for fun T-shirts and jewelry, Allens Boots for cowboy boots, Off the Wall for antiques and Uncommon Objects for collectibles). Shops stay open late (and often serve free beer) the first Thursday of every month—worth getting into town early if you can.

Guadalupe Street on the University of Texas campus is a hotbed of shopping in Austin activity, with cute boutiques like resale store Buffalo Exchange (this writer’s absolute favorite store; the best time to go is August when UT students head back to school and dump their designer duds); neighborhood grocery stores like Wheatsville Co-op (delicious deli food with a ton of vegan options; do not miss the cashew-tamari salad dressing), and Toy Joy—which sounds like it could be a sex shop but is actually a very cool toy store (great for kid and adult gifts). There’s also an open-air market across from the Student Union, where hippies sell beads, jewelry, bongs, pipes and art. Indeed.

Austin’s Second Street District is the newest shopper's paradise, with a great combination of the arts (Ballet Austin and the Butler Dance Education Center), food (Taverna, Jo’s, tart and Lamberts are standouts), drinks (Malverde and Cru), clothes (Estilo, Girl Next Door), jewelry (Eliza Page) and home (Design Within Reach, IF&D, Finch). Only time to hit one store? Go to Eliza Page, where you’ll discover Austin designers Kendra Scott, Alexis Bittar, Eliza Page herself and others. Worth. The. Splurge. Then toast your awesome self with a mojito at Malverde.