Colorful handmade Italian pottery is just one of the draws at Creme de la Creme. Photograph by Michael Ventura
Country Classic
21 E. Washington St.; 540-687-3686
Off to the races? This elegant shop sells classic sporting clothes tailored in England. Fabrics for the shop’s own designs are handpicked from weavers in the British Isles. There’s also a large selection of men’s dress shirts, women’s twill print shirts and shirt dresses as well as wool blazers, tweed coats, shooting vests, hats, and handbags.
Crème de la Crème
23 E. Washington St.; 540-687-4796
This shop is all eye-popping color. John Robshaw’s exotic textiles share space with elegant Vietri pottery, ceramic guinea hens from Provence, and vintage furniture. In the back room, embossed stationery, invitations, and cards evoke both whimsy and class.
The Fun Shop
117 W. Washington St.; 540-687-6590
No visit to Middleburg would be complete without stopping at this one-of-a-kind store, which stocks everything from lamp shades and linen to candles, gourmet kitchen accessories, picture frames, and picnic wares. There’s a party section in the back, a well-stocked toy room upstairs, a circus of stuffed animals, art sets, and an area where kids can play with wooden toy trains.
The Magic Wardrobe
108 W. Washington St.; 540-687-3363
This charming children’s boutique features frilly frocks from Marcel et Leon, Little Marc Jacobs, and hip French and Italian imports such as Jean Bourget, Lili Gaufrette, and C de C. Check out the MW Private Label for cute boys’ and girls’ styles designed by owner Bridget Wilson—with a little help from her eight-year-old daughter. Who better to know what cool kids wear?
The Shaggy Ram
3 E. Washington St.; 540-687-3546
Owner Joanne M. Swift travels to Europe twice a year to fill her store with fine furnishings such as bamboo pieces from the late 1800s and refurbished steamer trunks. Newer lines of lamps, candles, and reproduction pieces by local artisans fill out the shop along with landscapes by local painters.
Timmie Jane
12 E. Washington St.; 540-687-3211
Browsing through this vintage store feels like shopping in the closet of your super-hip grandmother. Owner Nichole Stephenson frequents vintage auctions to nab day dresses, cocktail shifts, evening gowns, slacks, jackets, sunglasses, bags, and a collection of scarves worthy of a ’50s starlet, all grouped by color and style.
Tully Rector
13 E. Washington St.; 540-687-5858
This shop dresses Middleburg’s well-heeled and is packed with such top designers as Nanette Lepore, Milly, Vince, and Trina Turk. On a budget? Keep an eye out for the sales, which happen about three times a year. An adjoining shop, Beyond the Pale, stocks hard-to-find beauty and skin-care lines such as Darphin, DDF, T. LeClerc, and Dr. Hauschka.
This article appears in the June 2011 issue of The Washingtonian.
