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It’s time to talk shop. Whether you have a dozen trendy gal pals, hipster cousins, or tradition-loving in-laws, these city-specific guides to the Best Holiday Shopping will solve all your gift-giving dilemmas.
Best Holiday Shopping in....
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Best Holiday Shopping

D.C.
Hot & Cool

Come December, one of the first places to shop is the Penn Quarter’s outdoor Holiday Market (downtownholidaymarket.com), where artfully crafted jewelry, pottery, and other gifts are on sale at individual booths. And then it’s time to hit the bad boys: Neiman-Marcus (neimanmarcus.com), Jimmy Choo (jimmychoo.com), and other stores lining upper Wisconsin Avenue, which is DC’s version of Rodeo Drive. Georgetown, at the other end of the avenue, is next up; in particular, the Keith Lipert Gallery (keithlipertgallery.com), great for Venetian glassware, high-end jewelry, and precious handbags; the Proper Topper (propertopper.com), famous for its whimsical gifts, charming hats, and sexy dresses; Cady’s Alley (cadysalley.com), a “design district” of 50 high-style and fashion-forward clothing and furnishings stores; Hu’s Shoes (hushoes.com), which caters to the well-heeled; and then Lost Boys (lostboysdc.com), the stylish menswear store where cashmere hoodies rub up against handsome sweaters.
Hip

In search of hipster-pleasers, start with museum shops; one go-to is Dupont Circle’s Textile Museum (textilemuseum.com), where cunning little handbags, scarves, and other accessories hail from around the globe. From there, it’s a quick hop on the Metro to the U St. Corridor, home base for edgy apparel boutiques and quirky accessories emporiums. Nana (nanadc.com) supplies vintage finds and independent designer lines; Millennium Decorative Arts (millenniumdecorativearts.com) offers collectibles made between the 1930s and 1970s; and Home Rule (homerule.com) provides just the thing (original artwork, Murano glassware) for the hardest-to-please people. For handcrafted, original (even customized, if desired) jewelry, finish up at the lovely little Mia Gemma boutique (miagemma.com), in the center of the Penn Quarter.

Classic

When searching for more traditional gifts, count on Georgetown’s A Mano (amano.bz) for its handmade Italian and French ceramics. Just up the block, Sherman Pickey (shermanpickey.com) is a peppy, preppy present haven for both sexes. In Georgetown Park, Gore-Dean Home (goredean.com) sells all manner of decorative furnishings. And for the most tastefully gracious gifts, we heart Tiny Jewel Box (tinyjewelbox.com), near Dupont Circle: exquisite designer, vintage, and antique jewelry, as well as one-of-a-kind gifts, such as those featuring scenes of Washington. Across the street from TJB is another mainstay, Riziks (riziks.com), where you can pick up a little something for yourself, say, a pastel mink three-quarter coat, or a flirty little frock for your favorite gal pal.