Shopping in the DuPont Circle is a very basic affair
If DuPont Circle happens to be your goal, shopping should fit your to-do list because, as in many downtowns like our nation’s capital, finding a good place to shop usually means finding a good neighborhood rather than a store. Like some other popular neighborhoods in our capital city, there are several options in the DuPont neighborhood and of course many things to do in DC. You definitely will not be disappointed by exploring the wide selection of bookstores, clothing boutiques, art galleries, and gift shops, making it all confident that the experience will be to your liking.
Shopping in the DuPont Circle is a very basic affair
Given that DuPont Circle is basically named after a traffic circle, located right in the middle of the neighborhood, you’ll find that shopping here takes you round the lane through some popular areas of the community. Just like the spokes of a wheel, the main streets in the neighborhood lead to the Circle and shopping tends to be on these main streets. Connecticut Avenue and P Street, in particular, are where many retailers are located.
Connecticut Avenue
So far, most of the DuPont Circle neighborhood shopping can be found along Connecticut Avenue, north and south of the Circle, though other traditional clothing stores such as Brooks Brothers, Ann Taylor and Gap are south of the Circle. Head north on Connecticut Avenue and you’ll find trendy shops, coffee shops, and restaurants. One of them is Kramerbooks and Afterwords Café, a DC institution since 1976, where you can not only read a huge collection of books, but also spend the day enjoying their coffee, lunch, dinner or soft drink. This place is more than just a big bookstore, it’s really a hangout. Shopping in the DuPont Circle is a very basic affair
Head a little farther north, away from Circle, and you’ll find a rare beauty product on Bluemercury, where you can take care of yourself at the spa shop while testing the product. Though now a major cosmetics cosmetics series, this luxury beauty retailer originally started in Georgetown before spreading across the country, so in DC it is more like a local boutique. Continue north to Connecticut Avenue and you’ll meet Secondi, a consignment shop specializing in women’s clothing and accessories with attention to vintage lovers and bargain hunters. Both are very fussy about their inventory, which is as good as new and not more than two years old. What sets this consignment store apart from many other items is the choice, from Chanel to Kate Spade to Prada to Miss Sixty to Anthropologie to Vuitton, all of which can get stuck at low prices.
P Street
Shopping on P Street is located west of the Circle, where one will find some great bookstores just a stone’s throw from the Circle. The Book of Second Stories and Antiques is an elaborate, floor-to-ceiling store with used and rare books and many books that are not printed. This old DC institution has one of the largest collection of used and rare books in the world. Catering to literary addicts in all of us, the store also has maps of collections, prints, manuscripts, and posters, as well as used CDs, recordings and DVDs.
A few more steps are Fantom Comics, which opened in 2005 and in addition to comics also includes magazines and novels from local authors and small press publishers that can not be found in major bookstores. It’s not just an ordinary comic book store, but it’s a comic-loving community, where club books are held together with women’s evenings, geeky geek shows, meetings for local comic collec- tions, artist workshops and make-your- own comic drawing sessions Go on a few steps away and you’ll be at 1 West Dupont Circle Wines & Liquors. You can be sure there is nothing better than a good book or comic than a bottle of vino, a beer or a nice scotch, and you’ll find it all here. Every customer gets personal attention and their selection of beer, wine, and spirits from around the world seems almost endless.
Given the fact that the DuPont Circle neighborhood is on the National Register of Historic Places, you’ll find it perfect to be explored on foot as you pass through luxury homes and dwellings, and three and four floors. home lines, all built in a popular style at the turn of the 20th century. As you’ll find on the streets, many things to do in DC are often found in the best neighborhoods.