Photograph by Wedig + Laxton
Happy Handbags: Glad & Young
Local handbag maker Glad & Young has brought its colorful vibe to a permanent spot in Ponce City Market. If the cheerful colors, patterns, and shapes aren’t enough to make you smile, have a leather keychain, handbag, or fanny pack embossed just for you. Or hop in the photo booth and act silly. Old Fourth Ward
New Denim: Double RL
Now open at Westside Provisions District, Ralph Lauren’s collection that pays homage to the American West showcases work shirts, jackets, hand-tooled leather goods, and premium denim. Westside
New On-Trend Fashion: Mango
The Spanish retailer landed this year at Perimeter Mall. The store is part of the brand’s strategic play in the American market and carries men’s and women’s clothing. Dunwoody
New Asian Superstore: Teso Life
Is there anything Teso Life doesn’t sell? The new megamart in Duluth boasts primarily Japanese products and stocks everything from snacks to tea sets to skincare to dog toys to cleaning products. The food and drinks selection combines the Japanese products you’d find at Buford Highway Farmers Market and H Mart into one stop, along with some fun new finds. If you’re feeling lucky, try to win a plushie from one of several massive claw machines. Duluth
Japanese Bookstore: Books Kinokuniya
This popular Japanese bookstore chain opened its first Southeastern location in Johns Creek this summer. Since then, it’s become a must-see destination not only for anime and manga fans, but for artists, writers, and anyone who loves adorable and unique souvenirs. Shelves are stocked with both Japanese- and English-language books, imported notebooks and stationery, plushies, pens, tote bags, stickers, washi tape, figurines, jewelry, keychains, blind box toys, and so much more. Johns Creek
Trend: Permanent Jewelry
If diamonds are a girl’s best friend, permanent bracelets are a woman’s everlasting love. Professional welders from studios like Bond Jewelry, Laurel Lane, Link x Lou, and Weld ATL link gold chains around your wrists, neck, ankles, or fingers. The result is an enduring custom piece. Pop-ups are held at partner boutiques, or book their welders for private parties in your home.
New Gem: Brown & Co. Jewelers
The 50-year-old jeweler upgraded its space and now sits in a prime location in Buckhead Village District, where it sells fine and custom jewelry and has Rolex and Cartier boutiques. The jeweler will open a Patek Philippe boutique across the street in 2024. Buckhead
Photograph by Erin Dickman
New Suiting: Factor’s
While Matt Lambert’s line offers more than suits, it’s his redefined men’s and women’s suiting that shines most at his new Little Five Points location. Little Five Points
New Makers Collective: Reynolds Makery
This Reynoldstown cafe, makers’ gift shop, and community gathering spot highlights minority- and women-owned businesses like Nica Life Project and True & Radiant, in the spirit of a Nicaraguan pulperia. Reynoldstown
Photograph by Jeremiah Thomas
Chill Clothing: Souk Bohemian
Two California-bred friends and business partners, Morgan Ashley Bryant and Vanessa Coore Vernon, have expanded a concept they launched last year. This Black- and queer-owned venture features elegant separates and dresses in earthy tones, plus easy-to-wear pieces like rompers, jumpsuits, and kimonos. Offerings are feminine, masculine, and/or unisex. Handcrafted jewelry, art books, incense, and home accessories have a global flavor—designed to make visitors feel like they’re wandering through a bazaar in North Africa. Old Fourth Ward
Expanded Boutique: Louis Vuitton
The luxury juggernaut expanded its Lenox Square location, adding a first-of-its-kind-in-the-U.S. facade that mimics the house’s Epi leather pattern, and a Nami Sawada–designed petal ceiling installation. Buckhead
Photograph courtesy of Balmain
Trend: The New Phipps
Phipps Plaza is now a mixed-use property. The revamp, completed in 2023, includes a 25,000-square-foot Citizens Market food hall; a Life Time athletic country club location spanning five floors; the region’s first Nobu Hotel & Restaurant; new-to-market luxury retailers like Alexander McQueen, Bobby Macc Bespoke, Zegna, Zimmermann, and Canada Goose; relocations or renovations of heavy hitters like Jimmy Choo, Brunello Cucinelli, Fendi, Balmain, Dior, and a newly renovated and expanded Saks Fifth Avenue. In 2024, Hermès, Etro, and Celine will be added to the luxury-retailer roster. There’s also a redesigned LEGO Discovery Center and One Phipps Plaza, a new 13-story office tower. The development saw a 38 percent increase in annual sales in 2023 compared with pre-pandemic numbers in 2019.
New Fragrance Boutique: INDIEHOUSE
The second location of Carrie Hadley’s niche fragrance emporium joined Westside Provisions District, where shoppers can browse hard-to-find home and body fragrances. Westside
New Size-Inclusive Boutique: Personify Shop
The popular Duluth boutique has gained a sister location in Chamblee, where the mother-daughter team that owns it buys clothes in sizes XS to 3X. Duluth and Chamblee
New Niche Brand Boutique: Heavy Market
While the Buckhead Village District boutique prominently features its Americana brand, Vintage Heavy, it also sells fashion and lifestyle brands like the Brooklyn Circus and Samurai, and there’s a shop-in-shop by Blue in Green. Buckhead
Photograph courtesy of Maelu
New Resort Wear Boutique: Maelu
Owner Meghna Dave brought her ethical block-print line Maelu back to Atlanta from Portland. She sells her clothing alongside curated goods in her Grant Park location. Grant Park
New Italian Furniture Gallery: Natuzzi Italia
In September, Natuzzi Italia opened its first Atlanta store. The upscale furniture line had previously been available at Cantoni, a long-standing local source for stylish modern furniture, located right across the street. The new showroom is a tranquil oasis for the sleek, elegant, Mediterranean-style furnishings that are the trademark of this 60-plus-year-old brand. A sister store, Natuzzi Editions, opened last year in Kennesaw, offering less expensive (and not necessarily Italian-made) lines. West Midtown
New Solid-Wood Furniture: DutchCrafters
As the name implies, DutchCrafters does indeed sell Amish-made furniture. In fact, the Sarasota-based company, which started online, is one of the nation’s largest sellers of the famous Pennsylvania products. Its spacious Alpharetta showroom—the company’s second, and its first in Georgia—stocks a wide range of furniture styles, from Mission trestle tables to live-edge consoles. These handcrafted, solid-wood offerings will last a lifetime. It’s time to ditch the particleboard. Alpharetta
New Midcentury Finds: The Modernist Design Collective
Last year, Rob Gini and Felipe Florez moved their longtime Direct Furniture Modern Home showroom (Four Hands, Blu Dot, Gus* Modern, etc.) to the burgeoning Westside Design District. This year, they’ve teamed up with Atlanta notables like Forbes+Masters Design and artist Neil Marshall to create the Modernist Design Collective, now sprawling over 30,000 square feet of warehouse space. The galleries showcase both vintage finds and new, affordable versions of classics, like tulip-style tables and Scandinavian chairs. Wondering where dealers from dearly departed Highland Row Antiques went? Look no further. Westside
New Tranquil Home Accessories: West + Peak
Founded by a design veteran, the Roswell-based boutique has hard-to-find brands, like Hasami porcelain and Hindbag handbags, as well as handcrafted candles and soaps. It also offers workshops on ikebana flower arranging and shibori dyeing. Roswell
See all Best of Atlanta 2023 winners
This article appears in our December 2023 issue.
