Shopping in Irving

Aqua Trek Sports’ team of SSI-certified divers shares the adventure of underwater exploration and aims to turn aquatic neophytes into lifelong diving enthusiasts by staging classes and shelving rentable and purchasable scuba gear. Whether getting their feet wet during a Try Scuba class or training for SSI certification of their own, students of all expertise levels gain insight into their own technique from their helpful instructors. In the facility's dive shop, technicians repair and service existing equipment or outfit visitors with new or rental gear, including underwater cameras that capture aquatic landscapes and film documentaries about Flipper the dolphin's directorial debut.

After more than 35 years, the walls at Paperbacks Plus in Mesquite couldn't cope with all the books. So the owners expanded into the city proper, setting up two new shops under the name Lucky Dog Books. Shelf after shelf of volumes greets the eye at each location; alongside the paperbacks and hardbacks sit myriad other forms of media, from used CDs and DVDs to LPs, magazines, and comic books young and old. Chairs dot the landscape at all three bookstores, inviting customers to flop down and flip through the pages of a novel or pretend to read a comic book that conceals a history textbook. In addition to selling its wares, Lucky Dog Books also offers cash or store credit for used items and takes its services on the road with a Books at Home program.

Tracey Williams’s reasons for founding Back to the Rack Resale Boutique were twofold: she wanted to run a business that gave her maximum time with her kids, and she wanted to bring trendy resale shopping to Dallas-Fort Worth. Nearly a decade after opening, Tracey and her staff of fellow working moms keep the store’s racks teeming with INC International Concepts dresses, jeans, costume jewelry, and Coach handbags, none of which have missing buttons, rips, or pet-hair appliqués. The shop carries sizes 0 to 20, and keeps its racks current with a rotating selection of seasonal fashions no more than 2 years old. Back to the Rack’s supplementary eBay shop presents prospective shoppers with a representative glimpse of the store’s selection.

Metro Piano North's massive showroom invites savvy and aspiring musicians to sample its quality instruments. The store stocks its eponymous instrument in digital, grand, and upright models, and Metro Piano North's dedicated teachers instruct students throughout the week on how to play instruments and which chords can be used to summon an adorable gathering of woodland creatures.

As an authorized dealer of Simply Amish, Woodbine sources its stock of contemporary, Arts and Crafts, and traditional home furnishings from a network of Amish wood shops that still cut, shape, sand, and strain each piece of lumber by hand. They can customize each piece's wood, style, finish, and size, or gander at a customer's sketch for a king-size racecar bed and provide a quote. Roughly 8–12 weeks after first receiving the order, each Amish craftsman inscribes his signature and your name into the finished piece's solid hardwood, which ranges from red oak to soft maple to quartersawn white oak. As a founding member of the Sustainable Furnishings Council, Woodbine subscribes to an eco-friendly mindset by limiting wasted materials and using certified CARB-compliant plywood for the backing of cased goods.

The boutique fashion store St. Bernard Sports revamps the wardrobes of men, women, and children with apparel from major brands such as Lilly Pulitzer, Tibi, and 7 for All Mankind. Sperry boat shoes and Tommy Bahama swim trunks look just as much at home at a backyard pool party as they do in a bathtub, and Trina Turk drop earrings with red square stones focus the attention upward, as do Ray-Ban sport aviators. The boutique also gears up clients for sporty adventures with wakeboards, snowboards, and skis.