Shopping in Shenandoah

United Apparel Liquidators' fashion-savvy buying team compiles an immense stash of brand-new clothing and accessories from acclaimed designers, slicing 70–90% off their original retail price before featuring them on the boutiques' shelves. The stores—which have garnered press from fashion magazines such as Lucky and InStyle over their 30-year history—brim with men's and women's attire, shoes, and jewelry from prominent high-end labels such as Alexander McQueen, Chanel, and Marc Jacobs. Staffers aim to keep the vast collection current and up to date, harnessing their knowledge of the fashion scene to scope out threads from emerging designers and time-traveling thrift-store owners.

Meta Exchange owners Wendy and Michael Dolan gather designer apparel from premium brands, including 7 For All Mankind, J. Crew, and Abercrombie & Fitch, inside their sunlit store. The Dolans acquire some items on consignment and buy others outright, stocking racks with a wide variety of in-season apparel for men, women, and sentient store mannequins. A rotating cast of accessories highlights colorful jewelry and like-new handbags from brands such as Marc by Marc Jacobs.

Young women send hangers of gauzy tops and bold, colorful dresses clacking across Frock Candy’s colorful racks, where designs hang in four storefronts in Baton Rouge, Shreveport, and Destin, Florida. Independent and well-known brands, such as Chinese Laundry, Qupid, Theme, and Lush supply casual and special-occasion dresses, prim and everyday tops, and shoes both saucy and demure to an inventory which rotates as tastes change. Frock Candy’s style experts forecast trends such as fresh colors and trending images of celebrity pets for each season.

At Seven Wonders Furniture, each table tells a story. Some recall their roots as majestic forest oaks, and others regale onlookers with tales of the barns, houses, and factories they once called home. In addition to radiating beauty, each reclaimed piece comes with the kind of character that takes years to build. Along with tables, the shop corrals bookshelves, nightstands, and bed frames made from the same preloved materials, shrinking carbon footprints as they enhance a home’s style. Wooden patinas make cabinets glow with antique colors, and repurposed metal helps stools look tougher than Clint Eastwood’s titanium-coated skeleton.

After searching high and low for well-fitting, stylish undergarments in the Baton Rouge area, Leila Blumberg and Heather Savoy opened Prive’ Lingerie Boutique with equal attention to comfort and fashion. The boutique, which draws its name from the French word for “personal, private, and intimate,” carries lingerie by Spanx, Cosabella, and Stella McCartney, as well as new lines from Body Wrap, Sassybax, and Verena. Upon request, the shop's trained specialists unfurl measuring tapes and carnival-ride height placards to measure customers for a proper fit.