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Cicada, one of several fashion-forward boutiques popping up in Oxford.
(Photo: Courtesy of Cicada) |
Get to know the makers of Oxford. Start with a by-appointment visit to Erin Abbott Kilpatrick's new design studio. Her brand-new furniture and home-goods line, Otis & Co., is readying its first product, a reversible porch swing�a group of Ole Miss faculty and students are currently building the prototype. From the home base of her meticulously edited shop, Amelia Presents, Kilpatrick also offers paper goods, household items, and jewelry, like limited-edition beaded necklaces from Austin-based design shop Son of a Sailor ($58). She also hosts periodic pop-ups and presentations to showcase visiting artists and artisans from around the country. From there, hop over to Jones at Home, a two-story townhouse filled with armchairs upholstered by North Carolina’s CCF Sofa ($895), and handmade Turkish-wool pillow covers ($49). Bring your dream piece to life at the Green Door, where Will and Missy Hopkins will provide a private design consultation and custom-make your sideboard, shelf, or coffee table by hand with salvaged materials (prices upon request).
Build a southern-style wardrobe to take home, starting with the basics at Blue Delta's showroom. Get fitted for bespoke Texas Chrome cotton denim, choosing your fabric weight, cut, and details, down to the accent threads (price by consultation). Take a shopping stroll through the town square, starting at Cicada, which sells Superga sneakers ($65), super-soft sweatshirts by good hYOUman ($55), and the rustic, hammered gold jewelry of Charleston-based designer Christina Jervey (from $130). Outfit yourself in dapper Mississippi-made Duckhead khakis ($135) and Martin Dingman loafers ($245) at Hinton & Hinton. And get a glimpse of sartorial history at Neilson's, the South's oldest department store�head straight for the racks of Hart Schaffner Marx blazers (from $395) and snap up a Properly Tied Kensington fleece ($119): Oxford native and Ole Miss freshman Hunter Knight started the clothing company while he was still in high school.
Take a 20-minute jaunt to the town of Taylor’s Tin Pan Alley and feast your eyes on nearly an acre of antiques, vintage fashion, and jewelry, as well as salvaged home goods made by husband-and-wife team Obie Clark and Alice Hammell. They drive around the South from Texas to Florida to Louisiana looking for finds that would make Anthropologie envious, and their own artwork is also available to purchase; Clark is a talented painter and pottery artisan, and Hammell does large canvas abstracts and small collages of found objects like broken porcelain-doll faces. If you're lucky, you'll catch a screen-printing session or an impromptu game of mahjong.