M Streets resident Lucy Huang opened Accents in West Village eight years ago as an accessories shop. Since then, Uptown has changed and her shop has evolved significantly. So when a spot became available at Mockingbird Station, Huang jumped at it.
Huang lives three minutes away from Mockingbird Station, where her family regularly shops and dines at restaurants such as Urban Taco, she says. She also felt like her store was a better fit for our neighborhood, so decided to move it a couple of exits north. Accents opened in late August, and already customers are telling her they will be regulars now that she’s in East Dallas.
“This is the store we were always meant to be,” Huang says. “It’s like coming home.”
Handbags, jewelry and the like are still part of Accents’ retail mix, and Huang now sells gift items and women’s clothing, too. She describes the style as “urban bohemian,” and says it’s a good fit with retail neighbors Urban Outfitters and American Apparel, which are “a little edgier.” Huang’s shop is decidedly more feminine, catering to both SMU students and trend-seeking women. (She carries a number of those billowy polyester tops popular with sorority girls and mothers alike who are hoping to disguise weight fluctuations.) Local artists and designers also are in the mix, including b.b.lila jewelry and photographer Sheri Hall, whose purchasable photographs decorate the store.
Huang worked with Lakewood interior designer Brandye James to create an urban and organic look for the new shop. The highlight is a massive map covering the wall opposite the entrance that graphically identifies the surrounding neighborhoods. James’ husband, who designed the map, also has plans for a line of neighborhood T-shirts, Huang says, that she hopes to sell as fundraisers for neighborhood schools.
Accents is settling into its new digs, and a grand opening is scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 16.
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- Accents’ neighbors are the also bohemian Urban Outfitters and American Apparel, which owner Lucy Huang describes as “a little edgier” than her store.
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- Huang’s new Mockingbird Station location is 40 percent bigger than its former West Village store.
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- This graphic map opposite the entrance notes “you are here” amid several East Dallas and Park Cities neighborhoods.
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- Dallas photographer Sheri Hall is one of the local artists featured at Accents.
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- Breezy, loose-fitting apparel is prevalent in the store.
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- Wood was among the design elements used by Lakewood interior designer Brandye James to give Accents an organic feel.
