Fort Worth Fashion
Stylish TCU grads set up shop in Fort Worth’s fancy new development
The Neiman Marcus in Fort Worth made waves late last year when it announced plans to move from its long-standing location in Ridgmar Mall to the new Shops at Clearfork development. Now another high-end store, this time a locally owned shop, plans to open in yet another new riverside development.
Pax & Parker is set to open in WestBend this fall.
Aiming for an October opening, the lifestyle store is the brainchild of Winston Ley and Alari Paxson — two TCU graduates and former assistant buyers at Julian Gold, a high-end women’s retailer out of San Antonio. Paxson will act as the buyer for womenswear, while Ley will handle menswear.
“We both love Fort Worth and wanted to create a specialty store that would allow us to build intimate relationships with our customers and strengthen our connection to the community,” Ley says.
Women’s racks will be stocked with Milly, Rachel Zoe, Paige, DL 1961, Bailey 44, Nicole Miller and Camilla. Menswear brands will include Jack Spade, Billy Reid, GANT, Velvet by Graham & Spencer, Autumn Cashmere and Life After Denim. All men’s lines will be exclusive to Pax & Parker, as will some of the women’s brands.
The duo notes the ability to customize their 1,364-square-foot space as one reason for choosing WestBend. Local award-winning architect Bart Shaw will help with the store design, which will be decked out with clean lines and modern accents.
WestBend sits on the western bank of the Trinity River, just across the street from University Village Shopping Center. Fresh Market opened in the mixed-use development in June, and future occupants announced so far include a location of Dallas-based HG Sply Co, Grimaldi’s Coal Brick-Oven Pizzeria and popular sports apparel store Tyler’s.