Shopping with the stars
Dallas' Deep Ellum gets 'Very Cavallari' with premiere of new celebrity boutique
The Instagram teases can end, and the shopping can begin at Kristin Cavallari's new Uncommon James store in Dallas. The buzzy jewelry and accessories boutique is finally opening Saturday, March 27 at 2618 Main St. in Deep Ellum.
It's the third brick-and-mortar store for the reality TV star and jewelry mogul; the flagship is in Nashville, and another location opened in Chicago in 2019.
Details of the Dallas opening — and the store itself — have been kept mostly hush hush (so quiet, in fact, that the new location is not yet listed on the brand's website). But a company spokeswoman confirms that a ribbon-cutting will take place at 10:30 am Saturday, followed by some private shopping time for loyalty program members, before the store officially opens to the public at 2 pm. Cavallari will be in Dallas for pre-opening press interviews at the store, but it's unclear if she'll make any appearances for the general public.
Uncommon James sells "timeless, effortless and sophisticated jewelry for women on-the-go," priced from $29 to $74. Pieces are designed by Cavallari, made of delicate metals and gemstones, and intended to transition from day to night — "feminine with edge, classic yet trendy, and simple – with a pop of personality," she says on the website.
"UJ," as fans call it, also sells eyewear, accessories, home goods like cutting boards and utensil sets, "Little James" baby clothes, and signature candles.
And, new to the Dallas store will be Uncommon Beauty, a just-unveiled clean skincare line developed by Cavallari.
"Our hope is that guests to the store find what they need to feel more confident in their own personal style and in their daily skincare routine," says spokeswoman Cayla Harris.
Cavallari, who got her start on reality shows Laguna Beach and The Hills in the early 2000s, launched Uncommon James out of her home in Chicago in 2017. By 2019 (pre-pandemic), it had exploded into a 90-employee company earning $20 million in revenue, USA Todayreported.
The company's growth was due, in no small part, to its prominence on her E! reality series Very Cavallari. The show chronicled Cavallari's life and business, and featured some of her employees.
In fact, it was on the show that Cavallari first floated the idea of a Dallas store. In this December 2019 clip previewing the third season, she and then-husband Jay Cutler, at home in Tennessee, were discussing where her next store would go. She'd be heading to Chicago to look at possible locations, she tells him.
"But then the flip side, obviously, is I could do Highland Park in Dallas. Which is such a great area, it's, like, all the top brands," she says. "And they're both really good markets for me. They're like, neck-in-neck."
Cutler, the former Chicago Bears quarterback, voted for Chicago.
Fast-forward less than a year-and-a-half later, and Cavallari and Cutler have divorced, and she's opened stores in both cities.
As for the appeal of Deep Ellum, an Uncommon James Instagram post last fall hinted that the brand was drawn to the historic neighborhood's unique culture. The new boutique is nestled in a sweet old building, next to a new Patagonia store.
"As the Dallas community already knows, Deep Ellum is known for its incredible art, music, and food scene— and we are pumped to be the new kids on the block," the post from October 29 says. "This third location is an expansion of our Nashville and Chicago stores and will be an exciting physical representation of the future of the Uncommon James brand and our metamorphosis into 2021 ... this particular store is going to be something special, bringing to life new opportunities in our ever-growing UJ brand."
Harris says Cavallari has always been a big fan of Dallas.
"Kristin has always loved Dallas and as the brand has matured and evolved, it has always felt like the most natural next step," she says. "Deep Ellum has such a unique style, energy, and personality — which we feel meshes well with the unapologetic forward-thinking style of Uncommon James."
For more information, visit the Uncommon James website and follow the brand on Instagram.