A day in the Historical Downtown square of 'Old" Mckinney , TX

I spent the afternoon wandering around and letting store fronts pull me in. I told myself that I would go in to every shop that spoke to me. Let's just say, they did a lot of talking. Here are my tips, ideas, comments, and opinions on what shops are hidden treasures, overpriced, or just plain cute. Read on if you like, or just enjoy the pictures I was able to sneak in.

First Stop: Antique Mall

Definitely the best one I went into all day. The place was HUGE. Most of the booths had great prices, and I would say about half of the booths had something that caught my eye. This place has been around for 19 years and appeared to have a loyal following, as the owner was chatting it up with the regulars. I spent over half of my time in here alone. One could easily get lost. The upstairs was more trinkets and was less appealing than the ground floor, but since the ground floor had so much, it really didn't matter.

Second Stop: Patina Green

This shop was neat because it was a bistro and little boutique all in one. They had shabby seating available if you wanted to order and eat there, fresh produces, fresh cheeses, and the back was full of linen covered couches and chairs. The tables were decorated with silver place settings, silver embossed spoons, and white dishes. Way cute. Totally expensive. It would be a fun little place to have lunch with some girl friends on a weekday to avoid crowds. It was a long and narrow shop and that is my only complaint besides the prices. Their blog has more info, so here is the link if you would like to see more. http://patinagreen.typepad.com/patinagreen/



Third Stop: Heirlooms

Heirlooms was a mix of new and old. Another small store that had the layout of an Antique Mall. Most of it was uninteresting to me but of course it depends on the timing of new merchandise. Fun to look, and that's what I did. I did love the books they had on display and wanted them just because the covers were so neat and colorful. They were around $30 each which is more than I wanted to pay for decoration, but they were definitely old and in great condition.



Fourth Stop: Smitten

This was the most fun place to look out of all of them. It was a dream shop. Silvers, white and black all together, velvet ribbon displayed all together for sale, lots and lots of glittery initials and ornaments left over that were beautiful. There were some really big pieces of furniture for sale that had a primitive look but it was all well over $2 grand. They had some neat Valentine's Day cards already out and even had tubes of glitter for sale. Upstairs was dedicated just to bedding, with old duvets, and pillow cases. The motto for Smitten is "reduce, reuse, re purpose". They had everything decorated to a T, even the little sea shells were scrapped with smaller shells, who would have thought???

Fifth Stop: Special Things

If you are looking for vintage jewelry this is the place to go. There are 2 huge display cases, and about 3-4 small ones that are full of mint condition broaches, necklaces, pins, earrings, and beaded clutches. Not a single one was missing a stone and they were all beautiful. The prices I saw were definitely up there, but not necessarily unreasonable. You would pay less at a trade show, but may not find the quality. I wasn't able to get a picture inside, but it was like stepping into a timeline of a closet for the last 100 years.



I would say shopping in the Historical Downtown McKinney was a fun way to spend an afternoon. Hope this helps navigate your way, but it is only one square, so you can do the whole 4 blocks no problem.