Shopping in Tucson

When one thinks of Tucson, one usually gets a picture of the desert, with not much shopping. Situated in the state of Arizona, Tucson is generally a desert area. However, this factor hasn’t hampered it from becoming a shopping oasis where one can find everything from fashions and footwear to jewelry and other forms of luxury items. This stuff can be bought in one of the four major shopping malls in Tucson or in one of the dozens of minor shopping malls that have recently opened in Tucson – some of which offer spectacular architectural visions.

These four major shopping malls are the Park Place, El Con Mall, the Foothills Mall and the Tucson Mall. The El Con Mall is Tucson’s first regional shopping mall and is in the central part of town called Broadway Blvd. You can find a new Target, Home Depot, Robinson’s food court, a 20-plex theater and many other shops here. Another shopping center worth visiting around the corner is the El Mercado. It houses thirteen boutiques, from which you can choose the best of the best women’s apparel, chocolates and fine jewelry and also use the tanning salon found here.

Another mall found in the vicinity of Broadway Blvd. is The Plaza at Williams Center which boasts of thirty shops offering many things like apparel jewelry, shoes and more. For your relaxation, you can go to its hair salon, nightclubs or restaurants found here. The Foothills Mall is situated in La Cholla Blvd, near the Catalina foothills; thus its name. This mall specializes in manufacturer’s outlets, specialty dining, entertainment and Southwestern boutiques; thus providing enough activities for one to spend the full day! Some of the boutiques found here are the OFF 5th –Saks Fifth Avenue Outlet, Linens’N’Things and Barnes and Noble.

Park Place has been renewed with a multi million facelift in Broadway Blvd. It is a gigantic mall with departmental stores like Macy’s, Dillard’s and Sears. There is also a food court found here, with a 20-screen theater. Next comes the city’s largest shopping center, the Tucson Mall on Oracle Road. This mall features more than 200 shops, including boutiques like J. Crew, Gap Kids and Aldo Shoes. You can also find another branch of Dillard’s department stores here. Dillard’s departmental stores provide quality fashions for men, women and children that are displayed amidst the opulence of brass, exotic hardwoods, marble and earth tones. Those in need of home textiles, house wares and Southwest gifts, can also very well find them in Dillard's. In addition to these services of shops, Dillard’s also offers a travel service and gift wrapping services to its’ customers.

The Fourth Avenue that is situated between Ninth Street and University Blvd. is worth a visit for shopping. This is because there are many art galleries, bookstores and specialty shops set in the nine-block stretch of this historic avenue. If interested, one can travel by trolleys, along the avenue, from Friday to Sunday. A specialty shop is basically a shop that has special items for sale. Some of these items are the Hopi katsina dolls, Pueblo pottery, Zuni fetishes, Inuit sculpture and find Navajo weavings. These are shops that have reputations for quality, combined with maybe 75 years of experience.

If you wish to discover Tucson’s designed adobe lifestyle center, then the place to head for would be the Casa Adobes Plaza. This is a shopping center wrapped in an old-world charm of Spanish Colonial architecture. It is home to numerous upscale boutiques, chic fashion outlets, luxurious spas, home-furnishing shops and charming restaurants. Artisans, chefs and shoppers alike flock here to escape from the ordinary into the timeless elegance of Casa Adobes Plaza to spend a culturally rich day with extraordinary shopping and dining. It is also conveniently placed in the southwest corner of Oracle and Ina in the northwest Tucson, making it easily accessible to anyone.

Another shopping center found nestled in the Catalina Foothills is the La Encantada. This is a new, open air-lifestyle center that features more than 40 upscale apparel, home furnishings and specialty shops. There are lush courtyards with patios that invite you to linger around for hours together. Some of the shops found here are Ann Taylor, Pottery Barn and Williams-Sonoma.

These are just some of the numerous, fabulous shopping malls and centers found in Tucson. There are also many individual shops and boutiques found in and around Tucson selling a variety of things. There are boutiques boasting of inspired women’s fashion like Draper’s & Damon’s, which is a destination for stylish clothes with extraordinary personal service. Exclusive designs using superior fabrics are made for order to flatter both misses and petite sizes. Then there is the Fabrics That Go store which is one of Arizona’s premier fabric superstores with fine designer fabrics. They also have their own line of custom made furniture, a wide selection of trimmings, baskets and gifts from around the world. If required, orders can also be taken to be shipped anywhere in the United States.

Then there are the numerous gift shops, with gift wrapping services found around Tucson, liquor stores for those needing a peg and shops boasting of beautiful pieces of home décor. Those having an interest in arts can approach one of the numerous art galleries found here which house work of well-known artists like Linda Dobkin and Jan Thompson. Jewelry can be bought at one of the many jewelry shops like Marshalls. As Tucson is famous for its golf courses, there are many golf stores carrying all the top brand named golf clubs, simulators, golf bags, shoes, accessories, with even items for the lady golfer. And not to forget the legendary custom boot maker, Paul Bond who has a factory and retail boot barn here with the finest quality of handmade western boots and belts, fine made-to-measure boots and an inventory of handmade stock boots to choose from.

So it can be seen that Tucson is indeed a beautiful place for one to do shopping. All one has to have when going to Tucson for shopping is money and time. Enjoy your shopping!