Shopping in Las Vegas
Las Vegas: A shopper’s paradiseFrom Vegas-only exclusive fashion items to rare watches to cheap and cheerful memorabilia, if you can’t find it here, you won’t find it anywhere.
To see the millions of square feet - yes, millions! - of boutiques, malls, outlets, and specialty shopping in Las Vegas, you would never know that casinos once considered it a necessary evil. Long before Las Vegas became one of the world’s shopping capitals, hotel casinos installed shops to entertain gamblers’ significant others - and keep them where they belonged, at the tables. In fact, in the early days of Fashion Show Mall, which opened in 1981, stores accepted casino chips as currency. These days, shopping is among the Strip’s top sports, along with drinking, dining, and gambling. When a fashion brand puts out a limited release, you can be sure that Vegas will get a chunk of it. That scarce luxury timepiece you’ve been trying to track down? It’s probably here. There’s such a concentration of retail along the four miles of the Strip, you can walk from one Tiffany & Co. to three others. If Dior in the Bellagio or the Forum Shops don’t have what you’re looking for, Dior in Wynn or The Shops at Crystals can run it over the same day. Aside from availability, one of the best reasons to shop Las Vegas is for its exclusives. Luxury brands will make some pieces to sell only here. But snap them up fast: every retailer here has devoted clientele in other cities waiting for their phone call. You’ll even see velvet ropes in front of many stores and burly security people keeping shoppers to a minimum. This often has less to do with crowd control than it does with portion control. Yes, some retailers have had to cap the number of pieces they’ll allow one person to buy. If you’re going to splurge, Vegas is the place. Beyond luxury goods, though, Vegas is still a shopping mecca, with plenty of mainstream clothing and goods, as well as wacky memorabilia and top-shelf vintage.
Wynn Las Vegas and Encore
If you’re hitting the shops hard, break for a Bellini at Cipriani, on the plaza’s street level.
Name a super-luxe retailer and chances are you’ll find it at Wynn. The resort has shopping esplanades in Wynn and Encore and added another 75,000 square feet of shopping when it built its Wynn Plaza a few years ago. This isn’t just a place to throw down some cash, it’s a shopping destination, with some of the most exclusive stores in Las Vegas. Its two-level Gucci store, for instance, has its own private lake in its backyard. Givenchy bypassed other cities to open its first US boutique at Wynn. And it doubled the size of its Hermes store, now giving shoppers two floors, including a VIP salon, to shop. You’ll find everything from Brunello Cucinelli to Zimmermann, Kiton, Loewe, and Bottega Veneta.
Address: 3131 Las Vegas Blvd S
The Shops at Crystals
This half-million-square-foot collection of around 50 all luxury brands is housed in a postmodern steel and glass structure designed by Daniel Libeskind. Its lineup includes a massive Louis Vuitton (with its own James Turrell art installation and multiple VIP rooms), Gucci, Hermes, Fendi, Tom Ford, and Prada among its 15 flagship stores. The Tiffany & Co. in The Shops at Crystals has, conveniently, its own proposal balcony. In fact, you’ll find VIP salons and by-appointment showings at virtually all the stores here. Jewelry and watch lovers shouldn’t miss Harry Winston, Hublot, Patek Philippe, and Audemars Piguet.
Address: 3720 S Las Vegas Blvd
The Forum Shops at Caesars Palace
One of my favorite little escapes is to shop here and then have lunch on the “patio,” of Joe’s Stone Crab, which feels like it’s outside even though it’s in the perfectly temperature-controlled environs of a mall.
If you like the grandiose Roman theme of Caesars Palace, you’ll love its Forum Shops, which you can walk to right from the casino floor. The Forum Shops are great for all types of shoppers since there’s a high-low mix of ultra-luxury and mass-market favorites. Naturally, it has its own Trevi Fountain, soaring coffered ceilings, and a sky-painted ceiling whose lighting changes with the time of day. You’ll find everything from Balenciaga and Baccarat to Apple, Carolina Herrera, and a Jimmy Choo store with a made-to-order service among its 150-plus stores. And although there might be some repetitions of stores you’d find at home, Forum Shops also has some hidden treasures like the Vegas outpost of high-end Western wear store Kemo Sabe, a very cheeky Agent Provocateur store, and lots more. Forum Shops is nearly three-quarters of a million square feet and lures in thousands of shoppers a day.
Address: 3500 Las Vegas Blvd S
The Grand Canal Shoppes at The Venetian Resort
I’ve lived here for 20 years and I still get lost in the Grand Canal Shoppes; it’s part of the fun. Just as you would in its namesake city, try and drop your agenda so you can enjoy a day of wandering.
If you’ve ever gotten lost in Venice (the one in Italy, not here), you may be able to appreciate the winding pathways that follow a canal all the way through this mall. Like The Forum Shops, the Grand Canal Shoppes places a premium on helping you feel like you’re outside, even when the real outside is a sweltering 110 degrees Fahrenheit. Among its great mix of luxury and mass-market fashion stores, you’ll find seriously exclusive stores like Bauman Rare Books, the Vegas location of the New York City-based bookstore that specializes in the first edition and rare books. Stores here are always upgrading and morphing: make it into Bellusso Jewelers, the first boutique of its kind to house six luxury watch brands all together under one roof.
Address: 3377 Las Vegas Blvd S
Fashion Show Mall
This mall with a spaceship-shaped roof has been a shopping institution in Vegas since it opened over 40 years ago. (Not everyone loves its Jetsons-style exterior; in fact, legend has it that the 105-foot manmade mountain covered in pine trees across the street at Wynn was originally conceived to block the eyesore.) Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue and Macy’s anchor this mall. It also has an Apple store, and lots of smaller retailers, and is great to pinch anything you’ve left at home.
Address: 3200 Las Vegas Blvd S Ste. 600
Las Vegas North Premium Outlets
There are outlet malls, and then, there is Las Vegas North Premium Outlets. More than 175 shops are just minutes from the Strip in Downtown Las Vegas. Make your way through the outdoor maze of shops and you’ll find not only the usual sportswear suspects but also Versace, Dolce & Gabbana, Armani, Boss, Burberry, Canali, Moncler, and more. Lots of visitors come to Vegas specifically for these outlets, and you can stay the day, since there’s a great food court, and several restaurants. You can even comfortably shop here on hot Vegas days, since the outdoor streets are covered.
Address: 875 S Grand Central Pkwy
Downtown Las Vegas vintage stores
A cluster of antique and vintage stores around Main Street in Las Vegas holds some of the best vintage items you’ll find, from clothing to furniture to décor. Some of the best of the best vintage can be found here at Patina Décor, whose owners put only a fraction of their holdings in the store (you can also find their midcentury modern furniture and décor treasures online at 1st Dibs). Their advice is always to ask if you’re looking for something specific; they can often find it for you. They’re the secret source for a lot of celebs, and the perfect place to go if you want to find a caftan so you can channel your inner Slim Aarons muse by the pool. Other standouts in this area include the two floors of clothing at The Red Kat, Vegas Golden Age memorabilia at Antique Alley Mall, and Vintage Vegas, which has vintage neon signs and movie memorabilia.
Address: S Main St, Las Vegas
What to Take Home
Souvenirs
We haven’t mentioned Las Vegas’ omnipresent souvenir shops for that reason: You won’t need to look for them. Stores like Welcome to Las Vegas carry everything from refrigerator magnets to snow globes to everything in the entire world that you could emblazon with the “Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas” sign. This is tacky, lowbrow stuff at its best (worst?) and a funny memento to take home. Just for the experience, you might visit Bonanza Gift Shop, which claims to be the world’s largest, and we don’t doubt it. Everything from gag gifts to Native American jewelry can be found here.
Exclusive-to-Vegas luxury goods
Not every fashion label creates pieces that are exclusive to Vegas, but when they do, you’ll want to grab them fast, because they’re created in limited runs. When stores are new to Las Vegas, they’ll sometimes release a Vegas-branded item. In the past, we’ve seen luxury handbags, high-heeled shoes, and gaming sets from brands like Louboutin, Louis Vuitton, and Gucci. If you’re in the market for a luxury item you can find only here, call ahead and ask if they have any Las Vegas exclusives.