This is shopping the way it was done at the turn of the century (the 20th, not the 21st), and if you listen real carefully, you'll swear you can hear Atticus arguing for Tom Robinson's innocence in the restored 1909 courthouse. Downtown Dade City, about 40 minutes north of Tampa up I-75 or U.S. 301, just drips Southern charm and magnolias. Nearly 70 antique stores, gift shops, restaurants and other businesses cluster around the center of Pasco's county seat, making a day of shopping a throwback adventure. Sure, the district has more than its share of "kountry krafts." And the hipness factor is quite low. But almost everything here is unique, just the right gift for your Aunt Helen. And Dade City turns it on for the holidays, too: The first Friday in December is the Magical Night Christmas Parade, and the next day (the first Saturday) is a Country Christmas Stroll.
Williams Fashion Center (14139 Seventh St., 352-567-5685) is what you imagine a Southern1920s-era clothing and dry goods store must have been like. It hasn't changed a bit, except for the fashions; it is still small and specializes in women's clothes, specialty foods, gift items and home accessories. Williams features Dansko clogs and the Vera Bradley line of handbags and luggage. The store has been in the Williams family since 1908. Most important, however, it is also home to Lunch on Limoges restaurant, an almost indescribable downtown institution. Fine dining, open for lunch only, on china no less, with a starter of freshly baked muffins and a crowd of Dade City's most elegant and cultured ladies. Skip Mize and Phil Williams own the restaurant, too; we would suggest reservations (same phone as the fashion center), as it is always packed.
Quilts on Plum Lane (14215 Seventh St., 352-518-0003) features walls and racks full of so many different bright colors and patterns of quilting fabrics that just walking into the place reminds me of an acid trip I took at the University of Georgia. Wow. Donna Lillibridge's quilting center sells supplies and offers quilting classes, but she also has some quilts for sale and — for that arts and crafter on your Christmas list — a starter quilting kit.
Glades Pottery and Gallery (14145 Seventh St., 352-523-0992) has a wide collection of wheel-thrown and hand-built pottery made by artisans befriended by owners Walter and Susan Kinsley. Walter's own work is sold here, as well. Glades Pottery specializes in crystal-glazed pottery.
The Picket Fence (37843 Meridian Ave., 352-523-1653) is a greeting card and yard and garden flag shop, housed in a restored 1927 cottage house.
The Corner Emporium (37838 Pasco Ave., 352-567-8966) has an unusual specialty: a wide range of faux "Florida" fireplaces, which have flowing orange and yellow "flames" made out of cloth fibers that are blown upward to create the illusion of fire. Just like we have the illusion of fall and winter!
This article appears in Nov 16-23, 2005.