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WHAT'S THE STORY Cult is a fair word. So are nexus, zeitgeist, and wow. For nearly 17 years, the boutique Forty Five Ten, named for its McKinney Avenue address, has attracted clotheshorses, dandies, design junkies, celebrities, tour- ists, journalists, bloggers, visiting designers, VIPs, and the ladies who lunch — especially that last bunch, who come almost daily to meet, eat, and shop. And shop. And shop. They all come, these moths to fashion's flame, for design-driven clothes for women and men, evocative fragrances, collectible jewelry, home goods, shoes, handbags, makeup, books, candles, and a certain ca- maraderie. If you shop at Forty Five Ten, you are in the club. That club has just grown — exponentially — not only into downtown Dallas, where the wraps are off the store's new flagship (four floors of retail and almost five times larger than the original store) on Main Street, across from the Joule hotel, but also into Houston's tony River Oaks District, where a new 3,300-square-foot Forty Five Ten rubs elbows with influential neighbors Dior, Etro, Hermès, Tom Ford, and more. These are tough times for brick- and-mortar stores, so what's the big idea? "Discovery," says Forty Five Ten president and co-founder Brian Bolke. "I want some- one who is coming in for a lipstick to fall in love with a shoe, or a woman shopping for herself to find a sweater perfect for her husband — or happening onto the exact gift for the difficult mother-in-law. These things don't happen when shopping online." WHO'S IN CHARGE Bolke's business card is crowded: He is president and co-founder, having opened the Dallas store with longtime retailer Bill Mackin, now living in California, and pal and business partner Shelly Musselman, now deceased. Bolke's retail C.V. includes I. Magnin and Neiman Marcus — he also co- founded Avant Garden. For Forty Five Ten's big push, he has brought on some rather high-profile comrades. Taylor Tomasi Hill is 41 "FORTY FIVE TEN IS A HIGHLIGHT OF OUR DOWN- TOWN PORTFOLIO AND I AM VERY PROUD OF IT." –Tim Headington, CEO, Headington Companies the new vice president of creative and women's fashion director; her fashion creds include W, Teen Vogue, Marie Claire, and top shopping site Moda Operandi, where she was creative di- rector. Nick Wooster is men's fashion director, as he was at Neiman Marcus; his checklist includes Calvin Klein, Ralph Lauren, Barneys New York and Bergdorf Goodman. Rob Dailey, an affable Dallas interior designer known for supremely chic spaces, has come aboard as home creative director. Even Forty Five Ten's new owner packs a punch: Headington Companies, helmed by developer and oilman Tim Headington, a longtime proponent of downtown revitaliza- tion, whose Joule hotel became a nexus, too, when it opened in Dallas in 2008 in a renovated 1920s Neo- Gothic bank building. WHAT IT'S LIKE The new space is forward-thinking and timeless — architecture's elusive yin and yang. "Unlike most retail buildings that focus on the inner retail experience," says David Droese, AIA, and partner in Droese Raney Architecture, "this is, in many ways, the opposite. We're connecting with the outdoors, celebrating the Eye sculpture next door, soaking in the skyline views. The building continually opens itself up to the light and elements." The firm's ultimate charge? "A destination in the heart of Dallas that will make guests feel like they could really be anywhere in the world — and an overall sense of specialness that will last over time." That has translated to an exterior of dark brick, with oil-rubbed bronze embellishments, and narrow-profile windows of steel and glass, custom- made in the Netherlands. Inside, it's a material whirl of finishes — copper, rose gold, blackened steel, walnut, and Arabescato marble striped with bronze. Furniture is a mix of mid-century and custom Knoll — including exclusive-to-here Barcelona chairs in rose gold with cushions of three-color pony hair. (Giddy-up, Mies mavens, for this is the only place you can snag one of these custom Knoll beauties.) The art is dynamic, too, a rotating collection by Tracey Emin, Juergen Teller, Jose Dávila, and Mario Testino. (continued on page 42) The store's Main Street foyer Precious jewels on display Le Labo shop