Catching Up With Kristin Cavallari, Millennial Icon and New Dallas Store Owner

This past weekend, after months of Instagram teases, Deep Ellum welcomed another friend into the Dallas neighborhood. Nestled on Main Street (just down the street from Merit Coffee and Braindead Brewery), jewelry and lifestyle brand Uncommon James — founded and run by entrepreneur and reality TV star Kristin Cavallari, millennial icon of “Laguna Beach”, “The Hills,” and “Very Cavallari” — has opened its doors.

Uncommon James’ arrival in Dallas marks the third brick-and-mortar outpost of Cavallari’s brand, and the first in the Lone Star State. The Deep Ellum store follows a flagship location in Nashville and a second outpost in Chicago.

For Cavallari, bringing her brand to Texas makes big sense. “I love Texas. I’ve always said that the Texas girl really embodies who we are as a company — she’s fashionable, she’s fun, she’s sassy, she’s confident, she’s beautiful,” Cavallari tells PaperCity. “For me, opening our third doors here was a no-brainer.”

“Dallas is our biggest market in Texas, and the Dallas girl is fun. I thought it made sense for the brand to come [to Dallas], and I looked at every area. Deep Ellum was just really cool to me,” Cavallari explained. “It has such a fun vibe, and when I walked in this space, I was like, ‘this is it.’”

From everyday, effortless jewelry to statement pieces and a demi-fine collection, the Dallas boutique’s bright white brick walls and high, exposed-rafter ceilings hold a collection of pretty, attainable pieces (prices range from $25 to the mid-$200s) designed to be stacked and layered. Cavallari’s favorites: the Luxe necklace, the Girl Boss square hoops, and the Fighter bull necklace.

Rounding out the “lifestyle” component of Cavallari’s brand is UJ Home, which includes a variety of aesthetically pleasing copper kitchenware items, and a corner dedicated to Little James‘ simple, eco-friendly kids’ clothes (the founder has three children with ex-husband Jay Cutler). Coming soon: Uncommon Beauty, which will launch in store on May 13.

“Uncommon James is the thing I’m most proud of professionally,” Cavallari says. “I felt like I finally came into what I was supposed to be doing when I launched [the brand]. I love every second of it.”