“With more shopping centers per capita than any other place in the country, is Dallas the most American city? Shopping is the primeval activity here in the Queen City of the Southwest . . . “

North Texas author Ben Fountain (Brief Encounters with Che Guevara) reported on the  local, trendy, upscale retail economy for The New York Times’ opinion page July 2. He first visited Rich Hippie, the two-mom-founded, woman’s clothing boutique on Lovers Lane which seems to be doing well enough with its independent, non-designer-label fashions and its practical business model. Then he toured Highland Park Village and heard lots of happy news but saw few customers.

But as my fashion-sensible daughter told me as we stood outside Ralph Lauren admiring the psycho-preppie window displays, you can’t expect hordes of customers in the high-end shops: “Different market, Dad.” …  Meanwhile, average debt per Dallas resident ranks second in the country, with the lowest consumer credit quality of the nation’s largest metro areas.