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away the higher end houses,” says Nancy Taylor
Bubes of Washington Fine Properties. “Today,
there is a lot of trading, and a lot of it goes
on privately. These are premier prices that
Washington has never seen before.”
To cater to upscale housing tastes, chi-chi
bathroom and kitchen fi xture stores such as
Waterworks (think $29,000 beaten-copper
bathtubs) and ultra-sleek kitchen cabinet design
outfi t Poggenpohl have set up shop, with a
string of high-end furniture stores along M
Street in Georgetown. Houses must now have
kitchens with Wolf appliances and cleverly
concealed fl at screen TVs hidden behind sliding
oil paintings.
And in the custom closets? Gucci shoes,
MaxMara gowns, Ralph Lauren’s Purple Label
suits and Louis Vuitton bags. With the 2005
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opening of the Collection at Chevy Chase
Center – nicknamed “Rodeo Drive East” –
luxe shopping destinations include the area’s
fi rst free-standing Christian Dior, Bulgari and
Van Cleef & Arpels stores. Now, thousands
of area customers can skip New York and
shop close to home. Sales at Tiffany & Co.’s
new store are hitting $3,000 per square foot
annually, topping even New York sales. Asher
says,“If a store does over $500 a square foot,
you are ready to break out the champagne. We
have exceeded our expectations.” And, he adds,
it’s clear there’s room for more über-high-end
retail. More and more companies catering to
the wealthy are looking for a Washington niche.
Canyon Ranch, whose planned project on Old
Georgetown Road had stalled, is said to be still
interested. And all sorts of development and
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entertainment schemes are afoot.
In local restaurants like Il Mulino
New York, diners don’t hesitate to spend
extravagantly, dropping upwards of $500 on
fi ne wine alone. The Washington area ranks
fi rst in the U.S. in consumption of sparkling
wine and champagne. One reason may be the
never-ending cycle of fabulous balls, galas,
fund-raisers and cultural events.
High-end steakhouse Morton’s has proved
so popular that there are now as many locations
here as in its hometown of Chicago. At catered
parties, caviar (and iced vodka) stations are
popular. Hosts “are fi nding more non-traditional
reasons to celebrate and doing it more over the
top,” says Susan Lacz of Ridgewells Catering.
“We’ll create a fabulous tent that looks like a
fairyland for a fi rst communion celebration.
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