Downtown Bel Air has fallen on temporary hard times. The construction of a new streetscape, begun in 2006, has been disruptive for the businesses on Main Street, but once the project is completed, it will make the area much more inviting. But with many of the storefronts vacant, downtown Bel Air now looks more like a business park filled with insurance companies and financial services than a charming collection of retail shops.
Don't let appearances fool you. There are upscale boutiques and gift shops along Main Street, and it's well worth the effort to seek them out. (Not that you'll have to look too hard.) With two exceptions (see the list), the shops are conveniently clustered together.
There are several excellent places to eat, including a couple of Irish pubs. And parking couldn't be easier (or cheaper). The dog days of summer are a hot time to be taking a walking tour of downtown Bel Air, but you'll be rewarded with attentive salespeople and lots of good buys.
Here's a route to follow once you've parked your car just off Main Street in one of the several lots.
1
10 A.M. HEARTBEAT
Start shopping here for clothes in the fashionable-but-comfortable category. The target audience, says owner Susan Rodriguez, is "very active women 25 and up." Heartbeat carries lines such as Nic + Zoe, Joseph Ribhoff, Cole Haan footwear and Brighton jewelry and accessories.
Take a moment to drool over the new bubble-hem trench coat by Joseph Ribhoff ($325).
13 N. Main St., 410-420-0425
2
10:30 a.m Pink Silhouette
Turn right off Main at Lee Street and you'll see a tiny Cape Cod-style house, very beachy looking, sitting on a bank's parking lot. Inside is a cute-as-a-button boutique run by mother Susan and daughter Christina Patti. It's decorated in Lilly Pulitzer pinks and greens. Here, you'll find lots of fun play clothes -- Lilly Pulitzer, of course, as well as lines such as Seven Jeans and LaCoste.
Susan Patti is particularly proud of being the No. 1 retailer for Chamilia jewelry in the Mid-Atlantic. (You design a piece by selecting your bracelet, say, and then adding beads.)
20 E. Lee St., 410-420-6372
3
11:00 a.m Dust Bunny Antiques & Uniques
The next shop is a bit of a hike, but worth the trouble. Walk north on Main for several long blocks and cross the street to get to Dust Bunny. (You have to love the name.) It's a small shop absolutely packed full of interesting odds and ends. Some are very fine and old, like china from the 1800s, but there's also, for instance, an old Getty gas sign. A limited amount of antique furniture acts as display pieces.
