The Little Shop in Dallas With a Worldwide Clientele

Anyone who’s ever watched “Dallas,” the TV soap, knows Texas women are notorious fans of glitter and glitz. This close to New Year’s Eve--an excellent excuse to overdress, even by Big D standards--women from Laredo to Los Angeles find plenty of sparkle at the Terry Costa boutique. And the prices are worth the trip.

Terry is the ex-wife of Victor Costa, the Texas-based designer who is internationally known for his reasonably priced “interpretations” of French couture creations. It’s a formula that’s won him the loyalty of Joan Collins, Holly Hunter and Ivana Trump, along with millions of less famous American women.

But Terry has done Victor one better in the cost-cutting department. The 51-year-old retailer’s store carries the Costa label at wholesale prices, or sometimes even below.

His are the only reduced price items in this unusual store. The rest of the merchandise is full price, and carries other designer names--Oleg Cassini and Victoria Royal among them.

The arrangement came about three years ago. Before then, the Costas were still married and the store was indeed a wholesale center for Costa creations only. But when the couple parted company in 1985, she kept the original part of the business intact, added the retail priced items, and relocated the shop from the now-defunct Baker Hotel in downtown Dallas, to posher digs on Inwood Road near the city’s garment district.

Despite all the changes, this time of year customers still flock to the shop looking for party clothes, especially those that carry the Victor Costa label.

Joan Jefferson of Los Angeles recently combed through the store, during a visit to her Dallas relatives. The big difference in styles between the two cities, she noted, is that Dallas women get more dressed up, and she approves of the Texas style: “Dallas is a nice change of pace.”

This close to New Year’s Eve the store gets so crowded it’s hard to make your way around. The communal dressing room, a small part of the 11,000-square-foot space, while busy is well-organized. The store works on a serve-yourself basis in most departments, so women load up on outfits first.

One recent weekend Kimberly Goeller of Grand Prairie, a suburb of Dallas, dug through the racks and came away with a Victor Costa frock for a mere $25. The knee-length design was originally ticketed at more than $200.

“I can find things here for about 30% to 80% off the regular price,” Goeller said. “And I like everything the Victor Costa label stands for--especially the Texas connection.”

Christy Kemendo who lives in Dallas’ prestigious Highland Park area went to the store in search of a dress for a December wedding in Minnesota. “I’m looking for something velvet,” she said. If she had been shopping for holidays at home instead, Kemendo explained, she would want a satin or velvet jacket, a lace camisole and a pair of satin or velvet pants to match. That’s the at-home evening uniform around Dallas this season.

Meg McWilliams, 18, was in search of long, velvet evening gowns for New Year’s Eve. She made a 200-mile drive from Texarkana, her family’s home, to find them. But she is shopping for upcoming events as well. The freshman at Southern Methodist University in Dallas wants to join a sorority this January, and needs plenty of dressy clothes for the competitive parties she’ll have to attend if she hopes to be invited into a “sisterhood.”

McWilliams put a black velvet gown on hold, planning to mull things over before purchasing it. “You get more for your money and the styles here are so flattering,” she said.

SMU sorority parties were also on 19-year-old Katy Sternberg’s mind. She found a velvet dress with pearl-encrusted satin cuffs.

“This dress is more than half off the original price,” she gushed. A dedicated bargain hunter, Sternberg knows that sometimes wholesale-priced Costa dresses in the store get marked down a second time, for an even better bargain.

As for the hottest sellers on the Dallas party circuit this season, Terry Costa explained that beaded dresses lead the list. Most customers want knee or mid-calf length. “But some are snatching up long lengths for debutante parties,” she explained.