Cabana: The Store Behind the Purple Door

For years, Merry Vose ran a small boutique out of a backyard cabana at her Bluffview home. It was like a speakeasy for shoppers. When the city of Dallas shut her down, Vose viewed it as an opportunity to grow. Her Cabana now occupies a small house on West Lovers Lane that she transformed into a Bohemian beach bungalow inspired by the Harbor Island cottages she adores. To maintain the unique shopping experience Cabana has become known for, the boutique has no signage. Only a lavender door marks the spot of the shop that’s open Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. (“mom hours,” as the mother of three calls them). Inside you’ll find well-edited collections from around the world, such as Iro and Antik Batik from France, Hoss and Maria Bonita Extra from Spain, MiH Jeans and Monrow from London, 120% Lino from Italy, Nili Lotan from New York, Layla from L.A., and Koch Clothing from Dallas. Unique accessories by Moss-Mills, Cassidy Hummel, and Chan Luu hang on coral branches and wooden ladders. The average price point runs somewhere between $150 to $350 (nothing more than $550). “As a shopper and a mom,” Vose says, “my goal is to show people that you don’t have to spend a gazillion dollars to look good.”