After talking about it for a few years, I finally took my first trip to Round Top this month. With two design writer friends in tow, we tackled the best of Texas, from a few days at the ranch to totally immersing ourselves in the miles of antiques that make up Round Top.
It was an experience — one I’ll do again, with some adjustments. Here’s what I learned.
What Is Round Top?
First, a little context because I know I’ve incorrectly assumed everyone has heard of Round Top.
Round Top is an antiques fair that spans several miles through a small Texas town that swells in size three times a year. In the past several years, Instagram has helped it become a destination. Each January, March, and October, my feed fills with people from all over the country putting on their cowboy hats and traipsing through tents and fields to find the best vintage treasures.
What to Expect on Your First Trip to Round Top
To be honest, my first Round Top experience was somewhat marred by the weather. It was 100 degrees. In October. A brutal heat wave came through, and it was unbearable Round Top is 90% outdoors in the Texas sun. I don’t do heat well, and it was awful. The last thing you want to do when it’s that hot is walk around in the sun, in the dust, and even think about buying anything or carrying it back to the car. That definitely held us back. The day we left Texas, it was 75 and breezy, so this wasn’t normal but, alas, it’s the hand we were dealt.
That brings me to my first tip: dress for the weather. Prioritize a lightweight sundress over looking cute. The second day, my dress was linen but lined, and I had regrets about the lining. Wear boots or sneakers that can get dirty. It’s so dusty that I was glad I had cowboy boots, though I am going to have to take mine in for a spruce up after walking miles through gravel and dirt. And don’t forget a hat. I went all in with a cowboy hat for maximum coverage.
Second, carry a tote. This isn’t the time for a cute little bag. Have something you can use to store water, small finds, whatever you need to get you through a long day.
Have a broad plan. We had a vague idea about where we wanted to go, and that gave us some structure to plan out where we’d start and end each day. There was flexibility to pop in places, and that’s easy enough to do thanks to plentiful parking all over (it is Texas), but I was glad to have a few anchor stops.
Know that prices will be obscene at some of the markets. Marburger Farm was $40 per person just to get in, so we should have known it’d be wild in terms of prices. But, luckily, we saw it more as an opportunity for inspiration rather than actually buying anything.
Lastly, know that you won’t see everything. There’s just no possible way. You have to see what you can see, and call it at the end of the day — I’ll see the rest in March.
