Halfway between Chicago and Dallas is a little big city that is swiftly becoming the coolest oasis in the Midwest. Kansas City—best known for its barbeque and World Series-winning baseball team—gained enormous cred this year when locally-owned Baldwin Denim became a front-runner for the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund contest.

Ready to visit? We’ve got the scoop.

Here’s The Guide:

Where To Stock Your Wardrobe

Bypass the chain stores and fast fashion for one of KC’s locally-owned boutiques, such as Standard Style (owned by the Baldwins) and Birdie’s (amazing lingerie), or visit Halls, one of the last family-owned department stores in the country. It boasts a grand legacy and shelves stocked with niche brands and high fashion alike.

Where To Buy Home Goods

Whether your of interior décor skews more Southern traditional or steampunk, you will find everything you need to trick out your crib at one of KC’s home stores. Nell Hill’s has the preppy set covered, while Coveted Home is ideal for those with a clean, modern aesthetic. Want it all? The West Bottoms Antique Stores are world-famous for their endless inventory of treasures from yesteryear.

Where To Get Brunch

Kansas City residents take their brunch seriously, which explains the proliferation of midday menus throughout the area. Gram & Dun has a bustling bar never disappoints if you like a scene with your scones, and Port Fonda has the best Bloody Mary bar in the Western Hemisphere. If you really tied one on last night, however, Barrel 31’s menu is packed with super-rich plates that will cure any hangover.

Where To Wine And Dine

Sip a homegrown Rieger whiskey cocktail on the eponymous hotel’s rooftop while watching the sun set; pop bottles of bubbly and dance all night at Ça Va; or get cozy with your better half in Julep’s elegant bar. The dining and drinking scene in KC is all about fresh, farm-to-table food, complex drinks and sexy speakeasy vibes.

Where To Stay

A clutch of boutique hotels has just opened or is on the verge in downtown KC, making it easy to crash after a long day and night of fun. We’re obsessed with the Ambassador. Its lobby bar is one of the chicest we’ve ever seen anywhere, and its restaurant makes it possible to stay here all night. Meanwhile, the Raphael is ideal for old-school elegance, and the Sorella is its contemporary counterpart on the always-fun Country Club Plaza.

Where To Get Cultured

Witness the world’s best theater and musicians at the Kauffman arts center–its soaring architecture outside hints at the drama within. If art that doesn’t dance, sing or perform is more your thing, the Kemper museum boasts one of the Midwest’s best contemporary collections. And of course, the best view in the area can be seen from the hilltop at the National World War One Museum and Memorial–skyline, park and inspiration for miles.

Where To Break A Sweat

If you can ever leave the resort, like pool at Woodside Health & Tennis Club, you’ll notice their state-of-the-art gym and spa facilities, plus enough tennis courts to make Serena Williams weep with joy. Meanwhile, Pilates 1901 has the best Reformers in town (and the most knowledgeable instructors), while Fusion Fitness will sculpt your arms and abs to perfection at both locations.

Did You Know?

Why is Kansas City located in Missouri instead of Kansas?

Both Kansas and Missouri have a Kansas City, but neither started with that name.

Kansas City in Missouri has been incorporated three different times under three different names. Prior to the first incorporation, the site of early Kansas City was a boat dock called Westport Landing.

In the 1830s, John McCoy’s settlement of West Port, at what is now Westport Road and Pennsylvania, outfitted pioneers for the Santa Fe Trail. Since the nearest landing for river travel and transport was 14 miles away at Blue Mills, near Independence, McCoy established a closer landing on the bluffs at the bend in the Missouri River, just two miles north of his settlement.

Soon after McCoy established “Westport Landing” in 1834, Kansas Town Company, a group of 14 investors, began to settle the area. In 1850 the landing area incorporated as the Town of Kansas; in 1853, as the City of Kansas; and finally in 1889 as Kansas City. John McCoy’s settlement, the old town of Westport, was annexed by Kansas City, Missouri, on December 2, 1897.

The Kansas, or Kaw, River flows into the Missouri River near the site of the early town, and the city founders finally settled on this geographic term for the town’s name. The Kansas River was named after the Kansa Indian tribe located in the area.

SOURCES:

thezoereport.com/: The Fashion Girl’s Guide to Kansas City

kclibrary.org/: Why is Kansas City located in Missouri instead of Kansas?

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