Atlanta can absolutely take your money. The only question is what kind of shopping trip are we having? If the answer is designer bags, luxury brands and somebody carrying the boxes back to the hotel, Buckhead already knows what to do with you. Lenox Square and Phipps Plaza remain two of the city's major shopping destinations, and they're surrounded by enough luxury retail to make Buckhead an itinerary by itself. But Atlanta shopping doesn't stop at the mall.

There are neighborhood boutiques, Black-owned brands, sneaker and streetwear culture, beauty businesses, local designers, markets, vintage shops and shopping districts where what you find feels considerably more Atlanta than something you could have bought back home. That's the part we don't want travelers to miss. BlkTravel's Shopping guide will move between luxury and local, established and independent, bougie and hood without pretending one is inherently better than the other.

Because the same traveler who walks into Phipps looking for Gucci can absolutely spend the next afternoon supporting a Black-owned boutique. That's not a contradiction. That's Atlanta. So bring an extra bag, leave some room in the suitcase and don't blame us when getting everything home becomes its own travel problem.