Yeah..so I had some adventures in shopping in dc..here is what i found:
Checked out Relish (Cady's Alley, up in Georgetown) - they have a relatively nice shoe selection downstairs for women I thought..as for clothing, I had just missed the sale, but they had just gotten in shipments of TONS of Marni for spring. That was about all they had for spring a couple weeks ago so can't say much else. Probably one of the best stores in the area, IMO. The staff acted kind of full of themselves..which was annoying, since they weren't super well dressed or helpful. It pisses one off esp. when one knows what she is looking for...and is not dressed as if lost on the way to intermix or urban outfitters.
I probably just caught them on an off day. They have a really cute puppy.
Also in Georgetown there is a store called Else, which carries some Barbara Bui and Vivienne Tam I think. It is pretty sweet, and the staff is nice.
Both relish and else have plenty for men also..
Up in Friendship Heights, I would suggest avoiding the Saks/Neiman's unless you are (a) 30 or (b) a teeny bopper looking for Juicy and the like. I found a random dries skirt on the sales rack, but saw none whatsoever anywhere else.
The Barney's Co-Op was OK. Service was great. Superfine jeans if you are looking for them.
Mic Mac Bis was a bit of a disappointment. Yes they have Tufi Duek...and a couple of others (I saw some Hash on the sales rack...nothing very impressive though, as well as some Yohji...) but the entire store seems dominated by Issey. They have every line of Issey Miyake probably...wow.
I should mention that they had some pretty jewelry though.