The friend I was with on my most recent visit to The District summed the place up in one sentence: "This is a little too Stepford for me." And the two of us usually find some quaint humor in Stepford. The District takes it a little too far, even for our tastes.
The things that I love as a mallrat are almost totally missing here. There's no food court, just a few chain restaurants. There's a lack of obnoxious teens, as the security here is known to discourage them from hanging out. There's no flow to the layout of the place. The main cluster of shops is out in front of Green Valley Ranch, then another phase of the mall is across the street. Down the main entrance driveway and across Green Valley Parkway, that is. It must be about four blocks total. If you don't mind hiking to get to the Coach store, go for it.
There's also something very odd about the weather here. It's an outdoor mall, and unless it's a temperate day with very little wind, you can expect the main area to turn into a harsh wind tunnel. One winter visit I made to drop in at the Anthropolgie store was absolutely miserable.
There are some very nice stores here, but it's not a fun place to wander around and explore. The District wants very badly to be clean and upscale and that's about all it is.