Despite L.A.’s perpetually sunny skies, the changing season is the perfect excuse to switch up your wardrobe this month. Hit up these stylish streets and lifestyle centers to shop the coolest names in fashion and the hottest trends before the masses.
By Danielle Directo-Meston.
Downtown
Now that the Arts District is a bona fide retail and dining go-to, Dover Street Market is set to cement the neighborhood’s status as a rising fashion capital. The cult-favorite multibrand retailer is slated to bow this fall, bringing co-founder and Comme des Garçons designer Rei Kawakubo’s mix of avant-garde luxury and streetwear labels to a massive former warehouse. Runyon Group, the developer behind Culver City’s Platform, continues to fill Row DTLA with fresh new tenants. The most recent additions include female-designer-powered indie boutique Myrtle (which decamped from Echo Park); Hawkins New York’s first West Coast home-decor store; and tableware company Kinto and stationery store Hightide (both from Japan), with many more on the way.
Dover Street Market, 806 Industrial St., downtown, doverstreetmarket.com; Row DTLA, 777 Alameda St., downtown, rowdtla.com
Melrose Place and Melrose Avenue
Melrose Place may span less than a quarter of a mile, but the chic side street is packed with some of the biggest names in fashion beyond Rodeo Drive (Balmain, Chloé, Marni and the Row, to name a few). And it continues to attract some of the buzziest West Coast retail debuts: February welcomed the first L.A. stand-alone shops for preppy-luxe fashion brand Veronica Beard and accessories label Mansur Gavriel, where you can enjoy avocado toast and coffee at the in-store café while gazing at the brand’s signature minimalist leather bucket bags and footwear. In May, Glossier’s innovative space arrived—with the millennial-beloved brand’s complete line of dewy glow-giving beauty products and a not-so-secret selfie room.
Over on Melrose Avenue, online luxury consignment platform The RealReal’s first L.A. brick-and-mortar houses an ever-changing inventory of preloved designer finds, including clothing, footwear, bags and fine jewelry from European fashion houses like Chanel, Hermès, Saint Laurent and Louis Vuitton, alongside high-end streetwear from Off-White, Vetements and more. Continue down the main drag to find fine jeweler Gabriela Artigas’ first shop, where accouterments aficionados can stock up on her architectural adornments.
Veronica Beard, 8471 Melrose Place, L.A., 323.968.0125, veronicabeard.com; Mansur Gavriel, 8475 Melrose Place, L.A., 323.591.0434, mansurgavriel.com; Glossier, 8407 Melrose Place, L.A., glossier.com; The RealReal, 8500 Melrose Ave., L.A., 310.695.1795, therealreal.com; Gabriela Artigas, 7970 Melrose Ave., L.A., 323.424.4345, gabrielaartigas.com
Echo Park
Already home to independent brands like Oakland designer Ali Golden, Bali-made womenswear brand Bel Kazan and Americana-inspired vintage shop HWY, Echo Park’s stretch of Sunset Boulevard also scored Tuesday Bassen’s first stand-alone boutique this spring. You may know the L.A.-based illustrator for going head-to-head with fast-fashion juggernaut Zara over copyright infringement (and scoring social media recognition for dozens of other indie artists in the process). Her shop stocks her witty stationery, enamel pins, her size-inclusive retro clothing collection and more.
Tuesday Bassen, 1292 W. Sunset Blvd., L.A., 213.278.0210, shoptuesday.com
Culver City
A new rotating roster of shops is heading to Metro-adjacent destination Platform, where modern-design-driven retailer Poketo, sustainable label Reformation and luxury boutique Reservoir LA all have set up permanent shops over the last year or so. Online retailer Aquelarre is bringing its sexy, vintage-inspired womenswear and accessories to Platform through the end of the year, while email newsletter Mister Spoils, which offers “daily inspiration for the cool kids,” is bringing a curated selection of framed photography prints to a House of Spoils pop-up through the end of the month. And during the third and fourth weekends of September, independent market favorite Unique LA is taking over the center with over 50 vendors hawking clothing, accessories, beauty products, home decor and much more.
Platform, 8850 Washington Blvd., Culver City, platformla.com
Century City
Following the $1 billion makeover of Westfield Century City last year—which included the addition of green spaces and lounge areas alongside over 200 new retailers, eateries, and even fitness and skin care studios—its chic directory continues to welcome new names. Skin care enthusiasts can treat themselves to under-60-minute facials and laser treatments at celebrity dermatologist Ava Shamban’s SkinFive spa, while international style devotees can explore French designer Gerard Darel and edgy London-based AllSaints. Minimalist Swedish label COS is due to join the lineup this month, followed by Australia-born lingerie label Honey Birdette’s first L.A. store in October.
Westfield Century City, 10250 Santa Monica Blvd., L.A., 310.277.3898, westfield.com
Pacific Palisades
This sleepy upscale town’s retail scene is being revitalized by Palisades Village, the major redevelopment project from Rick Caruso (he’s also behind popular L.A. shopping destinations The Grove and Americana at Brand). When it opens in late September, the 3-acre site will be home to the first brick-and-mortar boutiques of red-carpet-favorite luxury label A.L.C., globally conscious e-tailer the Little Market, celebrity-beloved fine jeweler Jennifer Meyer, fashionable fitness brand Carbon38 and Sephora’s Studio concept store. Also joining the development is renowned designer-boutique owner Elyse Walker, whose sister shop, Towne, will stock laid-back luxury essentials.
Palisades Village, 1030 Swarthmore Ave., Pacific Palisades, 310.744.2301, palisadesvillageca.com
Santa Monica and Brentwood
The Westside is the epitome of breezy seaside style—so it’s no wonder that The Westside, a high-end boutique inspired by (and aptly named after) L.A.’s coastal communities, has landed across the street from Brentwood Country Mart. It’s the latest fashionable venture by the former co-founders of designer retailer Intermix, and it’s joined next door by Everafter, a luxe store for L.A.’s coolest tots and tweens.
Closer to the beach in Santa Monica, Japanese retailer Muji will open its largest West Coast outpost this month, bringing its minimalist kitchenware, stationery, apparel and other lifestyle goods to the popular Third Street Promenade. And in line with California’s mystical bohemian roots, metaphysical mecca House of Intuition’s largest L.A. outpost arrived in Santa Monica this spring. Its fourth space boasts crystals, unisex beauty products and wellness goods for the body and spirit alongside tarot-card readings and energy-healing sessions.
The Westside and Everafter, 256 26th St., Santa Monica, 310.319.1692, thewestsideshop.com and everaftershop.com; Muji, 1345 3rd Street Promenade, Santa Monica, muji.us; House of Intuition, 2804 Main St., Santa Monica, 213.413.8300, houseofintuitionla.com
Venice
Always-buzzing Abbot Kinney is an essential stop for its eclectic mix of well-known clothing companies and one-of-a-kind boutiques. The commercialized boulevard’s latest newcomers include previously online-only shoe brand Greats’ first L.A. store and Enze Apparel, an independent boutique dedicated to showcasing Mediterraneanbred fashion talents.
Beyond Venice’s most popular shopping block, cult-favorite luxury accessories retailer Mona Moore decamped from Abbot Kinney to low-key Lincoln Boulevard, where it’s joined by effortless New York-based womenswear label Apiece Apart.
Greats, 1505 Abbot Kinney Blvd., Venice, greats.com; Enze Apparel, 1507 Abbot Kinney Blvd., Venice, 310.314.3235, enzeapparel.com; Mona Moore, 208 Lincoln Blvd., Venice, 310.452.4070, monamoore.com; Apiece Apart, 1817 Lincoln Blvd., Venice, apieceapart.com
