V&T Daily
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LA shopping lowdown
By Kristie Kellahan.
Published in the January-March 2012 issue.
With the dollar at parity and flights to Los Angeles the cheapest they’ve been in years, now is the time to plan a retail therapy spree in the City of Angels.
La La Land... home to Hollywood starlets and wannabes, canyon hikes, ritzy Rodeo Drive, movie studio tours, paparazzi, hip hotels, glamorous bars and some of the very best shopping in the United States. Here, insider tips on where to pick up bargains, designer items, local labels and vintage tchotchkes.
Luxe Labels
For luxury designer gear and some of the very best star-spotting in the world, your first destination should be Beverly Hills. The street name Rodeo Drive conjures up images of Pretty Woman-style shopping binges in boutiques at which ownership of a limitless credit card is a distinct advantage.
If you’ve seen it on the catwalks in New York, London or Paris, you’ll find it on Rodeo Drive. At last count, there were more than 65 top-of-the-line retail outlets along the strip, including flagship stores from Christian Dior, Dolce&Gabbana, Louis Vuitton and Gucci.
Versace, Valentino and Roberto Cavalli sell their fashion-forward wares to Saudi heiresses, upwardly mobile brokers and visitors from Japan, Russia and Australia who flock here to see the complete seasonal range, when only a few pieces may be available at home. In the understated Tom Ford flagship store, impeccable tailoring and cutting-edge style can be acquired, for a price.
Favoured by Los Angeles ladies who lunch, Judith Leiber’s crystal-encrusted sparkly clutches cast their bling spell while nearby, Michael Kors offers stylish ready-to-wear sportswear for ladies from 18 to 80.
If Cartier and De Beers are a little rich for your blood, the Rodeo Drive area is also the place for more accessible labels, including Nike (the Niketown store is enormous), Juicy Couture, Anthropologie and Banana Republic.
Department store shopping in Beverly Hills is an exercise in mass exposure to luxe labels. At Barneys New York, Neiman Marcus and Saks Fifth Avenue, all in Wilshire Boulevard’s Department Store Row, an abundance of riches – designer formalwear, fragrances, cosmetics, handbags, jewellery – spills over multiple levels. These stores are the best places to buy a pair of statement heels – Jimmy Choos or Manolo Blahniks, anyone? – at around half the price of what you’d pay in Australia.
Refuel: The most popular pastime along Rodeo Drive? Shopping. The second most popular? Keeping watch for A-list celebs going about their retail rituals. Stop for a glass of Napa Valley cabernet at The Beverly Hills Hotel on Sunset Boulevard, sit back and wait for Brangelina to enter
stage left.
Unique Boutiques
West Hollywood is the natural habitat of Los Angeles’ cool young things. A trendy mix of organic cafés, New Age bookstores, aspirational fashion boutiques and edgy design stores, it’s a terrific neighbourhood to wander around and see the stars at play.
The legendary Bodhi Tree Bookstore, with its wide range of books on alternative medicine, mysticism and spirituality, may be struggling to survive in West Hollywood, but while its doors remain open, it does nothing to diminish LA’s reputation as the hippy-dippy capital of the world. Jennifer Aniston is a regular visitor, as are Jenna Elfman and Katie Holmes.
Nearby, Hamilton-Selway Fine Art is the place to pick up Pop Art reproductions and modern art one-offs. It’s been featured on the TV series Entourage and, in LA terms, that’s high praise indeed. For a fee, they’ll ship to Australia.
Designers with a youthful flair and cutting-edge style often choose to make their retail homes in West Hollywood. Stella McCartney opened her first U.S. store in WeHo, and Alberta Ferretti’s only American outlet holds a plum position on Melrose Avenue.
If you visit only one shop in the area, let it be Kitson Studio. Zac Efron, Nicole Richie, Courteney Cox and a skyful of other stars claim to be addicted to the wares offered by this emporium of fashion, shoes, accessories and fragrance. Top brands in each sector are stocked alongside Kitson’s own in-house brand, and the store sells everything from votive candles to playing cards to men’s loafers. Prices are surprisingly reasonable, offering something for every budget.
Refuel: Follow the MAPs (models, actors, presenters) to Urth Caffé on Melrose Avenue, where healthy eating is an art form. Order organic this, vegan that, and some of the best coffee you’ll find in all LA.
Market Finds
Head to the city’s beachside suburbs for the busiest markets and vintage stores in Los Angeles.
Venice Beach’s Abbot Kinney Boulevard is known for its thrift shops and antique warehouses – it’s the perfect street on which to fossick for that one-of-a-kind treasure. Between the bikini-wearing rollerskaters and the muscle-bound fitness exhibitionists, Venice Beach is a neighbourhood with plenty of space for creative and eclectic residents – so you never know what might turn up in the “pre-loved” stores.
On Saturdays and Sundays, an outdoor flea market sprouts up along Abbot Kinney Boulevard, its stallholders offering handmade jewellery, unique gifts, “vegan” handbags, bespoke fashion and original art. The artisans themselves often man the stalls, so it’s a great opportunity to ask them about their creations.
If you’re staying a while in LA and want to stock your pantry, be sure to visit the farmers’ markets in Santa Monica – the just-picked organic fruit and vegetables, ethically farmed meat, vegan sweets and biodynamic juices are testament to the health-consciousness of trendier Los Angelenos. Four farmers’ markets operate within the Santa Monica area, so there’s always something happening.
Refuel: LA is known for its delicious Mexican and Cajun nosh, and the Crazy Creole Café foodstand, periodically in Venice Beach (and at other locations around the city) does not disappoint. Catch it if you can, for authentic, spicy Creole and Cajun dishes.
Next to Nix
Shopping sprees fit for kings or queens are a lovely dream but, at the end of the day, who doesn’t love a bargain?
For maximum bargain punch in one place, make a beeline for Camarillo Premium Outlets. In this mega-complex of marked-down merchandise you’ll find outlet stores and remainder outlets from some of the world’s best-loved brands including adidas, Calvin Klein, Diesel, DKNY, Levi’s, Tory Burch and True Religion Brand Jeans. For the well-dressed child, there’s OshKosh B’gosh, Disney Store and Gymboree.
Shoes, jewellery and accessories are also offered here at massive markdowns. For shoppers who buy so much they need an extra suitcase to cart it all home, there’s the Coach store, Samsonite, Tumi and Kate Spade.
Camarillo is about an hour’s drive north of downtown LA, depending on traffic, and is serviced by shuttle buses. For the money you’ll save on designer bargains, it’s well worth it – plan to spend an entire day here.
In the pretty LA beachside suburb of Santa Monica, the amusement park pier and Californian sun, sand and surf aren’t the only attractions. Here, you’ll find discount department stores Sears and TJ Maxx, offering astonishingly low prices on popular brands. When the sales are on – which is almost always, in today’s depressed U.S. economy – prices are often marked down and down and down… until they reach single digits. Bad news for retailers can be excellent news for shoppers.
Refuel: At Camarillo Premium Outlets, it doesn’t come much more all-American than Johnny Rockets: a burger and milkshake joint with an all-singing, all-dancing crew of waiters decked out in uniforms that could be straight from a 1950s diner.•
Photographs courtesy of Discover LA.
TRAVEL FACTS
getting there
United Airlines offers a daily service from Sydney and Melbourne to Los Angeles. 131-777; unitedairlines.com.au
Delta Air Lines flies from Sydney to Los Angeles. delta.com
when to go
Los Angeles has four distinct seasons, each with its own pros and cons. Travel in spring or autumn if you prefer milder weather, as winters can be wet and summers hot and foggy.
WHERE TO STAY
Andaz West Hollywood sits in a plum location on Sunset Boulevard. Popular with leisure travellers for its large rooms and poolside cabanas, the hotel offers free wine every evening. westhollywood.andaz.hyatt.com
Maison 140 offers boutique luxe in the heart of Beverly Hills. The spacious rooms are lushly appointed and the downstairs Bar Noir is intimate and cool. maison140beverlyhills.com
where to eat & drink
• Crazy Creole Café. crazycreolecafe.com
• Johnny Rockets. johnnyrockets.com
• The Polo Lounge at the Beverly Hills Hotel. beverlyhillshotel.com
• Urth Caffé. urthcaffe.com
where to shop
• Abbot Kinney Boulevard. abbotkinneyonline.com
• Beverly Hills. lovebeverlyhills.com
• Premium Outlets. premiumoutlets.com
• Sears. sears.com
• TJ Maxx. tjmaxx.com
• Venice Beach vintage and market shopping. venicebeach.com
• West Hollywood. visitwesthollywood.com
further information
For information on hotels, restaurants, shopping, tours and events throughout LA, visit discoverlosangeles.com
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