We were lucky enough to spend most of April in sunny LA, for a mix of meetings, spending time with friends, and of course Coachella (see our Coachella blog post for more)! LA is one of our favourite places, and each time we return we just want to go back time and time again. The weather is one of the key factors to this (I mean who doesn’t love somewhere that is perpetually sunny?!) but one of the best things about Los Angeles is the shopping, duh! LA has access to so many brands that we just don’t have in the UK, as well as some amazing vintage stores and one off boutiques we love to shop at, so its no surprise that we struggled to close our suitcases on our return home to London. Here are some of our favourite stores to shop in LA and why:
Reformation, Melrose Ave, West Hollywood. @reformation.
If you know, you know… Reformation is just so super cool in an understated and elegant way, and bar a pop-up store in London last year, we don’t have Reformation in the UK at all. The style lends itself to the warmer climate in general, but there is a Reformation store in NYC as well as Miami and San Francisco. Whenever we go into the store, we see Brits doing exactly the same as us, buying pieces they have seen online while they have the chance! The store also sells vintage Levis and other denim brands, as well as their own denim line, but its main focus is ready to wear garments made from beautiful quality fabrics that fit really well. We definitely love the fit of Reformation clothing, and find it super flattering! We couldn’t resist these two jumpsuits, we also couldn’t resist wearing them to the Pop and Suki / Kodak party while we were at it (pictured.)
Wasteland, Melrose Ave, West Hollywood. @shopwasteland.
Melrose is in general one of our favourite shopping streets in LA. Its eclectic mix of quirky vintage stores and high end boutiques, not to mention the amazing street art and wall murals, make wandering down Melrose in the sunshine one of the most blissful shopping experiences known to (wo)man. Another hot-spot that we couldn’t fail to mention is Wasteland, the vintage mecca home to some of the coolest vintage finds we have come across! Rumour has it that the A Listers drop their unwanted items at Wasteland daily, and with many of those in Hollywood, that means that Wasteland is unsurprisingly buzzing with designer pieces as well as bloggers and fashionistas flocking to shop new arrivals. We don’t think we have a comparable store to Wasteland in the UK, its really like one huge vintage / designer charity shop under a very large roof and we spent a few hours there, at least…! We managed to pick up some Chanel and Gucci shoes which had had very little wear, and some of our friends also had fun, buying Rebecca Minkoff handbags, Gucci dresses, etc. Wasteland… we need you in London!!
LF Abbot Kinney Blvd, Venice @lfabbotkinney
LF is just the coolest store, especially coming in to festival season. The pieces are a mix of California cool, beachy, hippie and edgy, think Zara (c’mon, its high street but its amazing) with a twist and great fabrics. We have followed the Abbot Kinney branch of LF for ages now on Instagram and they also do some cool street style shots in Venice which just makes us want to hit California all the more! Definitely check this store out, the staff are also super cool and adorable!
Nordstrom, The Grove, LA @norstrom
Sure, Nordstrom is a department store chain with multiple branches, but there is something very pleasing about their store in The Grove (beautiful outdoor shopping mall between 3rd Street and Beverly Blvd.) Upon entering, we were eyeing up beautiful Gucci and Valentino shoes, there are definitely most well known designers in Nordstrom but also a few lesser known and US brands that we loved looking through!
Heist, Abbot Kinney Blvd, Venice @shopheist
Heist is one of the most popular stores on Abbot Kinney Blvd, and we can see why! Its huge mix of designers include Isabel Marant, and there really are so many lovely pieces in store, as well as the store itself having a relaxed and pleasing shopping environment. Its definitely worth going to Venice for stores like this!
What are your favourite LA stores? We are sure there are so many more for us to check out next time…
Olivia Xx
