Star gazing (and navel gazing) on Rodeo Drive

September 24, 2011

BEVERLY HILLS, US – By now, the Pretty Woman references are wearing a little thin, but the film is such a convenient shorthand for capturing the fairytale ethos of Rodeo Drive that it’s hard to resist the mention. Who hasn’t watched Julia Robert’s “hooker-with-a-heart-of-gold” character transform into a thing of… (more)

Boho chic with a beachy backdrop in Venice

September 3, 2011

VENICE, US – When you think of shopping in LA’s Venice Beach, images of street vendors hawking string bikinis, knock-off bags, and el-cheapo sunglasses on the Boardwalk may be the first to pop to mind. While it’s true that loads of tourist shopping dollars are carelessly disposed of in this… (more)

Shop ’til you rock in Silver Lake

August 6, 2011

LOS ANGELES, US – In LA’s Silver Lake neighborhood, the focal point of the boho shopping district is known as “Sunset Junction,” located at the intersection of Sunset and Santa Monica Boulevards. But it might as well be at the intersection of Hip and Hipster. Chock-a-block with organic cafés, crafty… (more)

Drink to great denim at American Rag Cie

July 3, 2011

LOS ANGELES, US – Usually when I belly up to a bar for international tastes, I’m about to tuck into a wine tasting or cheese tasting or some combination of the two. But at American Rag Cie in Los Angeles, the global samples on offer at the bar aren’t even… (more)

All grown up and ready to shop at Kitson

June 8, 2011

LOS ANGELES, USA – Every culture the world over has a rite of passage for young girls. Jewish girls have Bat Mitzvahs and girls from Latin America have quinceañeras. But in Hollywood, young entertainers must grow-up in the public eye, and if the likes of Britney Spears, Miley Cyrus, and… (more)

From edgy to entitled, with a dose of the Eighties, on Melrose Avenue

June 1, 2011

LOS ANGELES, USA – As a shopping district, you might say that Melrose Avenue between Fairfax and La Brea is a card-carrying member of Generation Y. Not only was it born in the 1980s, when leather-clad rockers and mohawked punks turned the otherwise drab storefronts into outlandish boutiques stocked with… (more)

The alchemy of trendy and moneyed on Robertson Boulevard

January 23, 2011

LOS ANGELES, CA – If Rodeo Drive is a little bit “fancy” (i.e., prim and proper), and Melrose Avenue is a little bit “rock-’n-roll” (i.e., indie), then Robertson Boulevard is a modern day mash-up.  The stretch of boutiques between Beverly and Wilshire Boulevards has all the moneyed, celeb glory of… (more)

Arrive (and drive) in style at Fred Segal

November 13, 2010

LOS ANGELES, USA – Traffic jams are old news in Los Angeles, where the lack of reliable public transportation and the love affair with the automobile conspire to make sig alerts on the freeways de rigueur. Accidents, concerts, and the filming of movies and TV shows are common gridlock culprits.… (more)

Abloom with possibilities in the LA Flower District

November 12, 2010

LOS ANGELES, USA – Today in Los Angeles, it’s hard to imagine that flowers, not Hollywood films, were once the city’s leading export. Unless a celebrity happens to name their child after a bloom (yes, ex-Spice Girl Geri Halliwell named her daughter Bluebell, and celeb chef Jamie Oliver’s brood could… (more)

Last record store standing?: An ode to Amoeba Music

July 13, 2010

LOS ANGELES, USA – I spent two summers of my late adolescence working at Sam Goody, a music store in the local mall.  Despite the embarrassing corporate “Sam Goody” apron I had to wear, it was a teenager’s dream job to get paid to listen to music all day and… (more)