Top shopping in Los Angeles

updated 1:51 p.m. ET Aug. 7, 2006

Whether you're looking for trend-setting fashions or just some tourist schlock mementos, Los Angeles has your shopping needs covered like no other place in the world. Heck, Los Angeles practically invented the shopping mall.

San Fernando Valley
Here's a rundown of L.A.'s top shopping areas -- from chic to cheap -- along with some highlights of each neighborhood to give you an idea of what you'll find there.

Studio City (Ventura Blvd. between Laurel Canyon Blvd. and Fulton Ave.) -- Long beloved by Valley residents, Studio City is where you'll find small boutiques and antiques stores, quirky little businesses (many dating from the 1940s and 1950s), and less congested branches of popular chains like Gap, Pier 1 Imports, and Blockbuster. Parking is a cinch on the street except during holiday season, when stores team up to decorate these blocks and often observe extended evening hours. The 4 blocks of Ventura Boulevard between Laurel Canyon Boulevard and Whitsett Avenue are the most concentrated.

Compared to L.A.'s behemoth shopping malls, the streets of pretty, compact Pasadena are a breeze to stroll. As a general rule, stores are open daily from about 10 a.m., and while some close at the standard 5 or 6 p.m., many stay open till 8 or 9 p.m. to accommodate the before- and after-dinner/movie crowd.

Old Pasadena (centered on the intersection of Colorado Blvd. and Fair Oaks Ave.)
Dating back to the 1880s, the 22-block-long Old Pasadena (tel. 626/666-4156; www.oldpasadena.com/) district offers some of the best shopping in L.A. -- if it retains the mom-and-pop businesses currently being pushed out by the likes of Banana Republic and Crate & Barrel. As you move eastward, the mix begins to include more eclectic shops and galleries commingling with dusty, preyuppie relics.

Penny Lane, 12 W. Colorado Blvd. (tel. 626/564-0161), carries new and used CDs, plus a great selection of music magazines and kitschy postcards. The stock is less picked over here than at many record stores in Hollywood. Travelers also seem to find something they need at Distant Lands Bookstore and Outfitters, a duo of related stores. The bookstore has a terrific selection of maps, guides, and travel-related literature, while the outfitter two doors away offers everything from luggage and pith helmets to space-saving and convenient travel accessories. An Old Town mainstay is Rebecca's Dream, 16 S. Fair Oaks Ave. (tel. 626/796-1200), where both men and women can find vintage clothing treasures. The store is small and meticulously organized (by color scheme); be sure to look at the vintage hats adorning the walls.

Other Pasadena Shopping
In addition to Old Town Pasadena, there are numerous good hunting grounds in the surrounding area. Antiques hounds might want to head to the Green Street Antique Row, 985 1005 E. Green St. (east of Lake Ave.), or the Pasadena Antique Center, on South Fair Oaks Boulevard (south of Del Mar). Each has a rich concentration of collectibles that can captivate for hours.

You never know what you might find at the Rose Bowl Flea Market, at the Rose Bowl, 1001 Rose Bowl Dr., Pasadena (tel. 323/560-SHOW; www.rgcshows.com/RoseBowlFleaMarket/tabid/52/Default.aspx). The horseshoe-shape Rose Bowl, built in 1922, is one of the world's most famous stadiums, home to UCLA's Bruins, the annual Rose Bowl Game, and an occasional Super Bowl. California's largest monthly swap meet, held here on the second Sunday of every month from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. rain or shine, is a favorite of Los Angeles antiques hounds (who know to arrive as early as 7 a.m. for the best finds). Antique furnishings, clothing, jewelry, and other collectibles are assembled in the parking area to the left of the entrance, while the rest of the flea market surrounds the exterior of the Bowl. Expect everything from used surfboards and car stereos to one-of-a-kind lawn statuary and bargain athletic shoes. Admission is $7 after 9 a.m. (early bird admission is $10 at 8 a.m. and $15 at 7 a.m.).

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Anglophiles will enjoy Rose Tree Cottage, 828 E. California Blvd. (just west of Lake Ave.; tel. 626/793-3337; www.rosetreecottage.com/), and its charming array of all things British. This cluster of historic Tudor cottages surrounded by traditional English gardens holds three gift shops and a tearoom, where a superb $28 high tea is served thrice daily among the knickknacks (and supervised by the resident cat, Miss Moffett). In addition to imported teas, linens, and silver trinkets, Rose Tree Cottage sells English delicacies like steak-and-kidney pies, hot cross buns, and shortbread. It's also the local representative of the British Tourist Authority and offers a comprehensive array of travel publications.

Beverly Boulevard (from Robertson Blvd. to La Brea Ave.) -- Beverly is L.A.'s premier boulevard for mid-20th-century furnishings. Expensive showrooms line the street, but the one that started it all is Modernica, 7366 Beverly Blvd. (tel. 323/933-0383). You can still find vintage Stickley and Noguchi pieces, but Modernica has become best known for the authentic -- and more affordable -- replicas they offer (Eames storage units are one popular item).

Every Picture Tells a Story (7525 Beverly Blvd.; tel. 310/451-2700), a gallery devoted to the art of children's literature, displays antique children's books as well as the works of more than 100 illustrators, including lithos of Curious George, Eloise, and Charlotte's Web. Across the street from Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, the Mysterious Bookshop (8763 Beverly Blvd., between Robertson and San Vicente boulevards; tel. 310/209-0415), carries more than 20,000 used, rare, and out-of-print titles in the field of mystery, espionage, detective stories, and thrillers. Author appearances and other special events are regularly scheduled. If you can name more than three tenors, then the pleasantly cluttered Opera Shop of Los Angeles, 8384 Beverly Blvd. (3 blocks east of La Cienega Blvd.; tel. 323/658-5811), is for you. Everything imaginable with an opera theme is available: musical motif jewelry, stationery, T-shirts, opera glasses, and tapes, videos, and CDs of your favorite productions.

If you complain that they just don't make 'em like they used to . . . well, they do at Re-Mix, 7605 1/2 Beverly Blvd. (between Fairfax and La Brea aves.; tel. 323/936-6210). This shop sells only vintage (1940s - 70s) -- but brand-new (as in unworn) -- shoes for men and women, such as wingtips, Hush Puppies, Joan Crawford pumps, and 1970s platforms. It's more like a shoe-store museum. A rack of unworn vintage socks all display their original tags and stickers, and the prices are downright reasonable. Celebrity hipsters and hepcats from Madonna to Roseanne are often spotted here. Other vintage wares are found at Second Time Around Watch Co., 8840 Beverly Blvd. (west of Robertson Blvd.; tel. 310/271-6615). The city's best selection of collectible timepieces includes dozens of classic Tiffanys, Cartiers, Piagets, and Rolexes, plus rare pocket watches. Priced for collectors, but a fascinating browse for the Swatch crowd, too.

La Brea Avenue (north of Wilshire Blvd.) -- This is L.A.'s artiest shopping strip. La Brea is anchored by the giant American Rag, Cie alterna-complex, and is also home to lots of great urban antiques stores dealing in Art Deco, Arts and Crafts, 1950s modern, and the like. You'll also find vintage clothiers, furniture galleries, and other warehouse-size stores, as well as some of the city's hippest restaurants, such as Campanile.

Bargain hunters find flea-market furnishings at Nick Metropolis, 100 S. La Brea Ave. (tel. 323/934-3700), while more upscale seekers of home decor head to Mortise & Tenon, 446 S. La Brea Ave. (tel. 323/937-7654), where handcrafted heavy wood pieces sit next to overstuffed velvet-upholstered sofas and even vintage steel desks. The best place for a snack is Nancy Silverton's La Brea Bakery, 624 S. La Brea Ave. (tel. 323/939-6813; www.labreabakery.com/), which foodies know from gourmet markets and the attached Campanile restaurant.

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