Shopping LA- PART 3 Vintage Stores

Yesterday definitely got away from me. As promised here is the final installation of my shopping trip in LA: vintage stores.

Finding vintage stores in LA is not tough, they're practically on every block, however finding vintage stores that are actually worth checking out is another story. With limited time in LA, I decided to get advice straight from the experts. At every vintage shop I stopped, I asked the owners what shops they liked for vintage. What I received was some great advice and a treasure trove of fantastic vintage stores around the city.

(Image courtesy of Surfing Cowboys)

Surfing Cowboys- Yes, I'm talking about this store twice, I love it that much. Unlike most vintage stores that are packed to the brim with items, Surfing Cowboys offers a carefully curated collection of finds. Vintage surf and skim boards are hung from the ceiling in an artful display. Old signs are mixed in among great mid century sofas. If you're looking for anything having to do with vintage surfing or skating, this is your place.

Bazar- I tried twice to go to this store while I was in Venice because the items in the window looked so cool, however the first time, they were "back in 15 minutes" and the second time they had closed early. While I never made it inside, peeking in the window this is definitely a place I'd like to check out in the future.

 (Image courtesy of Weego Home)

Weego Home- While not technically vintage, more interior design, I loved this store with all it's stylish, fun and bright home accessories. Among Jonathan Adler tabletop items, they sell Hable Construction pillows, which if available in orange would have been coming home in my suitcase. The owner of this shop told me to check out Empiric on Beverly Blvd.

Emperic Studio- Definitely one of my favorite vintage stores of the day, from the unusual, industrial vintage finds to the masculine styling, I loved just about everything in this store. Empiric has a great natural curiosities vibe with vintage and reproductions mixing happily together. As a bonus, this shop owner recommended a ton of great vintage stores along Beverly, La Brea and even showed me on a map where I needed to go next.

(Image courtesy of Modernica)

Modernica- Classic mid century items from shell chairs to George Nelson bubble lamps, this store has it all. They also have a huge collection of vintage items that they rent out for movies and TV shows. I was amazed at their collection of vibrant blown glass color blocked along the walls.

(Image courtesy of Apartment Therapy)

Gibson- I could probably spend hours poking around Gibson. Far from minimalist, Gibson stacks great one of a kind, vintage and mass produced finds on every surface. One wall is literally covered in carefully hung paintings from floor to ceiling. Definitely worth a visit just to find some cool, repurposed items.

The Secret's Out...

For the last few weeks, I've been dying to to share some exciting news, but had to keep my lips zipped. I've been asked to be a guest blogger for iVillage's Home & Garden site! My first post about how to shop a flea market is up today in the House Proud section. Check it out here.

(Shopping LA Part 3- Vintage Stores coming later today...)

LA Shopping- PART 2

Phew! I am back from a whirlwind trip to LA. Despite a bad cold I picked up while I was away, I had a fantastic time checking out the City of Angels. As I explored LA, I tried to avoid all the name brand stores and instead head to some of the smaller  boutiques in different areas. Car definitely needed! As promised, here is the PART 2 of my LA shopping trip: Santa Monica, Venice Beach and Brentwood.

Since it's hard to take pics in the smaller boutiques (my sneak shots always end up blurry, or of my feet), I've decided to show a few things that I purchased along the way instead...

VENICE

Aviator Nation- Once a solely a collection of surf and skate ts, Aviator Nation has opened their first headquarters location on Abbott Kinny Blvd in Venice Beach. The bright blue store has a straight out of California vibe with 70s music spinning on vinyl, arcade games, ping pong tables and a small stage outside. While I am probably outside of their target age range, I couldn't help but love the vintage inspired T's, sweatshirts, corduroy shorts and gear. Oh and did I mention the surf coozie you get when you purchase a T?

Skylark: If I lived in Venice Beach, this small, hipster boutique filled with fantastic finds would be my go-to for neutral pieces. The alt-country store has a distinctly California feel to it with fedoras sitting next to an awesome selection of Frye boots. I picked up a cotton heather brown t-shirt dress, a faux tan leather bomber jacket and an awesome chain necklace all for what I would have expected to pay for one item downtown.

Surfing Cowboys- I love this store so much that I'm going to mention it twice (look for the complete review on their vintage collection tomorrow). In truth, I knew about it before heading to Venice, in fact it's one of the reasons I went out there. Filled with cool vintage long boards, surfing magazines, books and mid century furniture, this shop feels more like your uncle's cool California living room than a vintage store. Shop owner, Wayne Gunther was on hand to give me thoughts on his favorite surfing books and encouraged me to sit and thumb through the books at my leisure. (I ended up with the one he recommended a fabulous history of surfing printed in the 80s).

SANTA MONICA/ BRENTWOOD

Sugar Paper Los Angeles- My friend Tara, from the fantastic Prippy Handbook, first got me into letterpress cards at Greenwich Letterpress in the West Village. While shopping the adorable Brentwood Country Mart, I ran across Sugar Paper Los Angeles. I'm not joking when I say I spent about 40 minutes pursuing this pint sized space. I wanted to walk out with just about one of everything, but narrowed my selections to a few cards, a craft paper to do list and a box of quirky thank you cards. Maybe this will inspire me to write more...

And a few I wished I could have purchased items from...

Undrest by the Sea- This whitewashed swimsuit and luxury lingerie boutique has just the right amount of charm and style with a touch of girlishness. It's the perfect beachy compliment to the urban, preppy Jack Spade next store. I adored the chevron bathing suits hanging on the fence outside and the soft cotton cover-ups. While contemplating the snowy winters ahead, it was hard to think about buying a new bathing suit, but I'll definitely be back to Undrest by the Sea come summertime.

Tortoise General Store: This store is sort of like the California cousin of Muji in NYC. It's smaller, softer and packed with just as much Japanese design goodness. Perfect for picking up a gift for a friend, or neighbor who waters your plants while you're away. Be sure to check out their online shop.

Apartment Number 9- An incredible men's store in Brentwood Country Mart. Among designers like Band of Outsiders, Rag & Bone, they sell Rouge's Gallery T's from Portland, Maine (a fav!). The owner also told me to celebrate their Apartment Number 9's 9th B'day, Rogue's Gallery has designed a limited edition number 9 tee. If you're in LA, pick one up for me!

Since most of Sat was devoted to checking out vintage stores in the area, look for LA Shopping Part 3- Vintage tomorrow...

LA Shopping- PART 1

If New York is a city of great food and nightlife, LA is a city of shopping. For every major designer store, there are five smaller boutiques selling cool clothing and home items. I spent most of the day yesterday checking out the shops on 3rd St near West Hollywood. By no means a complete list, here are a few of my favorites...

Plastica- To say I felt like a kid in a pint sized candy store while shopping in Plastica is an understatement. I literally wanted to bounce on one of the ten Rody's they had on display. With everything made of brightly colored plastic it was hard not to fall in love with the pigeon lamps and wall clocks.

(Image courtesy of Plastica)

OK- I love walking into a store where the styling and design of the store perfectly match the items they're selling. The modern displays in OK show off a beautifully curated collection of modern home accessories and sustainable items. In the back of the store, the bright red circle painted on the wall and matching shelves hold the most incredible collection of art and coffee table books. I'd love to create something similar in my apartment. 

Tweek99- Who wouldn't love a store where everything is priced under a $100 and already packaged ready to give as a gift? This store would definitely be on my list for the holidays. I ended up with an incredible photography book about dogs.

(image courtesy of Tweek99)

Shopaholic Sample Sales- To say I hate shopping sample sales is an understatement. While I love the discounts, I loathe thumbing through the racks unorganized clothes and getting undressed in a room full of crazed shoppers. Lucky for me, I stumbled into Shopaholic Sample Sale. Not only is everything clean and nice, but the racks are organized by designer and color blocked! One of the owners at Shopaholic Sample Sale was on hand, pulled unusual items and she gave me honest opinions about everything I tried. Added bonus, she put everything back on the hangers! I walked out with several cools finds from designers like Elizabeth and James and Current Elliot for about a quarter of what I would have paid in other boutiques.

 (image courtesy of Shopaholic Sample Sales)

Joan's on Third- Shopping can make you hungry and good news for me the local favorite Joan's on Third was just around the corner. The pristine cafe and market makes the most delicious sandwiches and adorable cupcakes. Sitting outside you can watch the people go by, see the occasional celebrity (mine was Joanna Gracia) and listen to a new reality TV series formed over lunch at the next table over.

(image courtesy of One for the Table)

Look for LA Shopping- Part 2 (Santa Monica) and highlights from Rose Bowl Flea Market coming on Monday...

LA Love...

Today I'm blogging from LA. I'm out here for my first trip to the Rose Bowl flea market on Saturday. I already dreaming about the seven miles of cool vintage finds to dig through!  Plus, getting out of the monsoon rains we've been having in NYC is definitely a plus. Hello sunshine, I've missed you!

Being a foodie with less than 24 hours in town, I've already started hitting up some of the fantastic restaurants in LA. Last night included a stop at friend's top recommendation, Animal.  The chefs/ owners Jon Shook and Vinny Dotolo, were named Food & Wine magazine's list of Best New Chefs in America in 2009.

(image courtesy of LA2DAY)

The minimalist bar at the back of the restaurant is surpising comfortable. I waited about 15 minutes and was lucky enough to snag the seat on right side of the bar.

The food was unique and amazing to say the least. Hopefully you like to eat meat because there's a lot of it on the menu. I started with the lettuce, fresh beet, feta, pita and creamy sumac salad. Then moved onto and subsequently devoured two barbeque pulled pork belly sliders with homemade slaw. These were so tender, I had to eat them with a fork and knife.

 (Image courtesy of Daily News)

I was stuffed to the gills at this point and happily enjoying my wine, but just had to try the bacon chocolate crunch bar. This delicious dessert actually proves the point that anything (including chocolate) is better with bacon. Yum!

(Image courtesy of Food2)

Still digesting from last night...and probably will be for awhile, I'm off to explore some of the great vintage shops around LA.

If you have any LA recommendations of where to eat or shop, I'd love to hear!

Comic Book Art...

Check out these awesome vintage inspired DC Comic and Marvel prints by artist, Michael B. Myers Jr. Graphic and colorful, these prints have a great vintage feel. I would hang a few of these gallery style in an entryway or kids room. Check out the rest of the prints here.

(All images courtesy of slaterman23's Flickr Stream)

Vintage Trends Fall 2010

One of my favorite things about going to one of the larger flea markets, like Alameda Antiques by the Bay or Rose Bowl is not only picking up cool treasures, but seeing some of the larger trends in vintage. Like fashion, there are definitely popular vintage items that start popping up in antique shops and retail stores across the country.

Here are some of the trends I spotted at a recent trip to Alameda Antiques by the Bay...

Great natural curiosities finds like animal skulls were in high demand at the market.

Bright vintage college and city pennants
(image courtesy of Livingston & Porter on Etsy)

Lots of vintage typewriters and black rotary telephones... 

'Tis the season, vintage christmas ornaments were out in preparation for the Holiday season.

Vintage cloth mannequin forms

Although not new, I continue to see...

Vintage metal letters

Vintage signs

Any trends that you've spotted recently?