There are many markets across the country for fashion buyers and editors to stock up on the latest and future trends, from Atlanta and Dallas, Vegas to LA, New York, Paris and many more. My absolute favorite market is the one in cool California.
There is so much to do and explore in L.A., I find myself so inspired after each trip. On my most recent market trip, I had the company of my wonderful husband. Pleasure and business at its best!
We arrived to Los Angeles on a Monday morning, ready to hit the day. We stopped by the Cooper Building first, where you can find most contemporary designers, fashion jewelry, accessories and shoes. – Just what I was searching for. We spent the day exploring together, a real treat since my husband never had a clue of the reality (and hard work) that goes into Market trips before this one. It felt good for him to witness my talents and expertise, and knowledge about fashion. We met several designers and along the way, discovered lots of great items for our grand opening in 2016. After wrapping up day 1, we headed down to the Perch for dinner and drinks, then rested for the next day.
On the second day, we hopped from from appointment to appointment. I can’t yet reveal the lines we chose, but I can assure you we picked up some chic shoes and fabulous fine jewelry that’s young and edgy, and the BEST handbags and scarves, too. After the success of day 2, we headed to Costa Mesa for dinner with friends by the bay, where we were merry all night.
Saving the best for last, day 3 beat them all. We spent most of our time shuffling from store to store for modern design inspiration, lines and creative ways to weave together these new ideas. We went to Kyle by Alene Too, and had lunch at Villa Blanca afterwards (longtime readers will remember that I am Lisa Vanderpump’s #1 fan).
Next, we stopped by a cool boutique called Satine that sold in-store art and carried all my favorite lines. You should really check out their store if you visit L.A. they have the edgiest little store that is certainly worth a special effort to see. We went to Maxfield’s, where stars like Justin Beiber frequent, it’s all high-end meets Rock and Roll. They have the hottest lines, from Hermes to Chanel, to Celine and RTA—a mixture of the best.
Then we headed to the famous celebrity boutique, Kitson. A staple in celebrity gossip magazines, I’m sure most of you have heard of this L.A. hotspot. There, we found the funniest gift items and lots of inspiration lines. One item of note was their exquisite customer service.
Finally, the creme de la creme of stores and the one that inspired me to pursue a career in fashion, the fabulous Elyse Walker. I once spotted the owner at Designers and Agents in NYC and fell in love. Her namesake store is the holy grail of specialty stores in my opinion, and I was thrilled to visit her beachside boutique in Santa Monica, where she has rolled three stores into one. The first, a clean, crisp room brimming with contemporary high-end merchandise, but also cool denim and everyday wear. The second room dons white carpet and velvet couches, the “designer room” where shoppers can find lines like Zimmerman, Valentino, and Brunello Cuchinelli. The third room was my personal favorite, with an open layout and setup so that the speciality handbags and shoes were the true focus. I was delighted to find a stocked bar, theist fashionable salesgirls and stylist, and the best handpicked mix of shoes and handbags in this room. A great way to cap off our trip to Market.
