Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
245
Tips
Do wntown Deals
At the base of the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising's Downtown cam-
pus, you'll find the
FIDM Scholarship Store,
where donated new merchandise is
sold at bargain prices. All sales go toward scholarships for FIDM students, so you
can shop with the karmic awareness that you're helping the fashion industry's
next generation of designers with their tuition. It's located at 919 S. Grand Ave.,
at W. 9th St. (
&
213/624-1200;
www.fidm.edu).
fashion district, this is where you'll find everything you've ever wanted at bargain prices.
Go early on Saturday mornings if you want to blend in with the locals.
Okay, so y ou have to wake up a little early to experience the
Southern California
Flower Market,
742 Maple Ave. between 7th and 8th streets (
&
213/627-2482;
www.
laflowerdistrict.com), but if y ou do it right—w ear comfor table shoes, bring cash, and
pick up a cup o' joe—you'll find walking through the myriad of flower stalls a very tran-
quil experience. Besides the usual buds and stems that you see in
Sunset Magazine,
you'll
be surprised to find tr opicals such as torch ginger, protea, and bird of paradise. You can
purchase flowers by the bundles at amazingly lo w prices.
THE SAN FERNANDO VALLEY
STUDIO CIT Y
( Ventura B lvd. btw . Laur el Cany on B lvd. and F ulton A ve.) Long
beloved by Valley residents, Studio City is where you'll find small boutiques and antiques
stores, quirky little businesses (many dating fr om the 1940s and 1950s), and less con-
gested branches of popular chains like G ap, Pier 1 I mports, and B lockbuster. Melanie
Shatner, daughter of William, stocks M arc Jacobs and J oie at her chic boutique
Dari,
12184 Ventura B lvd. (
&
818/762-3274
). F ashionistas flock to TV personality Lisa
Rinna's
Belle Gray,
13812 Ventura Blvd. (
&
818/789-4021
). Actress Kirsten D unst's
mother has a day spa,
Belle Visage,
13207 Ventura Blvd. (
&
818/907-0502;
www.belle
visage.com), that caters to the y oung and the beautiful—or at least those in sear ch of
youth and beauty. Parking is a cinch on the str eet except during holiday season, when
stores team up to decorate these blocks and often obser ve extended evening hours. The
4 blocks of Ventura Boulevard between Laurel Canyon Boulevard and Whitsett Avenue
are the most concentrated.
9
PASADENA & ENVIRONS
Compared to L.A. 's behemoth shopping malls, the str eets of pr etty, compact P asadena
are a breeze to stroll. As a general rule, stores are open daily from about 10am, and while
some close at the standar d 5 or 6pm, many stay open until 8 or 9pm to accommodate
the before- and after-dinner/movie crowd.
OLD PASADENA
Dating back to the 1880s, the 22-block-long O ld Pasadena
district (centered on the intersection of Colorado B lvd. and F air Oaks Ave.; www.old
pasadena.com) 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 & Bar-
rel. Going through its own sort of renaissance, more upscale shopping has been added to
the strip, including a
Tiffany & Co.,
68 W. Colorado Blvd. (
&
626/793-7424;
www.
tiffany.com), which has become some what of an attraction mor e than a stor e, and the
