Shopping Day on Melrose Place in Los Angeles

For many years, it’s been an annual tradition for me to drive down to Los Angeles for a week or so and explore the latest and greatest the city has to offer. And trust me, it’s a happening place, always with new stores and restaurants, establishments moving to new locales, and others closing — it’s a lot to keep up with. But one of the true staples I enjoy year in and year out is Melrose Place – a tony, tree-lined street brimming with luxury boutiques just off Melrose Avenue. This is not where you’ll find the same fashion houses as you do on Rodeo Drive. Instead, this is a more select street housing stores with a wide range of personal styles.

(Update 2/2022: This street is undergoing a transition right now.  The stores mentioned in this article are still there, but there are numerous empty storefronts.  There are more mid-level shops going in, such as Loveshack Fancy, L’Agence, and Iro.)

I couldn’t help but pop into Isabel Marant. Damn, I wish I could capture her essence of Parisian cool girl chic. Instead, I’ll garner a bit of the attitude with these killer boots. Just the tone of metal on the toe slayed me. Yes, please!

I tried on a dream of a bohemian dress at Chloe, admired the wares (and the courtyard pool) at The Row, and couldn’t resist trying on a few pieces at Irene Neuwirth. Her designs make me want to add more color to my jewelry box!

All this shopping always makes me hungry, and there’s no better way to satisfy your appetite than Fig and Olive. (Sadly, this location permanently closed during the Covid pandemic.) Their memorable rosemary focaccia is always paired with three varieties of olive oil. On this visit, there was their standard (which is my perennial fave), one flavored with blood orange, and another infused with a balsamic aged 18 years. This visit I finally tried their namesake salad, which I’d happily order again.

Refueled, and ready to tackle more shopping, I made my way to two of my favorite stores. But…you’ll have to become an exclusive member to read about those…

Afterwards, I made my way to Melrose Avenue to check out Church for the first time (an easy 5-minute walk from Melrose Place). Wow—never have I seen a store quite like this! The owner, Rodney, has an incredibly unique eye for his buy. It’s rock n’ roll mixed with bohemian — one-of-a-kind mesh and chain garments, leather, silk, and don’t forget the caftans! Yes…I may have gone home with one. This store requires a few laps to really take it all in. Definitely stop in when you’re in the neighborhood.

Oh, and parking tip: If you want to spend the day there and not deal with street parking, there’s a public parking lot just behind Melrose Place, with the entrance on La Cienega.

Happy shopping! For access to my little black book for Los Angeles, click here to become a member.