![The best shopping in Los Angeles](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/travel/los-angeles-shopping-GettyImages-579740000.jpg?imwidth=680)
The best shopping in Los Angeles
From fabulous boutiques to flea markets, discover the city's top retail spots
![The best shopping in Los Angeles](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/travel/los-angeles-shopping-GettyImages-579740000.jpg?imwidth=680)
For most people, shopping in Los Angeles conjures ideas of soulless, fluorescent-lit strip malls or traipsing up and down Rodeo Drive alongside gaggles of tourists. But dig a little deeper and you’ll find the city has plenty of quirky independent stores, along with new age metaphysical shops selling all manner of notions and potions and flea markets overflowing with antiques and weird bric-a-brac. Every area has something to offer, from the upmarket boutiques on Melrose Place to the labyrinthine cult bookstore in Downtown or the hip design-led shopping centre in trendy Culver City. As always in LA, there’s something for everyone.
Read on for our expert's top picks, while for more inspiration, here are our in-depth guides to the city's best hotels, restaurants, bars and attractions, plus how to spend a weekend in Los Angeles.
Find places to shop by area
West Hollywood
Reformation
This LA-based sustainable fashion label – whose strapline reads 'being naked is the #1 most sustainable option, Reformation is #2' – has gained a cult following for its ethical, easy-to-wear dresses since launching in 2009 and counts Taylor Swift, Rihanna and Rosie Huntington-Whiteley among its fans. Their bright, Scandi-minimal Melrose Avenue store has taken a high-tech approach to shopping, with touchscreens lining the walls where you can browse items, pick out the ones you like and have them delivered straight to your dressing room, all at the touch of a button.
Contact: thereformation.com
Prices: ££
![Reformation, Los Angeles](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/Travel/Destinations/North%20America/USA/Los%20Angeles/reformation-los-angeles-shopping.jpg?imwidth=350)
Glossier
When the millennial beauty brand opened its first LA store on swanky Melrose Place, the queue to get in routinely snaked around the block. Since then, they’ve closed and reopened with a new LA flagship just down the road, where now both the queue and the store take up an entire block. It’s hard to miss, picked out in peachy pink and emblazoned with gigantic, billboard-style Glossier lettering along the outside, a nod to the classic Hollywood sign. Inside, it’s all about getting the perfect Instagram shot, whether that’s in front of the enormous Glossier Globe sculpture, next to huge prop versions of the brand’s Cloud Paint or Lip Gloss or at one of their signature You Look Good mirrors, each equipped with the ideal selfie lighting.
Contact: glossier.com
Prices: £
Melrose Trading Post Flea Market
This popular weekly outdoor flea market, held on the campus of Fairfax High School every Sunday, draws scores of Hollywood stylists and trend-setting locals, who flock here for the wide range of stalls selling everything from one-off artworks and eclectic antiques to handmade jewellery and expertly sourced vintage clothing. Famous for its excellent people-watching opportunities as much as its 250 stalls, the market also features live music from local artists on two separate stages and an array of street food vendors, serving up homemade lemonade, tacos and hot dogs.
Contact: melrosetradingpost.org
Prices: £
![Melrose Trading Post Flea Market, Los Angeles](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/Travel/hotels/north-america/los-angeles/melrose-trading-post-los-angeles-shopping.jpg?imwidth=350)
Just One Eye
This cavernous concept store in Hollywood’s buzzy Sycamore District is a cross between a fashion boutique and an art gallery, with rails filled with pieces by Gucci, Prada and Alexandre Vauthier and walls lined with artworks by Andy Warhol, Takashi Murakami and Damien Hirst. Founded by Paola Russo – formerly the artistic director of LA’s infamous Maxfield boutique – and Victoria Niarchos, the 13,000 square foot space prides itself on housing an eclectic mix of clothing, homewares and objets d’art. There aren’t many other places you’ll find Converse sneakers customised by celebrated American artist Nate Lowman (yours for a mere £21,170) sitting alongside furniture designed by Brad Pitt.
Contact: justoneeye.com
Prices: £££
Downtown
Dover Street Market
This sprawling former warehouse, spread across two connected buildings in the rapidly gentrifying Arts District in Downtown LA, is the sixth outpost for the trend-setting global store and LA’s first. The industrial-modern space, which at times feels more like an art gallery than a shop, is home to established brands like Maison Margiela, Prada and Gucci, as well as emerging talents like British designers Molly Goddard and John Alexander Skelton. Alongside separate sections for men’s and women’s fashion, there’s also an area called 'Unisex Street', with items designed to be worn by either gender.
Contact: losangeles.doverstreetmarket.com
Prices: £££
![Dover Street Market, Los Angeles](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/Travel/Destinations/North%20America/USA/Los%20Angeles/dover-street-market-los-angeles-shopping.jpg?imwidth=350)
Arcade
LA is known for its vintage fashion scene, the best of which can be found at one of its multiple flea markets. But if you’d rather someone did all the hard work for you when it came to tracking down retro gems, head to Arcade in DTLA’s The Row. Helmed by Richard Wainwright, the man behind the hugely popular A Current Affair vintage show, this is a real treasure trove for second-hand apparel, where you’ll find hand-picked selections from the collections of several vintage specialists. The rails in the cavernous, concrete-pillared space are filled with couture pieces from the likes of Chanel, Yves Saint Laurent and Balenciaga, as well as rare, one-off finds by more underground labels.
Contact: arcadeshops.com
Prices: £££
The Last Bookstore
California’s largest new and second-hand bookshop has garnered a devoted following since opening in 2005 for its imaginative art installations, featuring books suspended in flight as they erupt from the shelves and a walkthrough tunnel made out of hardbacks. A celebration of all things print, the store boasts over 250,000 books (and vinyls too) spread across two floors, some on offer for as little as $1 (75p), and encourages the selling and trading of books in a bid to keep the paper and ink business alive – its name is a thinly-veiled jibe at the e-reader industry.
Contact: lastbookstorela.com
Prices: £
![The Last Bookstore, Los Angeles](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/Travel/Destinations/North%20America/USA/Los%20Angeles/the-last-bookstore-los-angeles-shopping.jpg?imwidth=350)
Silver Lake
Spellbound Sky
This metaphysical emporium is the number one spot for spiritual Angelenos on the hunt for supernatural talismans. Founded by fashion world veterans and self-proclaimed 'man witches' Mark Phillips and Martin Anguiano, the store is filled with colour-coded assortments of crystals, ritual candles, essential oil potions, metaphysical books and new age jewellery by local designers, and has become a hit with modern magical thinkers and celebrities alike – Cara Delevingne and Alexa Chung have been known to pop in. They also hold regular meditation workshops, including a popular Guided Crystal Meditation.
Contact: spellboundsky.com
Prices: £
![Spellbound Sky, Los Angeles](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/Travel/Destinations/North%20America/USA/Los%20Angeles/spellbound-sky-los-angeles-shopping.jpg?imwidth=350)
Venice
Tumbleweed & Dandelion
Housed in the owner’s former home, a cute Venice Beach bungalow complete with a white picket fence, this interiors store on fashionable Abbot Kinney Boulevard is a veritable Aladdin’s cave of colourful throw cushions, scented candles, patterned rugs and stylish furniture. Wicker baskets are piled high and coffee tables laden with tasteful knick-knacks in the labyrinthine shop, while outdoor furniture, retro signs and hanging plants spill out onto the charming back patio. As well as ready-to-buy pieces, the store also offers custom furnishings, upholstering, and interior design services.
Contact: tumbleweedanddandelion.com
Prices: ££
![Tumbleweed & Dandelion, Los Angeles](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/Travel/Destinations/North%20America/USA/Los%20Angeles/tumbleweed-and-dandelion-los-angeles-shopping.jpg?imwidth=350)
Culver City
Platform
This design-led outdoor retail centre became one of LA’s hottest urban developments when it opened in the emerging neighbourhood of Culver City in 2016. Designed to look like a series of stacked shipping containers and featuring a psychedelic dripping rainbow mural by Jen Stark, it’s hard to miss. Inside you’ll find a carefully curated selection of brands, including celebrated accessories designer Janessa Leoné, LA-based fashion label Wyeth, lifestyle brand Broome Street General, known for its artfully selected homewares and gifts, and sustainable label Res Ipsa, which makes its one-of-a-kind pieces from repurposed materials from around the world.
Contact: platformla.com
Prices: ££
![Platform, Los Angeles](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/Travel/Destinations/North%20America/USA/Los%20Angeles/platform-culver-city-2-los-angeles-shopping.jpg?imwidth=350)
Pacific Palisades
Palisades Village
Rick Caruso’s latest venture, following on from his West Hollywood landmark retail centre The Grove, is Palisades Village, a beautifully designed outdoor mall in the upmarket enclave of Pacific Palisades. A cross between Rodeo Drive and Disneyland, with its perfectly manicured lawns and storybook-cute walkways, the pedestrianised shopping area features swanky boutiques like Vince, Anine Bing and Zimmermann alongside more commercial brands like Alo Yoga and Brandy Melville. There are also several cafés and restaurants, including The Draycott, the Brit-inspired eatery by Matt Hermer (the man behind Boujis and Bumpkin).
Contact: palisadesvillageca.com
Prices: ££
![Palisades Village, Los Angeles](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/Travel/Destinations/North%20America/USA/Los%20Angeles/st-frank-palisades-village-los-angeles-shopping.jpg?imwidth=350)
La Brea
American Rag Cie
Since launching in 1984 with a few containers of vintage clothes from Marseille, this sprawling store on La Brea Avenue has become a mainstay of California fashion and culture, epitomising LA’s laidback jeans-and-a-tee look. There are separate sections for men and women stocking a wide range of international brands, as well as a World Denim Bar with jeans in every colour and fit imaginable and endless rails of hipster slogan T-shirts. Don’t miss the Parisian-inspired homewares (think pretty glass carafes and whimsical tea towels) in Maison Midi, the adjoining shop-cum-café.
Contact: americanrag.com
Prices: ££
![American Rag Cie, Los Angeles](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/Travel/Destinations/North%20America/USA/Los%20Angeles/american-rag-cie-los-angeles-shopping.jpg?imwidth=350)
Malibu
Ranch at the Pier
While the gaudy Santa Monica Pier may be fun, for an altogether chicer experience head further down the Pacific Coast Highway to Malibu Pier. There you’ll find the So-Cal favourite Malibu Farm Café at one end of the pier and the Ranch at the Pier store at the other. Founder by JCB heiress Alice Bamford and her partner Ann Eysenring, this cool boutique is expertly curated, selling everything from limited-edition surfboards and quirky beach umbrellas to graphic t-shirts and kidswear (plus a selection of Bamford body and skincare products). Little ones will love the excellent selection of toys and stuffed animals, as well as the retro pinball machine.
Contact: onegunranch.com
Prices: ££
![Ranch and the Pier, Los Angeles](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/Travel/Destinations/North%20America/USA/Los%20Angeles/malibu-farm-la-destination-guide.jpg?imwidth=350)
How we choose
Every attraction and activity in this curated list has been tried and tested by our destination expert, to provide you with their insider perspective. We cover a range of budgets and styles, from world-class museums to family-friendly theme parks – to best suit every type of traveller. We update this list regularly to keep up with the latest openings and provide up to date recommendations.
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