This site uses cookies. Select "Block all non-essential cookies" to only allow cookies necessary to display content and enable core site features. Select "Accept all cookies" to also personalize your experience on the site with ads and partner content tailored to your interests, and to allow us to measure the effectiveness of our service.
Racked is no longer publishing. Thank you to everyone who read our work over the years. The archives will remain available here; for new stories, head over to Vox.com, where our staff is covering consumer culture for The Goods by Vox. You can also see what we’re up to by signing up here.
As if the gorgeous beaches, thriving food scene, celebrity sightings, and perpetually sunny weather aren't enough, Los Angeles is also home to some of the best shopping experiences on either coast.
It should come as no surprise that the designer options are amazing here. Scores of cutting-edge labels are based in LA, from avant-garde brands like Eckhaus Latta to casually luxe clothing maker Raquel Allegra to the iconic California girl source for sustainable dresses, Reformation.
You can visit their retail shops to really get to know a label or shop for their wares in hip boutiques like LCD and Mohawk General Store, where homegrown brands are stocked alongside international favorites.
If vintage and thrifting are more your thing, Los Angeles plays host to world class flea markets in almost every neighborhood, and a well-curated vintage or consignment shop is never hard to find.
With so many different shopping destinations to explore in the same city — including Abbot Kinney in Venice and the legendary collection of designer stores on West Hollywood's Melrose Ave — LA has enough A+ stores to keep you busy for as long as you care to shop. — Cory Baldwin, shopping editor
We couldn't include everything here; for more on LA's best, check out our Los Angeles shopping guides. Reporting for this story was contributed by Natalie Alcala and Danielle Directo-Meston.
Part art space, part boutique, Just One Eye features wares from interesting, hard-to-find labels like Maiyet, Piece d’Arnarchive, Wanda Nylon, and The Row alongside one-of-a-kind artworks and furniture. The building the shop is housed in, Howard Hughes' Art Deco headquarters, is almost as interesting as what's for sale.
Frequented by tastemakers and big spenders (James Goldstein and the Olsen twins are regulars), Maxfield feels more like an art gallery than a boutique, and is home to the only Apple Watch shop-within-a-shop in the country. Inside you'll find a vintage selection of goods from Chanel and Cartier to modern pieces by Rick Owens, Saint Laurent, and Balmain.
The LA location of Carol Lim and Humberto Leon’s ultra-hip boutique is home to a who’s who of high-end, left-of-center fashion labels plus some very special OC collabs, laid out like an old school California mall. Fun fact about the West Hollywood location: The building is Charlie Chaplin's former dance studio.
Reformation founder Yael Aflalo's LA-based brand started with re-worked vintage dresses, and has grown into a household name for its sexy, sustainable pieces. The Melrose Ave shop also offers jewelry by cult favorites like Pamela Love, Mania Mania, and Unearthen.
Cameron Silver's high-end resale boutique offers hard-to-find designer vintage pieces from labels like Céline, Prada, and more. The jewelry and accessories selection is a good place to focus; the shop always has an impeccable range of It bags, from quilted Chanel crossbodies to Birkin bags.
Founded as a first-of-its-kind denim boutique, this pop culture icon (mentioned in everything from Clueless to Dawson's Creek) grew into a collection of different concepts under the same roof, each offering its own selection of high-end wares that range from shoes to art objects to perfume. The SaMo location closed down earlier this year and the Melrose Ave building was recently bought; for now the new owners promise the brand will continue to operate as it has for the past five decades.
This massive vintage warehouse in Chinatown offers up rack after rack of vintage dresses organized by decade and color (including a bridal salon available by appointment only). If you take the chalk sign out front at its word, there's a strict "no boys allowed" policy in place to let the whole space function as a giant dressing room.
The original location of Jade Lai's Creatures of Comfort (the other is on Mulberry St. in New York) offers beautiful things from designers like Y's, Acne, and Mansur Gavriel alongside a simple in-house line. Definitely check out NYC-import Assembly New York next door too, for a great mix of contemporary designers, cool vintage, and another well-executed in-house line.
This resale boutique is where LA recycles its chicest wares. The picky buyers ensure that whether you’re looking for last-season Marc Jacobs or vintage dresses, a walk through the racks will always yield steals and surprises.
Undefeated is an LA streetwear institution. This shop has the best sneaker selection in town, with lots of hard-to-find, limited-edition kicks from a constantly updated inventory. There are outposts in Santa Monica and Silver Lake, but the La Brea location also stocks the brand’s in-house apparel line.
Satine is a celeb stylist go-to for its long list of wearable, cutting-edge fashion designers that are about to blow up (this shop was one of the first to support Alexander Wang). The flagship West Third location shuttered earlier this summer, so visit the smaller but still great outpost in Venice.
This Silver Lake lifestyle boutique offers pieces from high concept designers like Dries Van Noten plus minimalist favorites like Black Crane and Rachel Comey, all laid out in gorgeous display alongside luxe shoes, home goods, apothecary items, and more. If you’re looking for men’s gear, skip two doors down to the similarly stocked Men's store (and don't miss Lacausa, housed right in between, while you're at it).
Indie boutique TenOverSix offers playful apparel and accessories for men and women by cool LA-based brands like Clare Vivier, Eckhaus Latta, and Unearthen as well as likeminded designers from A.P.C. to Acne. In addition to ready-to-wear, the shop stocks well-designed gifts, home goods, art, books, and often hosts pop-ups to bring even more unexpected discoveries into the store.
LA-based designer Lily Ashwell makes affordable, laid back apparel as well as custom bridal wear. Her Venice Beach shop, which opened last summer, stocks her eponymous line plus a dreamy selection of locally sourced home goods that give off the same elegant earth mother vibes.
One of the last (and best) independent bookstores still standing in Southern California. It has the vibe of a small town, homey bookstore—complete with a store cat—but the might to lure top talents for events, regularly hosting heavyweights like Bret Easton Ellis, George Saunders, Chelsea Handler and others. Plus, they've got the satellite store devoted to books of art, design and fashion.
Touted as the world's largest record store, Amoeba offers a dizzyingly encyclopedic buying experience with something for everyone — even those who don't actually need to buy music but just want to kill a couple of hours with really great people-watching. Check the website to find out about records signings and the lineup of shows hosted right inside the store.
Parisian-born, LA-based accessories designer Claire Vivier offers much more than her sleek, colorful bags and small leather goods at her eponymous brand's Silverlake flagship; you’ll also Annie Costello Brown jewelry, books, vintage magazines, and plants, plus the brand's vintage-style CV sweatshirts and T-shirts. Don't miss the fun collabs, and if you're not going to be in the neighborhood, the West Hollywood location is top-notch, too.
One of the best places to luxuriate on Melrose Place, Violet Grey offers a carefully curated collection of products plucked directly from the kits of Hollywood's leading makeup and nail artists. After you've stocked up, stop by The Row next door to admire Mary-Kate and Ashley's gorgeous LA-based line.
Located in DTLA's arts district, this cool shop concept is also a hair and nail salon and event space. In addition to carrying local favorites like Skingraft and Minimale Animale, the shop also stocks a range of cult-favorite international brands, including Rick Owens, Linda Farrow Gallery, and Vivienne Westwood.
The former buyer of Satine launched Super Street in 2014, and the shop has been wowing visitors and locals alike ever since with its unique mix of art objects, home goods, designer fashion and streetwear, and accessories.
This vintage-inspired, made-in-LA clothing line is feminine and sexy with just the right amount of southern California boho thrown in the mix. The addition of a bridal boutique and home section only make us love the brand more — and the same goes for their first retail location, opened in Venice earlier this year.
From edgy Danish designer Henrik Vibskov to embellished shoes from Brother Vellies, LCD stocks a wide range of the latest and greatest. The sunny Venice boutique is also filled with warm hues and lots of plants, so you can’t help but feel in a good mood while you shop.
If you want to drink the healing crystals and Tarot card Kool-Aid, the best place to do so in LA is House of Intuition, a metaphysical boutique with three locations in greater Los Angeles where you can find ceremonial candles and incense, essential oils, household magic tools, and more. While the Melrose location is convenient if you're shopping in that area, the original Echo Park store is where all workshops and healer sessions take place.
If there’s an “It” shoe, Mona Moore stocks it. From satin slippers by The Row to Marsèll’s perfect oxfords to two thousand dollar furry Maison Margiela booties and those Vetements boots, the shoe selection here inspires worship. There are clothes, too, like Haider Ackerman sweaters, Re/Done jeans, and Lemaire capes. (If you’re looking for something under $100, browse the apothecary section.)
Founded in 2004, indie book store Ooga Booga is many things: Art shop, zine publisher, clothing store, event space. The original Chinatown location (at 943 N Broadway) is still running, but now most of the programming — concerts, film screenings, book releases — take place at the new store, dubbed Ooga Twooga.
Opened in 2012, this quiet Silver Lake boutique showcases owner Kathryn Bentley's eponymous fine jewelry collection as well as her fun costume line, which includes lots of colorful enamel and funky shapes. The shop also carries apothecary goods like Monk Oil and Fielle Fragrances alongside ceramic planters, shoes, and apparel by other local makers.
With pink walls and girly dresses, Myrtle supplies Los Angeles with a stacked roster of lesser-known female designers. Head here for Rachel Antonoff, Samantha Pleet, Charlotte Stone, and a few under-the-radar labels you haven't discovered yet.
One of the anchors of the Abbot Kinney shopping stretch, Heist stocks favorite labels from overseas like Isabel Marant and Jerome Dreyfuss, as well as stateside offerings from the equally-covetable (and local) Raquel Allegra and Ace & Jig.
An interior design-lover's dream, this new NYC export on Melrose Place is set up like a completely shoppable apartment — from the Coutu toothpaste to clothing by J.W. Andersen and Toteme, you can buy anything you see on display. Don't forget to consider the gorgeous selection of art objects and sleek home wares, too.
The clean lines and minimal interior of Des Kohan is a perfect setting for the super-luxe, modern clothes sold at this designer-approved shop, which carries items from Helmut Lang, Jenni Kayne, Azzedine Alaïa, LA-based Juan Carlos Obando, and many more.
Part art space, part boutique, Just One Eye features wares from interesting, hard-to-find labels like Maiyet, Piece d’Arnarchive, Wanda Nylon, and The Row alongside one-of-a-kind artworks and furniture. The building the shop is housed in, Howard Hughes' Art Deco headquarters, is almost as interesting as what's for sale.
Frequented by tastemakers and big spenders (James Goldstein and the Olsen twins are regulars), Maxfield feels more like an art gallery than a boutique, and is home to the only Apple Watch shop-within-a-shop in the country. Inside you'll find a vintage selection of goods from Chanel and Cartier to modern pieces by Rick Owens, Saint Laurent, and Balmain.
The LA location of Carol Lim and Humberto Leon’s ultra-hip boutique is home to a who’s who of high-end, left-of-center fashion labels plus some very special OC collabs, laid out like an old school California mall. Fun fact about the West Hollywood location: The building is Charlie Chaplin's former dance studio.
Reformation founder Yael Aflalo's LA-based brand started with re-worked vintage dresses, and has grown into a household name for its sexy, sustainable pieces. The Melrose Ave shop also offers jewelry by cult favorites like Pamela Love, Mania Mania, and Unearthen.
Cameron Silver's high-end resale boutique offers hard-to-find designer vintage pieces from labels like Céline, Prada, and more. The jewelry and accessories selection is a good place to focus; the shop always has an impeccable range of It bags, from quilted Chanel crossbodies to Birkin bags.
Founded as a first-of-its-kind denim boutique, this pop culture icon (mentioned in everything from Clueless to Dawson's Creek) grew into a collection of different concepts under the same roof, each offering its own selection of high-end wares that range from shoes to art objects to perfume. The SaMo location closed down earlier this year and the Melrose Ave building was recently bought; for now the new owners promise the brand will continue to operate as it has for the past five decades.
This massive vintage warehouse in Chinatown offers up rack after rack of vintage dresses organized by decade and color (including a bridal salon available by appointment only). If you take the chalk sign out front at its word, there's a strict "no boys allowed" policy in place to let the whole space function as a giant dressing room.
The original location of Jade Lai's Creatures of Comfort (the other is on Mulberry St. in New York) offers beautiful things from designers like Y's, Acne, and Mansur Gavriel alongside a simple in-house line. Definitely check out NYC-import Assembly New York next door too, for a great mix of contemporary designers, cool vintage, and another well-executed in-house line.
This resale boutique is where LA recycles its chicest wares. The picky buyers ensure that whether you’re looking for last-season Marc Jacobs or vintage dresses, a walk through the racks will always yield steals and surprises.
Undefeated is an LA streetwear institution. This shop has the best sneaker selection in town, with lots of hard-to-find, limited-edition kicks from a constantly updated inventory. There are outposts in Santa Monica and Silver Lake, but the La Brea location also stocks the brand’s in-house apparel line.
Satine is a celeb stylist go-to for its long list of wearable, cutting-edge fashion designers that are about to blow up (this shop was one of the first to support Alexander Wang). The flagship West Third location shuttered earlier this summer, so visit the smaller but still great outpost in Venice.
This Silver Lake lifestyle boutique offers pieces from high concept designers like Dries Van Noten plus minimalist favorites like Black Crane and Rachel Comey, all laid out in gorgeous display alongside luxe shoes, home goods, apothecary items, and more. If you’re looking for men’s gear, skip two doors down to the similarly stocked Men's store (and don't miss Lacausa, housed right in between, while you're at it).
Indie boutique TenOverSix offers playful apparel and accessories for men and women by cool LA-based brands like Clare Vivier, Eckhaus Latta, and Unearthen as well as likeminded designers from A.P.C. to Acne. In addition to ready-to-wear, the shop stocks well-designed gifts, home goods, art, books, and often hosts pop-ups to bring even more unexpected discoveries into the store.
:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/50490231/kristen-cole-tenoversix-2.0.0.0.0.JPG)
:format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/62541942/just-one-eye-LA.0.0.0.jpg)
:format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/62541943/maxfield-LA.0.0.0.jpg)
:format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/62541944/opening-ceremony-LA.0.0.0.jpg)
:format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/62541945/reformation-melrose-ave.0.0.0.jpg)
:format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/62541946/decades-inc-LA.0.0.0.jpg)
:format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/62541947/fred-segal-melrose.0.0.0.jpg)
:format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/62541948/shareen-vintage-square.0.0.0.jpg)
:format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/62541949/Creatures-of-Comfort-LA.0.0.0.jpg)
:format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/62541950/wasteland-LA-melrose.0.0.0.jpg)
:format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/62541951/undefeated-La-Brea.0.0.0.jpg)
:format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/62541952/satine-abbot-kinney.0.0.0.jpg)
:format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/62541953/mohawk-general-store.0.0.0.jpg)
:format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/62541954/kristen-cole-tenoversix-2.0.0.0.0.0.jpeg)
:format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/62541955/lily-ashwell-venice-shop.0.0.0.jpg)
:format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/62541956/skylight-LA.0.0.0.jpg)
:format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/62541957/amoeba-music-Sebastian_Artz___Getty_Images.0.0.0.jpg)
:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/66230353/shutterstock_1560124391.0.jpg)
:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/48740115/curbed_placeholder.54.0.jpg)
:format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/62541958/clare-v.0.0.0.jpg)
:format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/62541959/violet-grey-LA.0.0.0.jpg)
:format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/62541960/The-well-exterior.0.0.0.jpg)
:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/61797541/o.0.jpg)
:format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/62541961/shop-super-street-la-brea-02_2016_05.0.0.0.0.jpg)
:format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/62541963/stone-cold-fox-venice.0.0.0.jpg)
:format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/62541965/shop-lcd-venice-01_2016_05.0.0.0.0.jpg)
:format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/62541966/house-of-intuition-candles.0.0.0.jpg)
:format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/62541967/mona-moore.0.0.0.jpg)
:format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/62541968/ooga-booga-LA-fb-pic.0.0.0.jpg)
:format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/62541969/dream-collective-LA.0.0.0.jpeg)
:format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/62541970/myrtle-echo-park-01_2016_05.0.0.0.0.jpg)
:format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/62541971/Heist-LA.0.0.0.jpg)
:format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/62541972/the-apartment-by-the-line.0.0.0.jpg)
:format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/62541973/des-kohan.0.0.0.jpg)