Hii everyone and happy Sunday! I’m home packing today for a very special, spontaneous trip this week 🥰
But in the meantime, I have a take: did we peak too soon when it comes to shopping? Think about it. Growing up, we had these incredibly customizable, magical shopping experiences— American Girl Doll, F.A.O. Schwarz, Bloomingdales — the kind of thing that felt like a true life event. So much of what’s out there now doesn’t come close.
So a few weeks ago I posted a video on Instagram airing my grievances with the retail space, and so many of you guys had similar sentiments. I woke up to hundreds of DMs from you guys: horror stories, dream stories, places I needed to check out immediately. There was such a clear through line in what you sent me that I knew I had to bring this conversation here properly.
Here’s where my head’s at on retail right now:
Luxury has gotten weirdly gatekept. Post-COVID, the walk-in-and-browse-and-maybe-impulse-buy experience is basically gone. Now it’s appointments, or standing in line. And I’m sorry, waiting in line is not a luxury experience. I get needing to manage store flow, but there has to be a better solve than making your highest-spending customers queue on the sidewalk. I get that most of us when investing in a big luxury piece, plan the buy, but there used to be magic in walking past a store and letting yourself be tempted. With queues and appointments that has totally dissappeared and is basically impossible now.
My next take is, mid-range shopping is a sold-out, pre-order, final-sale minefield. I recently shopped for an upcoming trip and 90% of what I wanted was either on final sale or on pre-order. If it’s about brands not overproducing, fine, I get it and support that. But final sale has become an epidemic. I was on The RealReal recently and realized bags in the $5,000–$6,000 range are now final sale? Literally why?? You cannot drop that kind of money on a bag without holding it, trying it against your body, making sure you actually love it. And if you do want to return something, some sites are charging $400–$500 return fees. That’s not a restocking fee — that’s just insane.
And then there is the recent Brandy Melville scandal. Brandy has removed their dressing rooms entirely and I’m sorry but this realllllyy got me. For those not familiar, after a viral moment about curtains not fully closing people were sticking gum to the walls trying to rig them shut, so their solution wasn’t to fix the curtains — it was to eliminate dressing rooms from every store in the country. For a brand that only sells one size. In 2026. Make it make sense. They have received so much backlash that employees were going on TikTok to distance themselves from the decision.
I also think, we’re all craving something personal, and nobody’s getting it. Like why can’t we have the American Girl Doll of shoes?! What struck me most reading through your DMs was how few of you mentioned a product, a discount, a deal. Almost everyone talked about a person or a feeling — a stylist at Nordstrom who used to pull your sizes and dedicate an hour to you, a sales assistant in Bordeaux who wrote a handwritten note with her favorite local spots, a store in Japan where three people worked together to style, steam, and translate for you, then hemmed your pants in 30 minutes. Nobody said “I got an amazing discount.” Everybody said some version of “I felt seen.”
And maybe that’s the actual thesis here: we peaked too soon because we were trained to expect that kind of attention, and it mostly disappeared. Forever 21 in 2009. Bloomingdale’s at 16, salespeople who remembered your name. Buying a prom dress at Intermix. Club Monaco on Fifth Avenue in that Gossip Girl-adjacent 2012 haze. Henry Bendel, ABC Home, F.A.O. Schwarz. It’s been at least a decade since most of you could point to a genuinely great retail memory. My own version of this was Juicy Couture at the Malibu Country Mart, collecting charms for a bracelet that probably weighed ten pounds by the time I was done, and feeling like walking around that mall on my own was my first taste of independence. It was never really about the tracksuit. It was about the freedom of choosing who I wanted to be that day.
So is retail broken, or are we just jaded? Probably some of both. But going through this whole exercise reminded me the answer isn’t to give up on shopping in person — it’s to find the places still doing it right, and to actually build relationships with the people who work there. If you find a salesperson or a store that gets you, get their info. Text them. Let them keep an eye out for you. That one-on-one connection I think is really where the future is at.
Let me be clear, I don’t think retail is dead. I think LA, specifically, is in the middle of a genuine shopping renaissance. So I spent the last few weeks going everywhere, taking notes, trying things on. Consider this the definitive Let’s Get Dressed guide to shopping in LA (my personal masterpiece). Enjoy!
LA has the best vintage in the country, full stop. Where New York and Paris tend to specialize in special-occasion, collector’s-item vintage, LA is unmatched at the everyday stuff — vintage denim, graphic tees, crewneck sweaters, the pieces you actually live in.
Scout is probably the most well-known vintage store in LA, and for good reason — it’s been around for over a decade, so the curation is expert-level. Walk in and you’ll find stacks of vintage Levi’s, white tees, Gildan hoodies, but also, hanging on the walls, genuinely special pieces. I was there recently and they’d clearly just taken in a huge Dries Van Noten consignment — I had eight or nine Dries pieces in my fitting room alone, including a floral dress I’m still thinking about. Yes, there are tourists, yes it’s a Melrose staple, but it earns the reputation.
RLT is the one you’ll hear me mention on nearly every episode. Rachel, the owner and curator, has been my Carolyn Bessette Kennedy since I was a kid — classic, pared-back, American-chic taste that shows up in every piece she picks. She got her start during COVID selling home goods from her vintage runs (she’s at the Rose Bowl flea market every month at 5 a.m.) and has since built a standalone store on Beverly plus one in Montecito. Don’t expect gowns here — expect the perfect black jacket or perfect black trouser. She’s also launched her own label under the RLT name; I live in her cotton cashmere tee, and she just dropped jeans too.
Reformation Vintage was my biggest surprise. I almost wrote it off in the first few racks (some early pieces were more Express than gems), but keep going — there’s a full wall of gowns and dressed-up pieces if you have an event and don’t want to spend a fortune, and I found a beaded, lace-topped skirt that looked like vintage Prada or Miu Miu for $218. It’s right on Melrose, well-curated, and worth the sift.
The RealReal is a given if you love the site (I do), but the Brentwood and Melrose locations are worth stopping into for the ability to actually try things on before you commit. I’m just such a Real Real girl I can’t not stop in when I pass one.
And if you’re looking for something for a special occasion, Happy Isles is a must. I got this dress I wore to the Devil Wears Prada premiere from there, the girls there are amazing. It’s appointment only so make sure you book in advance.
With Love, Lenny, run by Lindsay Davidson Paley, is out in the valley, so it’s a mini trek if you’re not already on that side of town — but she personally fits you to your ideal pair, in every color, shape, and style. It’s an investment, but if you’re looking for your forever jeans, it delivers. Sooo good. She was also just on the podcast!
RLT also has a great denim selection, on top of everything else. As noted above!
The Dig in Venice has an owner with what I can only describe as a sixth sense for jeans — he’ll hand you a pair without measuring anything and it’ll fit perfectly. It’s a real sift (piles everywhere), but it’s an authentic, laid-back, very-Venice experience, and if you’re chasing a specific vintage 501, this is where you’ll find it.
And last but certainly not least, I have to mention Denim Revival, because it’s in my neighborhood and really does have a cult following. I’ve brought jeans in to get tailored there more than once and it’s never not worked out. They also carry their own denim.
Mohawk General Store, in Silver Lake, has the BEST buy in LA if you love emerging, cool-girl brands — Paloma Wolf, Dear Francis, Toteme, some Jean Paul Gaultier, a full rack of FLORE FLORE and Cou Cou Intimates. It’s a destination, not a casual walk-in unless you live on the East Side, but worth the trip, especially if you love shopping the internet’s favorite e-commerce brands but want to try them on first.
Earl IRL is the newest concept store on this list, owned by Laurel Pantin. It’s tucked into the second floor of a building in Beverly Hills. To me this experience felt like going over to your most fashion obsessed best friends house and trying on all her clothes. Small, jewel-box-sized, and stocked with brands like Kallmeyer and Comme Si, but also Laurel’s own vintage finds mixed in, including a couple of Lanvin dresses and a Prada dress I spotted on the racks. If you love bold, colorful, West Coast dressing, this is your store. She had so many fun Summery pieces and just such great shoes and bags. I also love that it’s so intimate. If you go there she will help you shop.
Then we have what I like to call The Big Three — the OG LA concept stores you cannot skip. Maxfield and Just One Eye are museum-caliber, high-end concept stores (Just One Eye also does a lot with art, which I always love), and American Rag Cie on La Brea is the more accessible original — a little bit of everything, and where I bought my first Double RL pieces back in high school. Whitney Port told me it’s still one of her go-tos, so... yeah, you have to go.
Rachel Comey on Melrose Place was the biggest surprise of this whole project. I’d never really shopped the brand much before walking in — it felt like being at a stylish friend’s house in Spain, warm and lived-in, clothes draped over the couches. The sales associate pointed me straight to the 60%-off section before anything else, I pulled ten pieces to try on, and the dressing room might be the most beautiful one I’ve ever stood in. Seven of the ten pieces I tried were gowns or event dresses — there was a $300 dress I still think about not buying. Gift of Gabs said it’s one of her fav places to shop and for good reason. I will be returning every season.
The Row, also on Melrose Place is an obvious must stop. Even if it is just for window shopping. They might make you wait, but it’s a chic wait — you’re in a courtyard, not a rope line. Worth the visit even just to look. It’s just a seriously stunning store experience. The picture below says enough.
Jacques Marie Mage in Venice is appointment-only and feels like a museum: everything displayed like an artifact, glass cases, descriptions. The sunglasses are the most beautiful I’ve tried on and hold real resale value if you’re thinking of it as an investment.
A few more worth the stop: Toteme on Melrose. Guest in Residence in Beverly Hills, which often has in-store activations like custom embroidery or a coffee cart. Bode in West Hollywood, great for one-off pieces you won’t find online (also a go-to for baby gifts). Both Double RL locations, in West Hollywood and Malibu, for classic California-inspired pieces. And the new Cherry store at the Malibu Country Mart — there’s a vintage car inside, the woodwork is beautiful, and it’s the spot for West Coast Americana basics.
If you’re visiting LA or just planning an fun shopping day, here’s how I’d break it up:
West Hollywood: Park near Melrose and La Cienega and work your way up — The RealReal, the Cherry store, Scout, Reformation Vintage, and the Melrose Place stretch (The Row, Rachel Comey). Below La Cienega gets you Toteme and the new Jacquemus on Robertson. It’s all walkable. Grab an Uber up to RLT after (about five minutes), and if you’re in the mood, Community Goods and Erewhon Cafe are right in that pocket. An all around true LA experience.
Abbot Kinney / Venice: The Dig and Jacques Marie Mage anchor this one, and the food is genuinely better than West Hollywood’s — RVR for Japanese (keep in mind you need a resy unless you’re getting there right at open), Gjusta for deli/bakery vibes, Gjelina for a cute brunch or french dinner moment, and if you love candy like me, Lil Sweet Treat is a MUST. The bars in that area also get good starting around 6–7 p.m. if you want to stay through the evening for apertivos or going out.
Malibu Country Mart: More of a full day trip, but worth it — Cherry, Cross Creek Ranch (Kith, Frankies Bikinis, Mad Happy, Guest in Residence), Oliver Peoples. Then you have to do lunch or dinner at Taverna Tony’s or Lucky’s.
If you only have one day, prioritize West Hollywood and if you’ve got a second, pick Venice or Malibu depending on your mood.
I want to know where you’re shopping — especially if you’re an LA local so let me know in the comments below! We also just launched the Let’s Get Dressed broadcast channel on Instagram (look for the LGD Chat bubble in our bio), and I’ll be posting there every week so definitely look there for additional shopping recs.
I have to say, even with everything I said up top, going through this whole exercise reminded me that the magic isn’t gone — it’s just harder to find, and it usually comes down to a person, not a store. The vintage seller who’s loved this since she was a teenager and built her own label out of it. The concept store owner mixing fashion with art. The denim guy who can eyeball your size from across the room. It’s there we just have to make a conscious effort to find it.
I hope everyone is having an amazing summer weekend and I will see you guys next week!
xo Liv
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