3/8/19
Solo Pilgrimage
The Echo Park and Silver Lake neighborhoods are the vintage mecca of the LA area. It’s like Brooklyn but with more dog shit and optimism. The restaurants and flea markets are filled with people actively wearing true vintage, and the styles and types of vintage stores and vendors are varied enough for every vintage shopper. I happened to do my wandering on a Saturday and so I had the additional shopping pleasure of two, mostly vintage, flea markets in parking lots along Sunset Boulevard.
Luxe De Ville: 2157 Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, CA
Density Scale: 2
www.instagram.com/luxe_de_ville
This smaller shop is clean, highly curated, and racks are easily shopped. During our visit the store was crowded with young women, the very friendly owner interacting with all of them. Once things quieted down he and I began a conversation about 1970’s men’s shirts complete with pulling up pics on our phones for reference. All the pieces were in stellar condition most notably the rounder of perfect 1950’s to 1970’s hats including a purple print, structured, turban hat a la Grey Gardens.
Organized by type of garment and color, the store also includes new vintage look and art garments. There is a rather large shoe section for an intimate store of this size and a small jewelry section at the register.
Price Sampling:
1960’s wool dress $68.00
1980’s three piece, short sleeve suit $60.00
1950’s fuzzy gray and celadon double breasted coat $75.00
1970’s blue patterned short sleeve men’s shirt $28.00
Worship: 1104 Mohawk Street, Los Angeles, CA
Density Scale: 3
www.instagram.com/shopworshipla/
Around the corner from Luxe De Ville and located in a small bungalow, the interiors of this store are light and bright, white walls and sparse displays grounded with dark wood floors. Collection is organized by type of garment and then color. The front room is the men’s collection, racks of t-shirts and button down shirts in a moderate density, women’s garments are in the next room, the main space, including an Edwardian style front desk and good music.
Price Sampling:
1960’s polyester Maurice stretch dress $52.00
1970’s olive dress with a V-neck tunic vest $168.00
1960’s shift dress with ¾ length sleeve jacket $300
1960’s purple velvet Donnkenny jacket $54.00
Dinner Stop: Sawyer 3709 Sunset Blvd [sawyerlosangeles.com] intimate hipster joint with a good burger and a great bar, tried a cocktail with local distillery Mulholland Gin. [mulhollanddistilling.com/about]
3/9/19
Look Vintage: 1459 Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles, CA
Density Scale: 2
www.instagram.com/look.vintage
The owner of Look is a former Hollywood stylist and her highly curated collection shows it. The intimate space has an industrial loft vibe with a glass storefront pouring light into the brick walled and warm wood floors. Garments are organized by type and are primarily 1960’s and 1970’s. Boutique display in a low density collection gives a high end impression. An impressive 1970’s vintage belt selection rings the register, a fraction of the owner’s extensive personal collection.
1980’s striped jeans $150.00
1970’s woven leather belt $48
1970’s Burray Olson suede duster $200
Sunday’s Best Thrift: 1557 Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles, CA
Density Scale: 5
www.instagram.com/sundaysbestthrift
Sunday’s Best is a combination thrift and vintage shop divided right down the middle. This is a real rummaging store for treasure hunters including a dollar bin and .99 ties. Interior is no frills with a concrete floor, dropped ceilings and fluorescent lighting. There is a surprisingly large vintage children’s clothing section.
Price Sampling:
1960’s peach, dropped waist dress $39.99
1970’s burgundy peasant dress with lace neck $14.99
1970’s polyester paisley shirt dress $24.99
1970’s child’s calico peasant dress $9.95
A’s American Vintage: 1707 Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles
Density Scale: 4
www.instagram.com/asamericanvintage
One of four in the chain of A’s American, this location is BOOT CENTRAL and has a large selection of men’s vintage. A similar feel to Sunday’s Best, it has a vintage and thrift mix but not separated quite as intentionally. Tons of belts, a shelf full of high school band shako hats, and a surfboard makes for an eclectic mix.
Price Sampling:
1990’s belt with rhinestone buckle $14.00
Lemon Frog Shop: A Vintage Bazzar 1202 N. Alvarado St., Los Angeles, CA
Density Scale: 5
www.instagram.com/lemonfrogshop
Marked with a black and white awning and a logo of a fedora clad frog, this shop is pleasantly packed with a high density display. High ceilings lessen the cramped feeling and the displays beautifully climb the walls above the racks. The merchandising is done by era, sets of era clothing and accessories including a particularly lovely 1920’s dresses along one wall. There are full shelves of shoes and a healthy selection of purses. Garments are organized by price and then style, the front containing more affordable pieces and prices increasing as you head towards the back of the store. The special collection lives in the “way back” behind a velvet rope. The owner was friendly and helpful to shoppers, even posing with a vintage clad pair emerging from the dressing rooms.
Price Sampling:
1950’s pink lace sheath dress $98.00
1950’s orange and grey check dress $89.00
1960’s black patent purse with chunky handles $50.00
1960’s pink velvet patterned dress $250.00
Lunch Stop: Leela Thai Restaurant 1737 Silver Lake Blvd a small and casual restaurant with good and reasonable Thai curries and noodle dishes.
Foxhole: 3318 W. Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles CA
Density Scale: 3
Foxhole specializes in vintage denim and their appeal is not only in their expert specialization, but in tailoring services to make sure that “made for you” piece is in fact, made for you. Denim jeans, jackets, and vests are displayed in a minimalistic and masculine interior space with a workshop vibe. Raw metal, tools, trucker hats and Budweiser pillows set the tone…a matchbook business card finishes it nicely. If the denim pricing was more than you were in the mood for, they have a great smaller section of t-shirts including an iron-on Three’s Company gem that was hard to walk away from.
Ragg Mopp Vintage: 3816 Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, CA
Density Scale: 4
https://www.raggmoppvintage.com/
www.instagram.com/raggmoppvintage
Ragg Mopp is another must see shop as you head down Sunset Boulevard. The store is bright and nicely laid out, with ample dressing rooms. They have a large and varied dress selection, and the owner Mychelle adds fun commentary on the price tags.
Price Sampling:
1950’s raspberry ruffled dress $120.00
1960’s light blue boucle sheath dress $60.00
1960’s beige flannel wiggle dress $65.00
1960’s Japanese boat print dress $60.00
Vintage Pilgrimage 