CA Field Trip – LA Fashion District

I dashed up north last week for a fun day at LA’s fashion district. It’s a modge podge of creative stuff: jewelry, fabrics, clothes, shoes, accessories, makeup, notions, jobbers, wholesalers, retailers, flowers, beads, furnishings, etc. The goal was to scout the area and return for specific wants and needs…major wants on my list now. I parked off Olympic Avenue and 9th, headed south, and stumbled upon everything from boxer briefs to gigantor prom dresses.

Food is everywhere. Multiple carts line the streets hawking tacos, kabobs, and fresh fruit. I’m a HUGE fan of mango and scooped up some sprinkled with chili pepper…don’t knock it till you try it, the heat brings out the sweet!

Early on I found a majorly cool fabric store specializing in home decor. The shop had multiple chandeliers, thousands of bolts of gorge cloth and was swamped by some very stylish interior designers…”yes, I think that color schema would look really rich in the west facing loggia”.

Large format linen drapes with kelly green piping and pearls…sumptuous.

Across the street was a smaller fabric shop equally as impressive with a great assortment of unique patterns and textures. I fell in love with their pink mock crock – very suitable material for a sticky five year old!

Pink mock crock somebody pinch me! — Pink mock crock, somebody pinch me!

A few blocks east I hit floral nirvana. The volume of garden goodies and installations was spectacular. I snuck up on a florist creating a showroom display who hemmed and hawed about being photographed but in the end allowed this pic:

This shot doesn’t do the end product justice, the bright pinks, gold tones and deep teal carpet were magical.

I now have the urge to take spray can to branch…

Near the flower district are vendors dedicated to notions and beading. I felt like a kid on a scavenger hunt who had stumbled on some serious hidden treasure.

Berger Beads hosts lots and lots of interesting baubles, great prices and inspiration pieces. I spied strands of large format acrylic beads to use on Christmas tree 2014 …can’t wait.

The LA fashion district has something for everybody. My tastes definitely skew towards home decor, but anyone with an open mind and comfy shoes will get a lot out of a few hours here. I’ve got my list for the return trip and will share some DIYs inspired the marts very soon. For more information on shops, hours, and directions check out this link: http://fashiondistrict.org.