Weekend Argus (Saturday Edition)
Rodeo drive is a dead end – try city instead century
If you imagine swanning through celebrity-filled stores, then you need to think again
LOS Angeles’s Rodeo Drive is among the most famous luxury shopping areas in the world.
Exclusive brands such as Gucci, Prada, Cartier and Tiffany fill its three gilded blocks, and it has long been the cornerstone of any visit to Beverly Hills. But despite its reputation as a glam celebrity hot spot (Julia Roberts’s shopping spree in still resonates 29 years later), you’re more likely to run into tourists taking selfies under the Via Rodeo sign than glimpse Jennifer Lopez dropping $2 190
(R31 806) on a jewelled satchel at Alexander McQueen.
Tour buses are no longer allowed to cruise the street, and the stores have other ways to keep out the riff-raff. Some require, or highly recommend, an appointment just to enter and others have price tags so outrageous (from gold-mirrored sunglasses at $740 to men’s suits starting at $10 000) that window shopping is the only rational option, even for those flush with holidayspending money.
There’s plenty to gawk at without dropping a fortune, however, such as Anderton Court, the whitesteepled complex of shops designed by Frank Lloyd Wright; the Matisse lithographs and Dalí collages at the museum-quality Galerie Michael; and the stunning black-and-yellow
Pretty Woman Bugatti Veyron often parked outside House of Bijan. Consider visiting in the morning before the crowds show up (many garages offer free two-hour parking).
Rodeo Drive, between Wilshire and Santa Monica boulevards, Beverly Hills.
For a more accessible, yet still glitzy shopping experience, head 3.2km west to Westfield Century City. This outdoor mall in LA’s high-rise commercial district got a nearly $1 billion makeover in 2017 and quickly established itself as a shopping and lifestyle mecca that appeals to a raft of Angelenos.
Tiffany & Co, Tory Burch,
Rolex and Tesla Motors are tenants, as are mall stalwarts such as Gap, H&M and the Sunglass
Hut. Dining options are equally diverse: Taiwanese soup-dumpling emporium Din Tai Fung, Del Frisco’s Double Eagle, a steakhouse with a Champagne bar, Compartés
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Chocolates, a confectionery that has catered for Academy Awards; and kiosks selling everything from waffle fries to probiotic tonics. Eataly, the White House-sized eat-shop-sip Italian marketplace above Macy’s, is a nonstop frenzy of charcuterie, gelato scoops and wood-fired pizzas.
Linking it together are teak woodsitting areas, open to everyone, with fire pits, native plant arrangements and a pool-cabana vibe that invites lingering. Other thoughtful touches: modern sculptures on loan from the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and small, discreetly placed parks for dogs and children.
Those hoping for brushes with extreme wealth and fame needn’t worry that it’s all down on Rodeo Drive: Miley Cyrus,
Chrissy Teigen, Katie Holmes and Jamie Foxx have all been spotted in Century City, and trendy pop-up events like digital weight-training demos and the launch of Kim Kardashian West’s beauty brand will likely keep them coming.
The mall also offers a VIP helicopter experience that flies out-of-towner to Los Angeles International Airport, then whisks them by luxury car to Century City for a day of curated shopping and dining. Selfie-taking optional.
10250 Santa Monica
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Blvd.