SUN, SAND, SHOPPING
Five itineraries for browsing in Southern California beach towns.
SEASIDE SHOPS, clockwise from top, include the stylish Alternative Apparel flagship in Venice; Deep Pocket Jean Co. for men, in Hermosa Beach; Laguna Supply, specializing in contemporary fashion in Laguna Beach; and family-owned A’maree’s, a Newport Beach retailer with cutting-edge European and Japanese designs.
BOOTH MOORE FASHION CRITIC >>> With summer in full swing, it’s time to hit the beach — for sunning, yes, but also for shopping.
There’s a new level of sophistication in shopping along the coast. Locally owned boutiques with a curated point of view are changing the flavor of beach towns from beer-soaked spring break haunts to chic retail and dining destinations.
The style renaissance is fueled in part by the success of Venice’s Abbot Kinney Boulevard, which this spring was dubbed by GQ magazine the chic-est street in America. With stores in Craftsman-style houses and beach bungalows, along with ping-pong tables and comfy outdoor seating that encourage visitors to linger, even the retail scene has a friendly sense of community.
“Abbot Kinney has an energy that you cannot find anywhere else in L.A.,” says fashion maven Jeannie Lee, who recently opened a second outpost of her popular 3rd Street boutique Satine on Abbot Kinney Boulevard, selling $500-plus designer clothing by Jenni Kayne and Alexander Wang alongside wetsuits by Cynthia Rowley for Roxy. “No matter what day of the week or time of day, there are always people on the street. Since we have been open I noticed that we have little to no down time. The level of traffic coming into the store is intense.”
Stylish, new independent boutiques have been cropping up in Manhattan Beach (Dawn Baker), Hermosa Beach (Deep Pocket Jean Co.) and Long Beach (Port, Long Beach Trading Co.) too, as fashion industry vets have moved from L.A. to the beach cities and designers and merchandisers who came of age working for surf and skate industry giants have left to start their own lines and retail endeavors.
“Hermosa is filled with authentic creativity,” says David Borgatta, who opened Deep Pocket Jean Co. on Pier Avenue in Hermosa eight months ago after working as a designer for 25 years at Quiksilver, Guess, Hollister and other brands. “The old Hermosa is changing. It’s more about lifestyle, and not just partyers and drunks. We also have a lot of pro athletes living here.”
We surveyed the scene and came up with coastal shopping itineraries that sample stores in Laguna Beach, Newport Beach, the South Bay and Long Beach. But let’s start with the most chic of streets, Abbot Kinney.