Fashion Blog » Boutique of the Week

Anyone who is a fan of eco-friendly, reworked vintage clothing, the following may excite you:  Many months ago, probably years, I was reading the magazine I too often refer to, NYLON, when I came across a little blurb about an up-and-coming independent clothing line called Taxi CDC. It was prior to me moving back to Los Angeles, so I thought finding any pieces from the line would be a difficult task to feat. Almost one year ago, upon moving back into the City of Angels, I was perusing my new neighborhood–Echo Park–when I came to discover that the actual Taxi CDC boutique was right here in my new hood!

Located right off of Sunset near the firestation, Taxi CDC calls a teeny-tiny boutique home. I’ll be honest, I’ve never set foot inside the place, only because I’ve written it off as too expensive, probably. It’s wrong of me to assume, and to my surprise the prices are typical indie boutique prices. After driving by the place almost every single day, I was sad to see when it was getting cleared out. It looked as though the poor place was going under, but I found out on Sunday that it is merely undergoing a renovation. Phew. I can still redeem myself and go shop come next paycheck. A mini-market taking place in the parking lot of my work had several vendors this last weekend, one of them being Taxi CDC itself. Racks of reworked, well tailored vintage dresses for reworked prices ($45 each). Oh, how I wanted to grab two and go, but not this week unfortunately. Instead I thought I’d spotlight the cute label and their goodies…

Originally a Mexican mumu, this fabric was cut into a feminine strapless dress, $96

A western plaid men’s shirt fashioned into a comfy and forgiving tube top, with an elastic band near the bottom to add some volume. You can totally find a version of this at a lot of contemporary clothing stores right now, but this is a handmade piece that has better detail and quality, $60.

Many of their styles consist of these redesigned 80’s vintage dresses. Not a look for everyone, but definitely something fun for the more adventurous. I would wear this with a structured jacket, a sweater would be bad since the sleeves have a flutter to them, $92.

All dresses available at taxicdc.com.

Find at Smarter.com:  Shop through a wide variety of women’s dresses.

Gallery Couture is the brainchild of brothers David and Afshin Haghani, who have been bringing “good taste” to Long Island’s Gold Coast since the opening of their first shop in 1991. Now, with two stores under their belts–the Haghanis made their second retail endeavor in 2001– each season their offerings include must-have pieces by designers like Nanette Lepore, Robert Rodriguez, Elie Tahari, Rebecca Taylor and lots more.

While David Haghani is the business mind of Gallery Couture, Afshin Haghani is the buyer and the man behind the look of the boutique. Well traveled, Afshin keeps his fashion savvy well tuned with trips to Europe and Asia, where he checks out upcoming collections, cutting-edge designs and emerging trends. The super chic results of such research are seen in the fine contemporary fashions and designer clothing that grace the racks of the exclusive shop.

But you don’t have to make a trip to Long Island to shop Gallery Couture because they’re online now too. Thank goodness for technology, huh? First time customers get 10 % off on their first purchase when they type in 0808 at checkout. Oh, and I’ll pass on a tip from the Gallery Couture staff and regulars: “if you love it, buy it” because their inventory moves quickly.

Here are some of the Gallery Coutures’ favorites for the season:

M Missoni Long Cardigan, $795 Robert Rodriguez Jersey Chiffon Top, $295 Diane von Furstenberg Lluvia Dress, $295

To feast your eyes on the rest of Gallery Couture’s exciting collection, click here.

Even if you don’t live in LA, you probably still recognize the Lisa Kline store front, one of the usual backdrops to paparazzi snaps of A-list celebs out for a good retail binge. Ever the fashion mainstay, 10 year after opening its very famous doors, the ultra hip Robertson Blvd. boutique is still the prime destination for clothes hounds (famous and anonymous), who crave style that is quintessentially L.A. “Sexy, casual, hip and fun…is the premise upon which Lisa Kline is based,” says the shop’s namesake owner.

Pieces meeting that description by Sonia Rykiel, Puella, Karta, Ella Moss, Rachel Pally, Nola Singer, Kooba, and Andrew Marc among others, fill the original store as well as Lisa Kline Beverly Hills, which celebrated a star-studded grand opening earlier this year. Two Lisa Kline Men stores and Lisa Kline Kids are also part of the empire that grew out of Kline’s girlhood dream to open a clothing store. Always determined, she realized this goal after putting in time working retail, studying fashion design, and figuring out that she “would rather buy and sell clothes” than make them. Kline was only 25 when she started her business.

Kline’s enviable success is credited with shaping Robertson Blvd. into the internationally known shopping mecca that it is today. In a savvy move, Kline opened her boutique in 1995, when Robertson was still just a “quaint pretty decorator’s street” that hadn’t a fashion scene to speak of. What it did have was the famous Ivy restaurant, so it didn’t take long before Lisa Kline’s brand of top-notch customer service and well-dressed windows were attracting such famous faces as Liv Tyler, Halle Berry, Julianna Marguelis, Eva Longoria, Jessica Biel, Reese Witherspoon and so on and so on. Now, Lisa Kline dresses the best of them and holds court among neighbors like Tory Burch, Chan Luu, Kitson, Anya Hindmarch, Nanette Lepore and a score of others that now call the boulevard home.

Lisa hand picks fashions for her regular customers and was kind enough to tell us what she’s loving this season. In a word: Dittos. And I couldn’t agree more since they come in fun colors and are easy to wear–I’ve yet to see someone whose figure wasn’t flattered by their high-waisted, wide-legged fit. Here are some of the especially cute styles you can find on LisaKline.com:

You can also score the season’s latest “it” coats, dresses, jeans, handbags, accessories and more.

Click here for Lisa Kline locations.