The other day, my friend Laura and I went to explore the Los Angeles Fashion District. When I was a little girl, it was called the garment district and I used to go there to shop for jeans with my mom. Today the fashion district is 100 blocks of fashion and textiles sold at discount prices. So I am sharing our adventurous day with you.
First, we wore comfortable clothing and comfortable shoes. Most of the stores have changing rooms, but if you have a t-shirt on, sometimes you can just throw something on top of it to see if it will fit. The stores take debit and credit cards, so it isn’t necessary to bring a lot of cash.
Before we headed out, we printed out a map of the area. There are lots of places to park your car, but if you have a large car and a small car, I would suggest taking the small car. They stack the cars and the parking stalls are kind of tight.
We decided to focus our visit on Santee Alley. It is really an alley that looks sort of like a bazaar and a swapmeet from the alley, but like boutique shops once you are inside. This is what the view looks like from the alley.
It doesn’t look that special from the outside. Once inside the stores, they look like this:
The prices were pretty reasonable.
It was a great place to get inexpensive sandals, and oh the selection!
One of the best buys had to be these scarves, can you see the prices? Yes, it says 3 for $10. If you know me, you know I love scarves. (See how I organize them here).
That day, I ended up with two dresses, two tops and a couple of scarves.
We had a great time and our feet hurt from all the walking. We will have to check out the other blocks another day. If you want more information on the Los Angeles Fashion District, there is a very informative website with a map and directions here. Do you have a favorite discount shopping area? Please share!
Browsing the Atlas says
Nice pictures. It looks like a fun day of shopping. But 100 blocks! Makes my feet hurt just to think about it.
organizedisland says
LOL! I know right? Thanks for stopping by!
Melanie says
I’ve never gone shopping in the Fashion District. I think I’m definitely going to have to give it a try!
organizedisland says
Oh Melanie – yes, you need to go check it out. It’s huge!
smacksy says
I love Santee Alley. All the shoes want to follow me home. xoxo L
organizedisland says
Totally agree! Thanks for your sweet comment! 🙂
Paloma says
Looks like you had lots of fun! Great pics too!
organizedisland says
Thank you for stopping by!
Linda says
This looks like tons of fun, I would love to try it!! I haven’t been to LA in forever though…or California [even though I grew up there], I’m a New Yorker now! There is a garment district in New York, but it is full of tons of fabric stores!! I love the street shopping here though, but there is so much I haven’t had a chance to explore it all yet! I wonder how similar it is to LA?
organizedisland says
Oh I love New York but have never been to the garment district there! I have been to SoHo and Chinatown. Thank you for yor comment! 🙂
Jill @ Create.Craft.Love. says
I wish St. Louis had a shopping district worth going to. But alas I will have to live vicariously through you! Thanks for linking up to the CHQ Blog Hop! Happy to be following along with you! Hope to see you back next week!
organizedisland says
Thank you Jill for stopping by! 🙂
Sarah Palmer says
This looks like so much fun! We are headed to Cali at the end of May. We might add this to our list. Thanks for sharing. Pinning! Thanks for linking to Tips & Tricks. I can’t wait to see what you link up next. 🙂
Raquel says
It’s worth checking out Sarah. My suggestion is to get there early if you go, before it gets too crowded.