Los Angeles Feature

Melrose Place is an in-the-know haven to savvy Los Angeles fashionistas and a charming anecdote to the city's addiction to strip-malls and megashopping centers.

Offering luxuries less bohemian than Los Feliz and Silver Lake and more upscale than Abbot Kinney but without the pretentiousness of Rodeo, it's easy to be seduced by its youthful sophistication and leafy, ivy-laden exteriors.

Not to be confused with the cheaper and trendier Melrose Avenue, Melrose Place is a chic Mid-City enclave three blocks long, east of La Cienega, one block north of Melrose Avenue.

Reminiscent of the best of West Village shopping in New York, here haute couture meets pedestrian-friendly, tree-lined walkways. Melrose Place also offers an opportunity to pampering like wealthy and famous Angelenos do: by the hands of some of the most renowned celebrity hair stylists and facialists on the planet.

Melrose Place can easily be part of your day visiting the Pacific Design Center, the shops on Robertson, Fred Segal Melrose Avenue, vintage shop Decades, and the Beverly Center.

Parking

Pay attention to street signs here because, if you have to venture deeper into the residential section of the neighborhood beyond the parking meters, there are various restrictions that change from one side of the street to the other. Certain stores and salons on Melrose Place offer to park your car for you, so look for shop-specific valet podiums that have the names of the stores they represent written on them.

Refueling

Eat With the Locals. A three-minute drive from Melrose Place, Urth Caffé (8565 Melrose Ave.) has healthy, casual fare and is the week-end lunch it-spot for pretty scenesters. Nearby Comme Ça (8479 Melrose Ave.) is David Myers' take on the classic French brasserie and at night hums with an attractive Industry-type happy crowd.

Eat Like a Celebrity. If you shop until dinnertime, Nobu Los Angeles (903 N. La Cienega Blvd.), Ago (8478 Melrose Ave.) owned by Robert De Niro and the Weinstein Brothers, and paparazzi outpost Koi (730 N. La Cienega Blvd.) are within walking distance.

What You'll Want

Red Carpet Glamour

Carolina Herrera. Evening gowns and smart dresses share space with bridal gowns.

Oscar de la Renta. Signature socialite stylings encompassing elegant and ladylike ready-to-wear.

Monique Lhuillier. Neutral tones provide a brilliant backdrop to seductive red carpet gowns.

Au Courant Staples

Marc Jacobs. Flouncy feminine separates and chic accessories.

Chloé. This French luxury import is devoted to youthful, casual separates.

Marni. Bohemian luxury-wear in a modernist space.

Get Pampered

Kate Somerville. This med-clinic is known for their Red Carpet ready treatments.

Frederick Fekkai. A two-story mecca salon for the luxury hair experience.

Best Hostess Gifts

Santa Maria di Novella. Pick up the rose water and potpourri at this Italian-centric apothecary.