Melrose Avenue

Melrose Avenue Review

Back when alternative music was, well, alternative (and not Top 40), Melrose drew a colorful crowd of underground punks and heavy metal peacocks scouring the anti-conformist clothing shops and record stores along the "strip" between Fairfax and Poinsettia. Today, Melrose's hip factor has been tempered with mainstream additions such as Urban Outfitters and Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf. You can find a good selection of vintage wear at resale shops Slow and Aardvarks' Odd Ark, or pre-Hot Topic alt-rock gear at Posers or Shrine, then get your designer fix by traveling farther west to higher-end shops such as Fred Segal, Paul Smith, Marc Jacobs, Vivienne Westwood, Vera Wang, Agent Provocateur, and Betsey Johnson.