7 Best Places to Shop in The Valley, Los Angeles

This liquor store should be on your Valley itinerary as it's a quintessential L.A. photo op thanks to the 32-foot neon clown sign out front. His evil grin has been beckoning to passersby since the 1960s to stop in to peruse the boozy inventory that now boasts 750 different beers and 1,000 types of spirits. Thanks to his appearance in Clueless (it's where Alicia Silverstone gets held up) and a Snoop Dogg music video, the clown has become an icon. They even sell merch with his mug on it.

Long before BookTok existed—for 38 years to be exact—Iliad has been building its 150,000-strong collection of used books, including a solid selection of graphic novels and rare tomes, and moonlighting as a filming location. Its aisles, home to lovable shop cats Zeus and Apollo, and exterior can be seen in numerous TV shows and movies, including Lethal Weapon 3, American Horror Story, and S.W.A.T. 

For nearly four decades, the wardrobe departments of film and TV productions have been shipping clothes and props here. Besides scoring occasional gems from designers like Armani, Versace, Chanel, and more for between 35% and 95% off retail price, insiders flock here to get their hands on a piece of Hollywood history. Each purchase includes the title and code from the production it was used on.

Melrose Avenue might be Los Angeles’s most well-known vintage shopping destination, but Burbank’s Magnolia Park Merchants shopping district gives it a run for its money. Spanning several blocks on Magnolia Boulevard with some stores on scattered side streets, this revitalized area of independent boutiques, self-care purveyors, cafés, and eateries has a small-town feel and easy parking that Melrose lacks. It's heavy on well-stocked vintage, thrift, and antiques shops—Junk For Joy, Best of Times Antiques, Studio Hope, The Holding Company, Chance Vintage, Yes Baby! (which has a secret arcade in back), The Blue Pig, Hive & Hanger (owned by a beekeeper out to educate the public), and Playclothes Vintage.

But there's also an occult apothecary (The Crooked Path), vinyl vendor (Run Out Groove Records), a sourdough bakery (Random Acts of Breadness), a collection of comic books and pop culture collectables (Blast From The Past), jewelers (Stay Home Friend), a horror and paranormal museum/oddities gift shop/bookstore/goth clothing boutique (The Mystic Museum), a throwback video store that holds screenings (Be Kind Video), and a plant nursery (Tansy). There's even a vintage and makers' mall with a cat-themed section and adoptable kittens in the window (Catnip Coalition).

The idea of going to Los Angeles to buy furniture may sound nuts, but it'd be crazier to miss this curated collection of vintage seating, dining sets, and storage pieces sourced across Europe through a network built by Midcenturyla's owners over 20 years in the business. The current showroom obsession is all things '60s–'80s French and Italian from names like Cassina, B&B Italia, and Roche Bobois.

The corner of Ventura and Coldwater—the former site of a legendary old Hollywood hangout called Sportsmen's Lodge—is hopping once again with the arrival of this sleek open-air collection of shops, restaurants, and wellness providers. After a stint in the hyperbaric oxygen pod, grab one of those extravagant Erewhon smoothies people are constantly talking about on social media and peruse the racks of athleisure at Vuori, Hoka, FP Movement, and Alo. After attending a Ikebana or fairy terrarium workshop at Rolling Greens nursery, sit under the redwoods (a holdover from the hotel's heyday) or alongside the water feature to enjoy nibbles from L.A. staples like Kismet Rotisserie, Sugarfish, Hi-Ho Burgers, Uovo, or Winston's Pies.

Shopping malls and The Valley are forever linked thanks to Valley Girl and other iconic '80s flicks. If you feel your trip to the 818 isn't complete without a shopping spree, this is the best of those bastions of capitalism still standing due to a recent renovation, the best collection of high-end designers in town after Rodeo Drive (Balenciaga, Jimmy Choo, Bottega Veneta, Christian Dior, Hermes, Tiffany), a med spa, and L.A.'s biggest Nordstrom. The state-of-the-art movie theater has a bar and concessions delivered to your seat. Pinstripes offers bowling and bocce. Topanga Social, a huge food hall, is brimming with trusted local proprietors like Jinya Ramen, Amboy burgers, Katsu Sando, Slab, and singer Christina Milian's Beignet Box.