After spending nearly a week in LA, I have returned to Philadelphia with a new found appreciation for the west coast. I will admit that at first I was a bit skeptical, but maybe that’s just because our hotel was located in Korea town… The trade show was also nothing like what I expected (in a good way though). The LA showrooms are located in three buildings all within a three block radius. You could come and go as you please and no one thought anything of it. In New York, that would be like a stranger walking into your home unannounced. All of the clothing reps were incredibly friendly and welcoming. We picked up a bunch of great new lines, many of which we will have exclusively online, at least for the fall. Although I can’t reveal the names yet, here are a few pics of a couple of the collections…

We finished up our appointments Thursday afternoon and decided we should head to Rodeo Drive and Robertson Blvd to do some “competitive shopping”. Rodeo Drive was exactly how I remembered it; the street was lined with extravagant store fronts, perfect people, and top notch cars. The Prada store front was definitely my favorite. Here is a pic sandwiched by two street shots.

After Rodeo, we went to Robertson Blvd. It was less populated, but the scene was similar. The store fronts were not as pretentious, but the clothing inside was just as impressive. My favorite store was Curve. Known for its selection of “couture” staples and emerging designers, the racks were adorned with some of the most intricate and beautiful pieces of clothing I have ever seen. We also stopped by Kitson, Lisa Kline, Intermix and finished off the day with a cocktail at The Ivy.

After a successful work week, Jennifer, our new senior buyer, departed for NYC on Friday afternoon. It just so happened that at the exact time we dropped her off, we picked up my best friend from back home. He was staying at the W Hollywood. Okay, now this is LA. We had an amazing dinner at the rooftop restaurant, Drai, and decided to call it a night. The next day we rented a car and drove down the coast to Laguna Beach, which was beautiful to say the least. Later that night we decided to drive up to Malibu for dinner. We ventured up this “death cliff” with no guardrails, but the views were absolutely amazing. I headed back late Sunday night. All in all, business mixed with pleasure, it was a wonderful trip. Here are some pics from my weekend excursion: