So, Ms. Kim Austin and 4 other friends and family went with
us to Los Angeles to go fabric shopping.
We had tons of fun. The fabric
shopping was overwhelming if you do not have an idea of what you plan on making
in the future. I just kinda browsed and
got some random fabrics that I liked and thought I could use for a future
project. Below is what we
did on our trip. CLICK TO READ MORE AND SEE MORE PICTURES
Day 1 – We did not do too much because of delayed flights
and missing luggage. We did grab some
food at the famous St. Louis based Sweetie Pies restaurant. The food was really good. The place was super tiny and we had to wait 1
hour in line just to get in the hole in the wall place but the food was good. It took us about 1 hour to get there from the
airport area (LA traffic) but the trip was worth it.
Later that day we went to a couple of Malls. I wish I knew the names of them (sorry) but
they did not compare to some of the other shopping areas we saw and visited.
Day 2 – We went to eat at Roscoes chicken and Waffles before
we went to the Garment District. The
food was really good there as well. After we got
a full off of chicken and waffles, we headed to the fashion district, which is why the
trip happened in the first place. As I
noted before, there were streets io fabric stores, tons. You could pick and choose and negotiate easily. Kim and I bought some double sided sequin fabric
that cost $30 a yard online. We
negotiated and got it for $10 a yard.
Talking about happy campers J woo hoo.
Talking about happy campers J woo hoo.
Because I make dance wear as well, I bought a number of stretchy fabrics at some good prices and after negotiations. I paid 8 – 10 dollars a yard whereas if I bought it from somewhere online like Spandex World, I would pay like 15 or 16 a yard. It was great shopping. We visited Michael Levine's fabric store in the Garment District. This place is always recommended by Mimi G. It was huge and had tons of fabrics but the prices were pretty high compared to some of the other places around the area. I did buy various colors of some colored plastic chain. I use this on my dance wear so it was a great find.
After fabric shopping, we walked around until our feet hurt. Stores closed (around 5 pm). We stayed until almost 5. I bought some perfume, sunglasses from Santee Alley. Let me touch on Santee Alley for a minute. There were tons of vendors there but they all had the same stuff. I was bored after a block or two. We were exhausted but had planned to go out to eat for dinner. So, after we left, we went to change clothes and we picked a restaurant named Tart. The restaurant was nice and had an Aquarium in the floor. Too bad we could not eat there. We did not get to eat there because we did not have a reservation. (oh wow). We would have had to make the reservation 2 days in advance to eat there in the first place. I hear a lot of L.A. restaurants are like that. So we went back to the hotel and ate at the bar.
Day 3 – This was our last day, we got up to go to get some
food and to go sight-seeing. On the way to get food, we stopped at a cute little thrift store on the way, Helping Hand Thrift Shop. The older, nice, friendly gentleman (can't remember his name :( ) said that his Thrift store has been there for 22 years. It looked like it. The place was packed with vintage items. Really packed!!
After the Thrift Store venture, next we went to the Farmers Market and The Grove, and they are right next to each other, literally. I was surprised that everything was open especially because it was Easter Sunday. We ate at a place called Dupar’s. The food was good. I think it is open 24 hours. We sat on the patio and went to get Mimosas from next door before our food came out. After we ate we went to the Grove and just walked around, road the trolley and did a little more shopping. It was nice. I recommend you visiting there if you are ever in LA.
After the Thrift Store venture, next we went to the Farmers Market and The Grove, and they are right next to each other, literally. I was surprised that everything was open especially because it was Easter Sunday. We ate at a place called Dupar’s. The food was good. I think it is open 24 hours. We sat on the patio and went to get Mimosas from next door before our food came out. After we ate we went to the Grove and just walked around, road the trolley and did a little more shopping. It was nice. I recommend you visiting there if you are ever in LA.
After the Grove trip and shopping. We went to find the Hollywood sign and ended up going up a huge mountain I think it is called Griffin park - Learn about it here!
Overall, the girls trip was nice.
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