West Hollywood is prime shopping real estate. And as they say with real estate, it's all about location, location, location. Here you can find art, design, and antiques stores, clothing boutiques for the ladies-who-lunch set, mega music stores, and specialty book vendors.
Melrose Avenue, for instance, is part bohemian-punk shopping district (from North Highland to Sweetzer) and part upscale art and design mecca (upper Melrose Avenue and Melrose Place). Discerning locals and celebs haunt the posh boutiques around Sunset Plaza (Sunset Boulevard at Sunset Plaza Drive), on Robertson Boulevard (between Beverly Boulevard and 3rd Street), and along upper Melrose Avenue.
The huge, blue Pacific Design Center, on Melrose at San Vicente Boulevard, is the focal point for this neighborhood's art- and interior design–related stores, including many on nearby Beverly Boulevard. The Beverly–La Brea neighborhood also claims a number of trendy clothing stores. Perched between Beverly Hills and West Hollywood, 3rd Street (between La Cienega Boulevard and Fairfax Avenue) is a magnet for small, friendly designer boutiques.
Melrose Place, not to be confused with the cheaper and trendier Melrose Avenue, is an in-the-know haven to savvy Los Angeles fashionistas and a charming anecdote to the city's addiction to strip malls and mega shopping centers. This three-block-long strip, east of La Cienega and a block north of Melrose Avenue, lacks the pretentiousness of Rodeo. Reminiscent of the best of West Village shopping in New York, here haute couture meets pedestrian-friendly, tree-lined walkways.
Finally, the Fairfax District, along Fairfax Avenue below Melrose Avenue, encompasses the flamboyant, historic Farmers Market at Fairfax Avenue and 3rd Street, and the adjacent shopping extravaganza, The Grove; and some excellent galleries around Museum Row at Fairfax Avenue and Wilshire Boulevard.