Jaunted

With its independently owned shops, neighborhood regulars, and a few chain stores mixed in for good measure, Larchmont feels like a smaller, 21st century Pleasantville—but you're guaranteed sightings of Balenciaga bags along with nuclear families, golden retrievers in tow. Last week we told you about the newly-opened Larchmont Bungalow, but buyers can devour much more than red velvet pancakes on this compact stretch of stores and restaurants. Here are a few of our favorites:

· FLuXuS: This boutique offers an avant garde alternative to normally conservative, Longchamp-bag toting Larchmont shoppers. The clean, modern space houses tissue thin burnout tees, tights made cooler with zipper accents, and draped cardigans that you'll live in. Prices average from $50 for a tee to about $180 for a coat, but everything is well-constructed and worth the investment. There are also often sidewalk sales, where we've seen tees marked down to as low as $10-20. 202 N. Larchmont Boulevard, 323.465.9339

· NONI: Some of the same brands you'd find at Barneys or Ron Herman are at NONI, which is right next to a gourmet wine and cheese store that serves amazing prosciutto sandwiches. Pricey, yes, but look out for sales advertised on their (sometimes updated) blog to score up to 75% off of lines like Pour La Victoire and denim staple J Brand. 225 N. Larchmont Boulevard, 323.469.3239.

· Larchmont Beauty Center: LA's best beauty supply store, period. We know a stylish mom who actual abstains from cosmetics shopping in Northern California until her next trip to LA, when she can pick up essentials from well-known and hard-to-find lines like Davines and Crede haircare, upscale Japanese skincare lines, NARS makeup, Diptique candles, and potent $3 incense for the most frugal shoppers. If you can't find something here, your standards must be astronomically high. 208 N Larchmont Boulevard, 323.461.0162.

· Chevalier's Books: The sweetest women, and one XY-chromosomed manager, run this great independent bookstore next to Peet's Coffee and Tea. Not sure what to read next? Neither were we, last week, until one of the owners spent a solid 10 minutes discussing the pros-and-cons of a different author's work with us. You just don't get that kind of treatment on Amazon. We walked out with a fantastic new novel and the feeling that we were really taken care of. 126 N. Larchmont Boulevard, 323.465.1334.

· Kicks Sole Provider: We didn't forget about the men. Sneaker aficionados will have plenty to celebrate at Kicks, where high-top Nikes, retro Jordans, and shiny pairs of Converse all congregate. There are colorful options for women, too, along with tees by Kid Robot and Obey. 141 N. Larchmont Boulevard, 323.468.9794

Related Stories
· Red Velvet Pancakes and More at LA's Larchmont Bungalow [Jaunted]
· Shopping Travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Sean_Yoda_Rouse]