Los Angeles is a paradise for vintage shoppers looking for a special piece from the 60’s, 80’s or other bygone decade. Vintage retail choices abound in the city and include everything from carefully curated collections to stores jam-packed with all sorts of finds. But where are all the hard-to-find shops with fashion statements from the past, and how do I navigate my way around a city as sprawling as Los Angeles – and then find a place to park?

A new, easy-to-follow itinerary created by Starline Tours and accessible via their Hop-On Hop-Off bus routes opens the doors to vintage gems, combining a city tour with vintage shopping in LA’s most renowned spots.  The Vintage Shopping Itinerary features store descriptions, route and stop numbers and is downloadable from Starline’s CitySightseeing Hop-on Hop-off website – www.citysightseeingla.com –where a 48-hour unlimited stop ticket may be purchased in advance at a discount.

The itinerary highlights a huge range of vintage stores. Some carry high-end designer merchandise – such as vintage Chanel, Prada, Halston and Pucci – often with top-dollar price tags. But at many stores there are also great deals and discounts to be found, not just on clothing, but also on shoes, jewelry, eyewear and all-things vintage. Sometimes stores mix items from yesterday with current clothing to create a modern twist. Locations range in size from outdoor bazaars to larger emporiums to smaller cult-favorites, with old-school denim, tuxedoes from days gone by and t-shirts just some of the items to be found. Celebrity stylists like Rachel Zoe are often seen selecting items from the racks of these eclectic establishments.

The largest collection of vintage stores can be found on the Red Route of the Starline Hop-on Hop-off Tour – which covers Hollywood, West Hollywood  and Beverly Hills – and includes Melrose Avenue, which is often considered the mecca of vintage shopping in LA. Here are some of the vintage shopping highlights to be found along the Red Route: 

Fans of high-end designers will find Gianni Versace and Oscar de la Renta at Sielian’s Vintage Apparel owned by Sielian Lie and her husband, Tsutomu Carton. This place is a favorite stop for current designers who need inspiration.  If you delay purchasing something you adore -- you might see it on the red carpet next week. (Red Route, Stop 6)

Shoe lovers in search of Manolos or Louboutins will want to visit entre nous (Red Route, Stop 9). This designer boutique also has clothing from designers like Pucci and Prada. Then just a couple of stops further along  (Red Route, Stop 11) at Re-Mix Shoes, shoppers will find hand-tooled leather shoes mixed in with vintage footwear, and at nearby Hotel del Ville, get an eyeful of  vintage eyeglass frames as well as newer styles from Europe, with vintage photos and furnishings as part of the décor and ambience.

The mother lode of vintage shopping is located on Melrose Avenue (Red Route, Stop 12). Decades has been doing vintage here for longer than their name.  The store has access to celebrity closets and items from here are often seen on top award shows and at events around the city.  If denim, vintage t-shirts and leather jackets worn with cowboy boots is more your style, Chucks Vintage will be your go-to establishment.  Or, visit Reformation where vintage fabrics and other items take on new life in what is called environmentally sustainable fashion!  Scout, curated by owner/designer Joey Grana, helps inject retro flavor with vintage clothing from Missoni, Jiimmy Z or Ann Demeulemeester as well as a wide selection of hard-to-find baubles. And if visiting on a Sunday, there is the Melrose Trading Post, a huge outdoor marketplace with nearly 200 vendors. This treasure trove for serious shoppers and people watchers on a laidback Sunday is so entertaining that there is a small admission fee.
 

If you only have a buck left after Melrose Trading Post, look for the $1 Sunday yard sale at Jet Rag (Red Route, Stop 13) which happens to be one of Gwen Stefani’s favorite vintage stops in LA.

Not to be outdone, the Iguana Vintage Clothing has three floors of merchandise which are organized by decade, color and type of garment. Want something orange, purple or neon green? Head for the racks. Pick just one, if you can. (Red Route, Stop 15).
 

The Starline CitySightseeing Vintage itinerary also features vintage stores in Downtown LA (on the Purple Route) –an area known for its large Fashion and Jewelry Districts, but with an expanding vintage presence as Downtown’s artistic community continues to grow. There is also a vintage location out by the beach at Venice (on the Green Route). The complete Vintage Shopping itinerary is available at www.citysightseeingla.com/itineraries . 
 

Fashionistas know that Vintage is best when mixed in with the latest looks, and Starline CitySightseeing Hop-On Hop-Off has a separate Shopping Itinerary which takes shoppers to shopping locations around the city which boast truly world-class shopping. Highlights here include Beverly Center, where celebrity stylists come to find the latest fashions (Red Route, Stop 9), The Grove, an outdoor breezy shopping mecca which is the quintessential LA shopping scene (Red Route, Stop 11) and the newly renovated Santa Monica Place which has an abundance of top designer brands (Yellow Route, Stop 57 or Green Route, Stop 80).

Shopping (Vintage, General or Discount) are just some of many recommended itineraries at the CitySightseeing website, www.citysightseeingla.com  where other itineraries include: Family Fun, Film and TV, Culinary Stargazing and LGBT.  A Starline CitySightseeing Hop-On Hop-Off 48-hour unlimited ticket is $59 USD for adults and $35 USD for shoppers-in-training (ages 3 to 11) for a glorious weekend of shopping without the hassle of city traffic or parking.  Tickets may be purchased directly from the driver at any stop, at Starline Tours’ box offices in the forecourt of TCL Chinese Theatre (formerly Grauman’s Chinese Theatre) or on Santa Monica Pier. Discounted  24-, 48-, and 72-hour unlimited tickets are also available at www.citysightseeingla.com.  With the purchase of a 48-hour ticket online, visitors receive complimentary admission to Madame Tussauds Hollywood.  For more information, call toll free 1-855-452-4676 or 1-323-580-6155. The entire 100-mile route of the CitySightseeing Hop-On Hop-Off tour is fully narrated in nine languages and delivered via personal headsets for crystal clear, informative touring.

The Starline Hop-On Hop-Off ticket is also a passport to savings at many museums and attractions along the routes.  Called the “Show and $ave” program, simply present a valid Hop-on Hop-off ticket to participating locations, noted on the brochure or online, for immediate discounts and offers.

About Starline Tours

Hollywood’s number one celebrity tour company, Starline Tours, is the oldest and largest tour company in Los Angeles, having pioneered the famous Movie Stars’ Homes Tour in 1935.  A full range of sightseeing tours of Los Angeles and Southern California is available. Starline Tours has been featured on Ellen, American Idol, the Muppet Movies, Iron Man 3, NBC’s Today Show, as well as newspapers and travel magazines from around the world.  Starline Tours operates the Grand Tour of Los Angeles in nine languages, and the world’s largest Hop-On, Hop-Off tour with Starline’s CitySightseeing Double-Decker buses offering comprehensive tour narration in nine languages via personal headsets. The open-top Movie Stars’ Homes Tour and TMZ Hollywood Tour, recommended by travel agents worldwide, are visitor favorites and operate daily.

 Tours to theme parks, movie studios, San Diego and Tijuana are available, with pick up from more than 250 hotels in the Los Angeles.  With locations throughout Hollywood, a new Visitor Welcome Center at Hollywood & Highland and a sales box office at (Grauman’s) TCL Chinese Theatre at 6925 Hollywood Boulevard, the company also has a sales office on Santa Monica Pier, starting point for the Malibu Movie Stars’ Homes Tour, a new Santa Monica Terminal at 11857 Santa Monica Boulevard, and in Anaheim at the Travelodge across from Disneyland Resort.  The company is privately owned, will celebrate its 80th anniversary in 2015, and is operated in conjunction with TourCoach – the company’s Bus Charter division. For reservations, visit www.starlinetours.com or call toll free 1-800-959-3131 or direct at 1-323-463-3333.