Santa Monica Shops
Establishment
neighborhood
Angel City Books & Records
218 Pier Ave., Santa Monica
Great used bookstores are a rare breed these days, and this one is our favorite in LA. It doubles as a record shop, and it’s a good place to grab gifts, too.
sun moon rain
2601 17th St., Santa Monica
sun moon rain is here to help wash away your single-use plastic guilt, one refillable amber jug of lavender laundry soap at a time. Step into this zero-waste shop, lined with shelves of household goods and beauty products in gleaming glass jugs, and you wonder how you ever let a plastic spray bottle live under your sink. Visit for refills of everything from all-purpose kitchen cleaner to pet shampoo (bring your own containers or choose from a gorgeous selection), plus everyday tools to help reduce your daily consumption: reusable beauty pads and beeswax wraps, bamboo straws, cleaning brushes, reusable vessels galore. Plus, there’s an aromatherapy bar for adding essential oils to your product refills. With everything from vintage jewelry to handblown, one-of-a-kind glass bowls, this is also the place to go for a gift that won’t clutter the earth (or anyone’s home). The female founders behind the company—a pair of fashion industry vets—are continuously improving, making it easier and easier to transition to a low-waste lifestyle with products that smell and look fantastic. The shop also hosts in-store events for the eco-conscious, from candle refilling to Japanese denim mending.
The Westside and Everafter
256 26th St., Santa Monica
The Westside is proof positive that retailing duo Haro and Sari Sloane Keledjian know a thing or two about creating a store that women want to shop in. After selling the Intermix brand to the Gap back in 2013, they’ve dreamt up a new shopping concept that speaks to busy moms on the go. They’ve opened a series of boutiques, the Westside (for stylish moms) and Everafter (a children’s boutique) side byside in Tribeca, on the Upper East Side, and in Manhasset on Long Island. Their arrival in Brentwood should come as no surprise, located just across the street from the highly-trafficked Brentwood Country Mart. The mix for women is solid—denim by Re/Done, cashmere by Lingua Franca, and easy dresses by LoveShackFancy. Next door, there’s tons for your mini-me: Aviator Nation sweats, Zimmerman separates, and lots of great gifts like pool floats from Sunnylife and furry friends from Jellycat. Photos courtesy of Katie Gibbs.
Mohawk General West (Closed)
2929 Main St., Santa Monica
With four locations throughout LA, this general-style store offers a vast amount of men's and women's clothing and accessories, along with really beautiful home goods and exceptional gifts.
Tent the Shop (Closed)
1030 Montana Ave., Santa Monica
Owners Daryl and Allison source the globe for well-designed artisan objects for the home, including Danish furniture, African baskets, Austrian bookends, Japanese pottery, and Guatemalan wool blankets.
The Detox Market
1231 Montana Ave., Santa Monica
We've long been fans of this clean beauty shop, which opened a Montana outpost (the OG location is in West Hollywood) a few months ago. Simple and well-organized, The Detox Market is a veritable mecca for safe cosmetics and skincare. Founded to combat the fact that some of the most toxic elements in a woman’s life come straight from her beauty products, they sell lines such as RMS, ila, Rahua, and Odacité.
Quinnie & B
1632 Ocean Park Blvd., Santa Monica
This brand-new, self-named "tiny toy shoppe" from the owners of nearby Thyme Café and Local Kitchen + Wine Bar is an undeniably adorable addition to Ocean Park. While it's not large, the selection is spot-on, with good birthday options for kids of all ages.
Caro Bambino
2703 Main St., Santa Monica
This is one of those spots that will make you believe that having kids doesn't always require a cacophony of brightly-colored plastic toys: Airy, and sparely stocked, Caro Bambino offers everything you'd want for a clean-lined, modern nursery—and nothing more. There are well-designed cribs, a smattering of wooden toys, and neutral-hued onesies.
Acorn
1220 5th St., Santa Monica
Though its just two-blocks from the Third Street Promenade, which sucks up a lot of the area's oxygen, this is inarguably one of the most special toy shops in the country. Everything here is made of wood, from the pint-sized grocery store stands (complete with farmers market fruits and veggies) to the rainbow-hued teethers.
The Pink Chicken
1524 Montana Ave., Santa Monica
With stints at Ralph Lauren and babyGap at her back, it was arguably only time before Stacey Fraser started making little dresses for her kids. While the label launched in 2006, this is her first Los Angeles boutique—it's beachy feel is a perfect backdrop for the paisley printed dresses and subtly embroidered tops. Besides girls, there's also pieces for tweens (and grown-ups, too).