Perfect Spot to Browse : With a wide variety of stores, Encino Place has something for everyone, including youngsters.
Encino Place, which is actually at the border of Sherman Oaks, on the corner of Ventura Boulevard and Woodley Avenue, may be the coolest shopping spot in the San Fernando Valley. Stop in during any lunch hour, and the mile-long stream of cars may prompt you to make a U-turn. Don’t do it. Brave the line and accept the valet parking (it’s free for three hours with validation). There is such a variety of stores filled with such unusual items that it would be easy to spend half a day browsing. To maximize shopping time, skip lunch and opt for a mid-buying-frenzy snack break.
Noon: If you’ve brought the kids, they’re in for a field day at Gregory’s Toys & Adventures. Direct your child to the play area, filled with toys the kids are supposed to touch while you marvel at the vast selection of Steiff stuffed miniatures from Germany, telescopes, foreign language tapes, wooden dinosaur skeletons and train sets. There are lots of inexpensive goodies too, such as bath-time stickers and puppets, puzzles and kiddie play sets complete with items needed to play store and other pretend games. The store also offers storytelling Wednesday and Saturday mornings, as well as ongoing educational activities.
16101 Ventura Blvd., Suite 135, (818) 906-2212.
12:20 p.m.: If the kids are a little worn out, it’s the perfect time to drag them into David’s Shoe Salon, a dreamy spot where fine footwear intermingles beautifully with a free coffee and soda bar. Try on some of fall’s fabulous boots by such famous names as Chantal and Yves St. Laurent. If funky clogs are more your style, the styles stocked here start at $45. But be prepared to fall in love with styles costing as much as $520.
16101 Ventura Blvd., Suite 130, (818) 789-1493.
12:30 p.m.: One of the best sources for unusual merchandise in the Valley is Body, previously in Sherman Oaks. Women can choose from the likes of feminine rosette-adorned Ts or an exquisite assortment of pearl-encrusted bikini underwear at $25 per pair. Fall’s au courant velour tops are in abundance, as are textured Hue hosiery. Guys can choose from an assortment of grunge wear--flannel shirts, baggy pants and baseball caps. Prices range from $50 to $500.
16101 Ventura Blvd., Suite 125, (818) 905-9337.
12:45 p.m.: Bring out the clotheshorse in the kids at Rebelette, a tres adorable kiddie clothing shop. Original ensembles for girls and boys newborn to preteen are here, along with original accessories. There are feminine, floral-printed ankle-grazing dresses, cowboy outfits with elaborate printed fabrics and tiny little Ts with lasso-laden cowboys, bibs fashioned from vintage fabrics and tiny chenille robes.
16101 Ventura Blvd., Suite 120, (818) 981-6200.
1 p.m.: Rebel, the neighbor and adult companion to Rebelette, is more sophisticated, but equally compelling. It features an assortment of carefully selected separates versatile enough for weekend dates or office power lunches. Exquisite all-season wool blazers from Isda & Co., priced at $374, hang next to matching pants tagged $180. Denims, cashmere sweaters, riding pants and sunflower-topped baseball caps are a few of the store’s other eye-catching offerings.
16101 Ventura Blvd., Suite 115, (818) 981-5200.
1:15 p.m.: Head upstairs to Ben & Jerry’s for a well-deserved ice cream break. Dieters will be pleased to know that there are less fattening alternatives to ice cream, such as limeade or a fruit ice.
16101 Ventura Blvd., Suite 255, (818) 788-4462.
1:30 p.m.: Serra Gifts is filled with artistic goodies. Romanesque gold-toned busts are featured along with hand-painted pillows bearing renditions of art by Picasso and other 20th-Century greats. The store has unusual stationery, pens, photo albums and scrapbooks, too. 16101 Ventura Blvd., Suite 240, (818) 783-5341.
1:45 p.m.: Check out Scentuals, a fragrant shop where custom-blended perfumes and bath and body products tempt the eyes and nose. The store has hard-to-find aromatic diffusers, the ‘90s way to send fragrance through the air continuously without keeping the forefinger glued to an aerosol can.
16101 Ventura Blvd., Suite 145, (818) 788-7273.
2 p.m.: Don’t miss Chico’s, a most unusual fashion boutique featuring decidedly non-run-of-the-mill merchandise. Familiar items are enlivened with Southwest and ethnic prints and primitive drawings. There are T-shirts, vests, flowing skirts and pants in comfy cotton knit and washed silk. Everything is relaxed, yet easily polished with the store’s conch belts and earrings starting at a super-affordable $6.
16101 Ventura Blvd., Suite 140, (818) 990-2519.
2:15 p.m.: Gatsby is another affordable clothing shop here--value, rather than incessant markdowns, bring the cost per outfit down. A pure black wool jumper paired with a white blouse is $98 and looks like it came from the pages of Vogue. There are hard-to-find bodysuits in basic and fashion colors, patchwork jeans, crocheted vests and velvet pants. Prices in general range from $40 for a shirt to $198 for a dress.
16101 Ventura Blvd., Suite 170, (818) 789-2247.
2:30 p.m.: Inside Anastasia are some prestigious designer labels, including Liza Bruce, Byblos and Matsuda. One look inside this post-modern salon, with its sweeping dressing room drapes, and anyone who prefers Clothestime prices should probably exit discreetly. There are leather jackets, slim cocktail dresses, beautiful white blouses and lattice blazers integral to any groovy fall wardrobe. Prices range from $58 for a knit midriff to $1,833 for a Matsuda jacket.
16101 Ventura Blvd, Suite 180, (818) 789-7648.
2:45 p.m.: Lina Lee may have shuttered her Rodeo Drive store, but the shop in Encino is thriving--and isn’t just stocked with Rodeo-level price tags. Lee’s collection of stylish belts starts at just $35. There are plenty of $18 T-shirts, scores of silk blouses in several colors and breathtakingly beautiful camisoles perfect for wear under a jacket in balmy early fall temperatures.
16101 Ventura Blvd., Suite 105, (818) 981-8950.
