After having a pop-up last year, eyewear brand Ray-Ban opens a permanent L.A. store at the Grove

After a successful pop-up at the Grove last year, eyewear brand Ray-Ban decided to commit. The global giant, which is often credited with inventing the aviator sunglass style, opened its first free-standing Los Angeles store in early April.

The unveiling of the compact space — it’s less than 500 square feet — is a “natural progression for the Ray-Ban brand,” said Rocco Basilico, general manager of Ray-Ban Retail North America. “Music and culture are at the heart of Ray-Ban’s DNA and at the heart of Los Angeles.”

In its newest collection, the 80-year old brand, worn by the likes of the late Michael Jackson and John F. Kennedy, has reinterpreted some of the frames it’s best known for: the Colonel with its slightly square-shaped lens and double bridge and the Oval, whose oval lenses are available in shades such as lilac and gold. Basilico said the Los Angeles store also includes social/interactive elements such as a multimedia table that can help customers find the best frames for their face. Prices of Ray-Ban frames in the store go from $153 to $303.

Ray-Ban, 189 the Grove Drive, Los Angeles, www.ray-ban.com.

The Swoondle Society

If you want to dress your kids in Marchesa and Ralph Lauren but fear they’ll grow out of the pricey duds in no time, here’s an idea: start-up the Swoondle Society allows parents to trade high-quality and little-worn children’s clothes.

Founder Jen Zuklie launched Swoondle last year after she had her second child — a son — and realized she couldn’t reuse the clothes she had bought for her firstborn — a girl.

“I thought there must be people in the same boat, trying to sell bags of clothes, which can be a hassle,” she said.

With Swoondle, instead of buying clothes, you buy a membership that allows you to trade clothes. Customers send in their gently-worn children’s clothes and accessories with labels ranging from Old Navy to Uggs and pick out the same number of pieces for which they are trading. The service is for parents of newborns to children age 12.

“There’s a huge social responsibility angle to it,” Zuklie said. “I had all this stuff, and it felt so wasteful to go out and buy more. There wasn’t anything on the market that offered premium children’s fashion and that had this pragmatic reuse aspect to it.”

Prices generally go from $39 a year for 10 trades to $249 for 100 trades.

Swoondle, www.swoondlesociety.com

Arkk Copenhagen

The Danes are getting into the booming sneakers market. Copenhagen-based brand Arkk is bringing the cool, clean aesthetic of Scandinavia to a line of men’s and women’s athletic footwear, which start at $99.

“Scandinavian fashion has been taking off but not sneakers,” said Thomas Refdahl, co-founder and chief executive of Arkk Copenhagen. “Everything about our line is minimalistic. It’s all about the small details, about twisting a few ingredients for a unique-looking sneaker and simple designs that still stand out. That’s hard to do.”

On April 11, Arkk launched a limited-edition women’s style, the cloud-like Raven Mesh Velvet S-E15, which comes in pale pink and white and features velvet laces. On Tuesday, Arkk will unveil a new series from its Spyqon FG 2.0 collection (for men and women), a lightweight, laceless sneaker in numerous colors.

Arkk Copenhagen, arkkcopenhagen.com

Hot Sox X Art Production Fund XO Barneys New York

From luxury retailer Barneys New York come socks for a cause. The store has teamed with fashion socks label Hot Sox and the Art Production Fund for a limited-edition quartet of novelty cotton socks, sales of which will help fund art projects in public spaces. The socks, which are $125 for a box of four, are available in men’s and women’s sizes and have been designed by artists Deborah Kass, Barbara Kruger, Derrick Adams and Rob Pruitt. They feature whimsical prints (think a panda with a stalk of bamboo) and statement-making colors (electric blue paired with a sunny yellow).

Hot Sox X Art Production Fund XO Barneys New York socks collaboration, Barneys New York, 9570 Wilshire Blvd. Beverly Hills, www.barneys.com.