Retailer Goes Where Fashion Has Not Gone Before
Lisa Hans has painted some famous faces, including Hillary Clinton and punk rocker Johnny Rotten in her ongoing career as a makeup artist. But lately she’s out to change the look of the Los Angeles intersection of La Brea and Melrose avenues.
Her contemporary fashion boutique, Violetgrace, debuted Aug. 24 at 7021 Melrose Ave.
The 750-square-foot boutique caters to customers looking for classic looks, as well as adventurous, fashion-forward styles.
And while Violetgrace sits one block north of the stretch of La Brea where boutiques Yellow and Sugar On La Brea are located, its closest neighbors are not as contemporary-minded. Across the street from the boutique is a required spot for “Superman” and “The Simpsons” devotees: Golden Apple Comics. Another neighbor is Pink’s hot-dog stand, which has been cooking its famously messy chili dogs since 1939.
Hans said that the boutique, which she opened with business partner Dorit Wolf, will be a destination spot. However, the not-so-fashionable corner could turn into a retail neighborhood eventually, according to Hans. She forecasted that as rents skyrocket in the Westside, many boutiques will migrate east to neighborhoods such as hers. “I’m one of the pioneers, I think,” she said.
Rents on the Westside’s top shopping streets have skyrocketed more than 25 percent in the past year, according to Matthew May, president of Encino, Calif.–based May Realty Advisors. For example, during Thanksgiving 2006, commercial space on the premier blocks of Robertson Boulevard cost $13.50 per square foot. More recently, a square foot of Robertson commercial space ranged from $20 to $25 per square foot.
Violetgrace would fit easily among the fashionably adventurous stores on Los Angeles’ West Third Street. The boutique’s back wall is marked by wallpaper depicting hummingbirds by United Kingdom designers Osborne & Little. Other walls are painted pale violet, of course.
The store carries lines including Los Angeles–based Literature Noir and Sharon Segal and France-based Boudoir. Retail price points range from $80 to $900. Hans said she hopes the store will mix the sophistication of a high-end department store with the welcoming ambience of a boutique. “The vision was to be a groovy Barneys,” she said. —Andrew Asch
