I've been living in Los Angeles for three weeks and have now officially added Melrose Ave to my list of Best Places to Spend a Sunny Afternoon. If you like shopping, trendy restaurants and cute coffee shops, Melrose is the place to be. 

For my afternoon of fun I donned the simplest, no-nonsense outfit I could find (black trousers, white vest blouse - each of which are from Zara - and black booties), and headed out to meet my friend at Alfred Coffee & Kitchen. After ordering my $4 latte and watching chic girl after chic girl pass by as if being at a celebrity-bait coffee shop on Melrose in LA during a warm, sunny day in January wasn't even a thing to blink an eye at, I realized that the more time I spend in the city, the more I need to step up my outfit game. Simple is my style-aesthetic - I'm never going to give that up. But LA style is a lot different than New York style, and New York is where I learned a lot of my recent fashion how-to's. Developing a more eclectic way of dressing isn't something that is going to come automatically to me, but with a little help from my new friend Cheyenne, I now know where to start looking for new pieces. 

The Shop Melrose is a popular destination for Boho-chic/LA girl staples. Suede jackets, fringe skirts and lace dresses - all at decent prices as well. This is a refreshing place to step into after stopping at several high-priced designer shops (Marc Jacobs, Paul Smith, Theory, Alexander McQueen, Rebecca Minkoff, Vivienne Westwood - just to name a few) all of which are places I absolutely l-o-v-e, but on a measly showroom assistant salary those products will prove difficult to consume any time in the near future. 

After a little stop at the pink Paul Smith wall for the obligatory fashion-blogger-Instagram photo ("Look at me I'm super trendy and obviously the epitome of cool because I'm getting my picture taken in front of a huge pink building - isn't my contemporary outfit to die for?") I felt that I had done everything I needed to do on Melrose that day. Such a fun day - I can't wait until I move closer to the area. Once that happens, be prepared to see daily obligatory fashion-blogger-Instagram photos from yours truly.

Love,

Jessica 

xxx