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Planet Blue

Santa Monica-headquartered boutique chain Planet Blue has been selling contemporary women's fashions at 2940 Main St. in Santa Monica since 2005.

Internationally and nationally prominent retailers are building more stores in the California beachside neighborhoods of Venice and downtown Santa Monica.

Then there is Main Street. The mile-long thoroughfare is located in between Venice and downtown Santa Monica, and it keeps an avowedly local and independent fashion profile. Main Street is home to 25 clothing boutiques. They are mostly independent multi-line stores, designers’ ateliers and outposts of locally headquartered boutique chains. Here’s a peek at what is happening at a few of them.

Santa Monica–headquartered boutique chain Planet Blue has been selling contemporary women’s fashions at 2940 Main St. in Santa Monica since 2005. Store manager Jamie Alto said one of the store’s top-selling items is the “Hayley” shirt, which is produced by Planet Blue’s Blue Life private-label line. It retails for $84. The top features a deep V neck and bell sleeves, which fits in with the Planet Blue aesthetic. “It gives it a bohemian flare,” Alto said of the Hayley top’s sleeves.

Dresses have been selling well at Planet Blue. Australian label Keepsake makes one of the most popular dresses with its “Eyes Wide Open” maxi dress, which retails for $168 and comes in colorways such as mustard and cream as well as navy and white. “The main selling point is the price,” Alto said. It is under $200, but the silhouette is unique, too. The neckline plunges, and the dress also features a revealing racer back.

Also popular is a dress by Aussie brandFinders Keepers. The “Precious Memories” cocktail dress, which retails for $139, has a honeycomb-shaped cutout over a skin-colored top. “[Finders Keepers] is really different, and they always make something more unique than their last season,” Alto said.

The Los Angeles–headquartered Varga boutique chain opened in 2006, and it has increasingly focused on offering its Varga private-label fashions to attract shoppers. At its shop at 2714 Main St., the Varga line typically wins the prize for most-popular style, said Justin Kopplin, the store manager.

The recent best-selling item is a classic motorcycle jacket that retails for $74. It is popularly priced and machine-washable, Kopplin said, because it is made out of pleather.

The 1940s pinup look inspires Varga’s styles, and the store label’s pencil skirts and bustiers achieve a perennial popularity with Varga shoppers. The red “Audrey” dress is a Varga classic. Inspired by Hollywood icon Audrey Hepburn, it has been repeated season after season since being introduced in 2008. The fitted dress retails for $44 and is constructed out of stretch poplin and Lycra. “It holds you up in all of the right places,” Kopplin said.

Other top-selling items are popularly priced maxi skirts by labels such asMona B. Varga sells them for $21.50. “I sell 50 a week,” Kopplin said. He recommends they can be used in a number of ways. If wearing it as a skirt seems dull, Kopplin throws the skirt around his neck, where it can be worn as a scarf or a poncho.

Stamford, Conn.–headquartered Agabhumi specializes in manufacturing clothes in Bali and importing handicrafts from the Southeast Asian island. The company maintains a boutique at 2665 Main St. For its top-selling clothing item, manager Christina Norton said, the “Festival” skirt took first place. The Balinese sewers inserted extra panels into the seams for added ruffles and flow. It retails for $74.

Named after a popular Santa Monica lifeguard tower, streetwear boutiqueStation 26 opened at 2665 Main St. in 2010 and since then devoted itself to new and independent streetwear fashions.

Top-selling items include the 10Deep label’s “General Butt Naked” button-down camouflage shirt, said store manager Levi Schulze. It retails for $96 and has been embraced by the camouflage aficionado looking for a tailored style. “Vintage military shirts have a really weird fit,” Schulze said. But that does not apply to 10Deep’s camouflage shirt. Schulze guarantees that it offers a slim fit.

Work pants and chinos have been popular styles for a while at streetwear and surf shops, but Naked & Famous jeans have been a top-selling brand at Station 26. Perhaps another surprise is the jeans label’s most popular style. It’s called “Weird Guy.” But the basic jean is anything but eccentric. “It is a good fit. A slim, straight-legged, tapered jean is what everyone is looking for,” Schulze said. It retails for $165.

Fresh Jive is a legendary streetwear brand. The brand’s founder, Rick Klotz, started the label more than 20 years ago, and it remains a favorite at shops such as Station 26, Schulze said. The T-shirts retail for $32. Station 26 shoppers should stock up. In August, Klotz announced that the Fall 2012 season would be the last for the influential label. Klotz put Fresh Jive on hiatus since taking over American Apparel’s new printed T-shirt division.

Founded in 1998, Natural High Lifestyle is one of LA County’s oldest, continuously run eco-fashion labels. At its boutique at 2400 Main St., the “Serenity Shawl” is the top-selling item, said Natural High Lifestyle owner Frank Angiuli. It is popular because it is soft, has a beautiful drape and can be worn in a number of different styles. It retails for $96.

ZJ Boarding House is one of a handful of independent surf shops left in Los Angeles and Santa Monica. It also is one of the region’s veteran surf shops. Co-founders Mikke Pierson and Todd Roberts have been running the 5,000-square-foot surf shop since 1988. Located at 2619 Main St., its ZJ private-label line has been a consistent bestseller. ZJ’s “Patch” adjustable trucker hat has landed at the top of the heap. With block lettering it bears the logo “ZJ” and, in smaller lettering, “Santa Monica.” The hat retails for $18.99. “It’s that local vibe,” Pierson said of the hat. “It’s a badge that you are part of the surf culture.”

Wetsuits are among the best-selling items at ZJ, but for street clothes, another top seller is the “Nova” jean by Volcom. It retails for $74.99, is made with premium-denim material and is also focused for a certain market. “It’s a thinner fit. It’s skatey, for sure,” Pierson said.