California Millinery Visit

This past weekend I had the pleasure of visting the California Millinery in downtown Los Angeles with my dear friend Amy. We attempted to make plans to stop by Irene Arroyo's shop for almost a year now and this was finally the weekend when we were both free. Irene's shop has been on a somewhat shady spot of Spring Street in downtown since 1982 (the year of my birth).

The millinery shop which does not get resupplied has been around since opening in 1939 originally on Hill Street. All the items you will find there have been with Irene and the previous owner since the very beginning. Thus everything is covered with a little dust as you dig through the narrow shelves lined with boxes of feathers, fruits, flowers , ribbons, and netting of all sorts. One of my favorite details is that all the items still have the original tags from the late thirties and forties. It really feels like you are stepping back in time when you walk through the front doors.

The purpose of my visit was to find supplies to make my fascinator that will sit perched on my head for my wedding day. It was quite difficult not to stay focused but I have to say I did well and only purchased what I really needed. I only ended up spending $28.54 on all my supplies, (minus the blue velvet ribbon which was $32.93 for 10 yards) and the only item remaining to complete my fascinator is either and alligator clip or a metal comb. Which Irene did not have but pointed me to CVS where they do carry the metal comb I would need .Below you will see some images of my purchases, and I cannot wait to have another reason to see Irene and dig through more of those dusty boxes.

You can visit the shops very basic website for a few more details here.

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