Style stalkers from Santa Monica to Silver Lake (yours truly included) have been shaking in their stilettos with anticipation of the 3.1 Phillip Lim store on Robertson Boulevard. Sisters, the time has arrived.

The celebrated designer (and Orange County native) has opened his first west coast location, a 5,000-square-foot shrine to all things Lim. (The other U.S. location is in Soho.) Contrary to the bustling Robertson boutiques a few blocks down (featuring neon bright windows and look-at-me displays to lure those passing by), Lim’s simple silver metallic façade (nary a mannequin in sight!) mirrors the cool allure we’ve come to expect from the superstar designer, allowing customers the time to escape from the street and enter Lim’s magical kingdom.

Inside, sculptural carved walls covered with a futuristic spiky texture provide a striking contrast to the feminine vintage-inspired clothing. In addition to Phillip Lim classics such as sizzling secretary-style scarf-tie blouses and pencil skirts, chic trenches and effortless cocktail frocks, Lim’s fall collection has already hit shelves featuring decadent fabrics including sumptuous silk charmeuse and regal gold brocades. One can image that Lim may have had California on his mind in designing the collection as many of the pieces, including this cotton dress with metallic halo neckline (available in a range of colors), seem kissed with golden sunshine and tailor-made for Hollywood royalty.

(Photo from Nordstrom.com, click photo to purchase.)

Having already taken the fashion industry by storm in three short years, Lim strives towards his goal of becoming a full lifestyle brand with a foray into accessories including handbags, sunglasses, belts and scarves. Made with quality leather in chic classic colors, this framed doctors bag is a bona fide steel at $475.

(Photo from 31philliplim.com.)

The spacious boutique promises to stock roughly 90 percent of Lim’s collection for men and women each season, so the boutique is the perfect place to go if you spotted something on the runway and can’t find it elsewhere. Both the Robertson and the Manhattan locations carry Lim’s little girl’s line, featuring hallmark 3.1 silhouettes in cute-as-a-button mini-me sizes.

Photo from 31philliplim.com

3.1 Phillip Lim

631 Robertson Boulevard

West Hollywood, CA 90069

(310) 358-1988

Laid back, boho Silver Lake’s got every ounce of style of its Hollywood neighbors—but the trendsetting neighborhood is not one for posing and posturing. Instead, the fashion here veers toward the cool, indie and edgy—just perfect for the community of musicians, artists and other up-and-comers that are known for setting trends, but never trying too hard. Get the full Silver Lake shopping tour here!

This week, the assignment for my FIT design class was to extrapolate abstract pieces from the visual arts into a series of designs—an exercise in color theory and fabric development. I knew immediately that I wanted to work from at Klimt’s The Kiss for my inspiration—the painting has so many graphic nuances that translate well to fabric and construction—and I love yellow!

Most textile designers use art as a basis for their ideas. A few weeks ago, Marc Jacobs’ studio got caught (embarrassingly) for taking a scarf from Sweden and manufacturing it without altering it at all! Under less extreme circumstances, when a textile designer deconstructs and re-applies an idea to a fabric, the new design can stand in for art on its own merits. Below, I’ve chosen three pieces that bring to mind certain art movements or painters—I’m sure you’ll notice plenty more if you keep your eyes open to this trend!

This Tara Matthews zig-zag dress ($215) from luxury e-boutique Net-a-Porter uses ombre in a refreshingly subtle way: the dress is breezy and wearable, and the strength of the graphic print reminds me of Frank Stella’s zig zag paintings—and specifically of this pastel version (featured here on a German stamp).

This C-Neeon top ($245) and leggings ($145) from progressive Soho boutique Seven New York references 80’s pop culture with its splatter paint look. It makes me think of paintings by current up-and-coming painter Kadar Brock, who embraces a similar style like in this 2007 work.

Similarly, the below graphic Vince dress from ubiquitous Shopbop (199.50 on sale!) brings to mind Jackson Pollock’s silkscreens, like this one in black and white.

My trip to Washington, DC last week left me with several new items to add to my shopping wish list. The newest: Antonio Ben Chimol bracelets ($130). Made by an Italian designer who is based in the U.K, they are everything I’m obsessed with right now: 1) leather 2) wristwear 3) a little bit tough/rock ‘n roll. I love the triple wrap, the way the bracelets slide to the bottom of your wrist towards your hand, and the sleek magnetic clasp.

You can wear them when you shower (the leather only gets softer), layer the bracelets with one another, or pair with your existing jewelry. I bought one for a friend, who wears it on her “gold hand”–her other hand is silver and platinum.

I stumbled upon the bracelets at Georgetown’s Sassanova, where they’re a refreshing antidote to the preppy (yet always fun!) stock within. Sassanova currently carries the bracelet in navy, green, purple, white, and black. You can call Sassanova to order, and be sure to ask for your 20 percent discount!

You can also buy them online at Ravinstyle, where Store Adore shoppers get $25 off a purchase of $100.

The gold color with the black edges is so chic.

Flashback to June 1998: HBO premiers the first episode of Sex and the City, and a nine year old Lauren (I’m the Store Adore intern!) gets her first glimpse of a pair of Manolos. By fourteen, I was dropping every hard-earned babysitting dime on stilettos and slingbacks, and by 17, when my dad graciously offered to buy his newly licensed daughter a car, I asked if I could put those G’s toward heels, not wheels. “I can walk to school in the shoes, so either way your money is paying for my means of transportation.” I thought it was a decent argument. He laughed. When I moved to the city and became a student at NYU, I didn’t have much use for a car, but my Louboutins always came in handy.

Yet after a day of strutting your stuff down the sidewalks of Manhattan, even someone as sexy as Jimmy Choo can begin to bug the woman he’s with: My heels would pinch; blisters would burn; and my toes would slide so far down the fronts of my shoes that would I have gaps in the backs of my heels. Sitting in Bergdorf’s glistening windows, or better yet, on the shelves of my closet, fine designer footwear always appears flawless, but wearing them was a different story.

Until I discovered a whole new world of shoe helpers: One day, I hobbled passed a Ricky’s NYC and practically heard a choir sing “hallelujah” as I gazed upon what would soon become my latest obsession. I must have looked like a starving orphan staring hungrily into a bake shop window because I felt my eyes attempting to leave my head at the sight of Foot Petals. (pictured above: Foot Petals Stiletto Survival Kit, $55) The best thing to happen to a stiletto-wearing woman since the Saks shoe department became big enough to qualify for it’s own zip code, foot petals are designed to end the torment any shoe can inflict on your feet! You can find them at your nearest Ricky’s, or online at footwear emporium Zappos.com. With so many different designs, each customized to fix a different dilemma, there no shoe-tastrophe has gone overlooked. If you’ve the problem, Foot Petals has the solution.

Your Problem: Your supple calf-skin soles can’t stand the rough outdoor pavement. You slip and slide in your scuffed up shoes.

The Solution: Sole Stopperz ($6.95, above) These little patches stick to the bottom of your shoes, protecting the outer soles and coarse enough to create a no-slip effect.

Your Problem: You love your heels, but the ball of your foot aches too much to wear them. Plus, the discomfort is almost as bad as those dreaded calluses!

The Solution: Tip Toes (above; 6-pair pack combo, $40) These comfy cushions stick into your shoe right at the ball-of-foot area. They protect sensitive bone and tissue, and even stop hosiery from running.

Your Problem: The slingbacks you love (and splurged on) won’t stay behind your heel. But even if they did, you couldn’t deal with them cutting into your feet.

The Solution: Strappy Strips (above, $4.95-$18.95) These little miracles prevent strips from falling or cutting into feet. My personal favorite place for them in on thong sandals, which can give me icky red marks and blisters.

Your Problem: The first place blisters pop up is the back of your heels. It must be the fact that you slide in and out of your shoes all day long.

The solution: Heavenly Heelz (above; 6-pair pack combo, $40) These cushions fix sizing problems, prevent blisters from forming, and stop in-shoe slipping.

Maybe I was just out of the loop on this one, or maybe I needed the launch of the zebra print heel cushion to finally catch my eye, but for some reason I was unaware of these little-piggy-loving products when they first hit the market in 2001. Since then, even more brands have jumped on the blister blocking bandwagon. Our Co-Founder, Meredith Barnett, swears by Bodyglide’s anti-blister and chafing stick (above, $7.99), available at Beauty.com. You didn’t hear about the toe-saving trend either? It’s not too late to save your feet. Try the Get Fresh Lemon Grass Foot Kit (below, $25) for travel-sized samplers of foot-nourishing products.

My shoes were made for walking, and that’s just what I plan to do.

If people wear money as fashion, it’s usually done sort of metaphorically. In other words, if you’re swanning around town with a Hermès Birkin on your arm (which starts in the $9,000 range, and climbs quickly if you request exotic skins like crocodile or python) you’re more or less wearing money. But I love how a few cheeky designers skip the middleman and actually make wearable currency. In some cases, that means plastic (movie types know that Lizzy Gardiner won an Oscar for costumes in The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, but the rest of us know her as the fabulous lady who accepted her statuette wearing a gown made of approximately 200 gold American Express cards).

A money goes, coins are a total gimme in the wearability department—after all, until fairly recently, almost all coins were made of the same metals that make up most high-end jewelry. And their designs are so wonderfully classic. When charm bracelets were all the rage in my teens, I sidestepped the little heart and key and animal charms and tried to get all DIY with some coins an aunt had brought back from Italy. Needless to say, that didn’t quite work out, but the stately charm of the designs—kings in profile, noble animals, and so on— stayed with me.

Several jewelry designers have tried to find interesting and unique ways of trying to rework coins into baubles, with mixed results. Jessie Kislin Driscoll’s line Made From Coins (left) sands, domes and reshapes vintage silver—Donna Karan and Avril Lavigne are fans. And I’m intrigued by these Liberty Coin Jewelry rings made from U.S. half dollars minted between 1916 and 1947 at online bazaar Fabric8. But between my faux-metalsmithing youth and my current love for chunky pendants, I’m totally swooning for Old Money, a just-debuted line of pendants by New York designer Yoko Devereaux, who cuts away all but the coins’ intricate, iconic elements and then latches each unique piece onto an aged sterling silver necklace. Now, Devereaux is a menswear designer and the Old Money is technically jewelry for men, but what’s good for the goose…

Devereaux’s charms are (very) limited-edition (check out the Family Origins, Pomona and Raghorn styles, above) and cost around $88, so stock up! Some stores we love that sell Yoko Devereaux goods are New York City’s French Corner, and Kin and Kitson in Los Angeles.

Some men love to join their significant others on shopping sprees, carrying armloads of bags and making “constructive” comments about prospective purchases. The other 99 percent seem a bit less inclined. If bringing your guy shopping feels like doing psychological warfare, Click here to read Beyond the Man-Chair: Best Boy-Friendly Boutiques highlighting the most guy-friendly boutiques in every city! From canine distractors to luxurious lounge areas, these stores pull all the stops.

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I you happen to find yourself in Park Slope anytime soon, take our advice and step into Otto. The fantastic shop boasts fashions by Dead Sexy, Huit, and Jessica Jensen and  beautiful jewelry by local and European designers. With almost 20 years of supplying Brooklyn with gorgeous garments under their belts, we needed to hear what the store had to say about the latest twists and turns in the industry. After a phone conversation with one of the store’s owners, we discovered the refreshing perspective behind Otto’s classic taste, as well as a bit of advice for any shopper planning to drop by the boutique: Don’t ask the mannequin for help!

SA: What new trend have you been seeing that’s surprised you most?

Otto: We are more of a store focused on wardrobing than trends. Our style is classic, and we appeal to people in their twenties as well as a much older woman. We like to dress a woman from her lingerie all the way through her work clothes. We are all about the classics, but in keeping with popular trends. For instance, there was a lot of yellow this spring and summer, and you can see yellow pieces throughout the store.

SA: What is the craziest customer experience you’ve had?

Otto: Well there have been so many, it’s hard to think of just one! Something we see pretty often involves a mannequin we have in the store. She is pretty life-like, and customers are always going up to her; talking to her and asking questions; bumping into her and saying “Oh, sorry!” They think she’s real.

SA: What trend are you happy to see go?

Otto: That one’s easy: low-waisted pants!

Envi, Boston’s first fashion eco-boutique, just relaunched its new ecommerce site. Unlike the majority of premiere green shopping sites, which sell items for living, giving, and wearing, this one is focused specifically on apparel and accessories (no recycled wallpaper here!). But like the others, it is as sleek and savvy as your favorite contemporary e-shop.

Check out the new Envi site and shop for flattering, simple, not to mention affordable designs, like this organic cotton Jess dress that’s only $78.

Find all of our exclusive online green discounts here.

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Check out these pics of Louis Boston, our favorite Boston-area store for boyfriend-friendly shopping!

If he’s a music-phile, bring him along on your next shopping jaunt to Back Bay mansion-cum-shopping mecca Louis Boston, where you’ll encounter everything drool-worthy from Christian Lacroix couture to Balenciaga handbags. He can settle in at a music bar outfitted with fully loaded iPods. No Britney to be found here: Louis Boston stocks a slick, cutting-edge music selection that only rivals its fashion line-up.

(All photos courtesy of Louis Boston)