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When Opening Ceremony debuted in New York in 2002, it was the first shop to rotate themes, and while there are now emulators, it still does it best. Each year, the focus shifts to talent from a different country (the store's favorite lines stick around to join a home team of sorts). This fall, it's devoted to Japan, with labels like Cosmic Wonder and Hiromi Tsuyoshi. The L.A. offshoot dwells in Charlie Chaplin's old dance studio, which makes for a cool, warren-like shopping experience; upstairs is a minimall, with in-store boutiques for Mayle, Topshop, and Acne. From Los Angeles' West Hollywood neighborhood store listings, updated September 2008.

Stacey Feldman comes from a fashion family (her father, Norman Todd, designed everything Mary Tyler Moore wore on her TV show), but her boutiques embody Feldman's own point of view. The entire palette is muted and gray, from the washed wood floors to the slate-hued Stella McCartney sweaters and sequin-studded Alexander Wang sweatshirts. Farther down the street, she has a home goods spot and a denim bar. From Los Angeles' West Hollywood neighborhood store listings, updated September 2008.

With a grandmother who founded Montreal's Fraid's department store and a father who created Le Tigre, Hillary Rush has retail in her blood. A former advertising director for Gap, Rush opened her hugely popular shop in 2005, mixing old-schoolers like Il Bisonte and K. Jacques with fresh-to-the-market endeavors like Daryl K's line Kerrigan. From Los Angeles' Beverly Boulevard neighborhood store listing, updated September 2008.

Though it resembles nothing more than a wood-walled yoga studio, Inago in fact exists to answer the call of partygoers across the city by stocking pretty much nothing but dresses—hundreds and hundreds of them. There are versions from an expansive list of labels: patterned wrap numbers from Issa, silk halters from Mara Hoffman, and jewel-studded caftans from Binetti. Most are tagged at $200 or less. From the 50 Best Boutiques in Los Angeles.

In 2005, Rose Apodaca and her husband, Andy Griffith, decided to open a modern home goods store on a whim, and three outposts later, it's clear their impulse has had staying power. Divided into color-blocked zones, the spaces are devoted to cleverly designed items, like Droog's self-balancing serving trays and Ora Ito's undulating, gold-plated hard drive. From Los Angeles' Santa Monica & Venice neighborhood store listings, updated September 2008.