The three block stretch of Rodeo Drive is world famous for it’s luxury good stores. In the late 1960’s, Giorgio Beverly Hills, Gucci ,Van Cleef and Arpels, all opened luxury-good stores on Rodeo. In 1977 the Rodeo Drive Committee launched a publicity campaign designed to make people around the world think of Rodeo Drive as the shopping street of the rich and famous and Wow has that marketing worked. In 2003, Rodeo Drive was given an $18 million makeover and also is honoring fashion icons with plaques on the sidewalk.
I honestly like going to Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills and the area surrounding it known as the Golden Triangle even though I never have bought anything there besides meals. The excitement on peoples faces as they get a first hand look on how the rich live is priceless. I normally don’t like window shopping, but on Rodeo I even find that fun, seeing some of the high priced items that I’ll never buy.
On my last visit, the first in decades, we looked at some items in the Porsche Design store and the salesman couldn’t of been friendlier. He insisted my son try on a pair of $11,000 sunglasses and hold a $30,000 pen. He also showed us a soundbar that uses an exhaust as a subwoofer. Opposite to how the stores are portrayed in the movies, I’ve always found the salespeople on Rodeo Drive to be very nice even when they know we are just looking. I think they realize that it pays to be friendly to everyone.
Not only is Rodeo Drive a great street for window shopping and people watching, it’s a fantastic street to go if you love cars. In most cities, its pretty rare to see a Rolls Royce driving around. But on Rodeo Drive, there’s a good chance you’ll see a few within a matter of minutes. And on Fathers Day, they have the Concour d ‘Elegance displaying some of the world’s most expensive cars.
We didn’t stay long this visit, about an hour. I’d suggest one to two hours unless you are having a meal or you are a big window shopper. The other thing I like to do in Beverly Hills is drive around and look at the wonderful landscaping in front of peoples homes. The drought has affected that some but if you want inspiration for your front yard, this is the place to go.
Great report. Good to hear that the sales people were not like those portrayed in Pretty Woman! Did you spot any movie stars?
Thanks, we didn’t spot any movie stars. What surprised me is we actually saw people buying the expensive merchandise.