Where Vintage Guru Doris Raymond Loves To Gift Shop

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Los Angeles has more stores than anyone could physically tackle, but somehow we always keep returning to the usual suspects. To break out of the rut, we've asked some local shopping and fashion gurus to provide their hidden retail gems—those unique stores around LA that we might not all know about. Cue the Beatles: We're about to get a little help from our friends.

Image via Larchmont Buzz

Doris Raymond, the founder of vintage shopping emporium The Way We Wore, may be a clotheshorse at heart, but every now and then, it's the gift shop at the Craft and Folk Art Museum that really gets her going. That embroidered coat she's wearing isn't YSL. It's from Uzbekistan, by way of Wilshire Boulevard.

"One of my favorite places to shop is the gift shop at the Craft and Folk Art Museum (CAFAM) on Wilshire. I really think that most people miss this treasure trove because it is upstaged by the great LACMA. I have never gone into their shop without buying a fabulous treasure from some faraway place. They feature local as well as international artisans and carry everything from organically dyed scarves to embroidered coats from Uzbekistan. There are many treats that are fair trade and/or sustainable including gifts for children. I have even gotten some amazing ethnic/tribal pieces that are a part of my home now. If you go there in the summer, you can actually start your holiday shopping because there are so many unique and colorful items and most everyone falls in love with them because they are not mass-produced. Pieces with heart that reflect the culture that they were made in....what a treat!"

· The Way We Wore [Official Site]
· All Shopping Confidential Posts [Racked LA]

Craft and Folk Art Museum (CAFAM)

5814 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles CA 90036