Abbot Kinney Blvd in Venice Beach

Luckily my friends are scattered about, and share interesting little tid bits of design with me here and there.  I love it.  Lately I have been in need of witnessing some of it first hand, in person, beyond a two dimentional surface.  Yesterday we went to Santa Monica for a gemstone event, and we rolled down Abbot Kinney as the sun was settling into the late afternoon sky. 

The cake plates that Geoffrey usually updates me on, this time shot by yours truly. 

What Geoffrey leaves out is that there are two windows full of stacked cake plates - amazing.  I am not sure how many of these they move in a month, clearly enough to have in stock but not enough that will hinder their ability to make elaborate cake plate sculptures. 

From PLANTATION, a design showroom.  Gorgeous work, right up my alley.  There is a touch of East Coast classic style in there with a dash of Palm Springs exaggerated whimsy. 

Principessa on AK in Venice seems to be a bastion of LA style with flowy dresses, hats, and other pieces you could wear to the beach/stables/hiking/yoga. 

An Opinion on LA Style...

LA has some interesting and inspiring expression.  The sprawling metropolis adds sundrenched desert and ocean style to the American aesthetic; I appreciate and admire that.  Here's my confusion with California in general: it's passive-aggressive as a state.  Coming from the East Coast where most things are straight forward (excluding the ever-changing New England weather) - California lacks an opinion. Maybe that is why this state is bankrupt, confused about politics and gay marriage, and unsure of whether or not to fix the highways because, afterall, aren't they just going to need fixing again later? 
I think Californians see this lack of opinion as "flexibility" and they tend to express it in their laid back style.  How many LA natives did I see yesterday who were dressed for anything?  The answer is every woman who wasn't en route to a job waiting tables.  It's a look that says: "I could go horseback riding/surfing/to-a-drum-circle-or-yoga-class, but I haven't decided yet". 
Maybe on the East Coast we have dressed too detailed for a particular event, take ourselves too seriously, and then discover we have gone swimming in a cocktail dress...