Whether you are a true fashionista, an art lover, a design aficionado, or simply don’t want to miss out on the latest trends in design, fashion, art and beauty, visit the Avenues of Art & Design in West Hollywood. On Saturday, May 31, 2008, thousands of people will meet on the 11^th annual Art & Design Walk, a mile-long open house with more than 300 high-end art galleries, fashion boutiques, interior design stores, specialty shops and restaurants. Staged along Melrose Avenue, and Beverly and Robertson Boulevards, the event highlights exclusive receptions, personal appearances, shopping discounts, and entertainment hosted by individual showrooms.

Admirers of minimalist and colour abstract art will want to stop by Hamilton-Selway Fine Art’s newest display “Contemporary Contemporaries”, featuring work by Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, Keith Haring, David Hockney and other twentieth century artists.

Other gallery exhibitions include George Stern Fine Art’s ‘Robert Frame’ showcase and Glass Garage Fine Arts Gallery’s ‘Lucent Dossier Vaudeville Cirque’.

The fashion conscious in search of the latest fad can enjoy haute designers like Stella McCartney and James Perse. The fashion boutiques along the Avenues have something for everyone. And home aficionados will like Ligne Roset by Linea, the fine collection of Peking glass by Robert Kuo, White Orchid Living at north Robertson Blvd and the special surprises from Phyllias Morris/Circa.

Once again, the downtown Los Angeles non-profit arts education center Inner-City Arts will benefit by the Avenues of Art & Design thanks to a silent auction taking place on the day of the event. Inner-City Arts “…uses arts education to positively affect the lives of at-risk children by unlocking their creative potential for a more hopeful and productive future.”

Admission to the Saturday’s Avenues Art & Design Walk 4p.m. to 8p.m. is absolutely free. Fiji Water will provide free bottled water to guests at their stations all through the Avenues and Urth Caffé offers free coffee drinks and tea. For more information visit, http://avenuesartdesign.com

About The Avenues of Art & Design

“Established through a West Hollywood City Ordinance as a Business Improvement District (BID) in 1996, the streets of Melrose Avenue, Robertson and Beverly Boulevards are where fine, decorative and culinary arts are conceived, created, and consigned to aesthetically-minded, design-savvy connoisseurs worldwide.”

London has something for every taste, budget and personality. Exclusive shopping equals Bond Street, Sloane Street, Conduit Street and Burton Street, Jermyn Street is known as the gentlemen’s shopping strip, Beauchamp Place, Walton Street and Pont Street offer good boutiques for the ladies, and Kings Road is often considered as one of the trendiest places to shop. Chelsea is also less touristy than Oxford Street.

Walton Street, Fulham Road and Brompton Road near South Kensington tube station boast many individual designer shops and boutiques whilst Regent and Oxford Street have high street labels such as H&M and Top Shop, and large department stores like Selfridges. Oxford Street does have good shopping (especially Zara near Marble Arch), but I prefer Kensington High Street because the area is nicer and it’s usually less crowded.

One of my favourite places to shop is Ledbury Road and Westbourne Grove where you can find clothes by many young British designers. The most beautiful shop is, in my opinion, Paul Smith’s shop at Kensington Park Road near Notting Hill Gate. I also like the Mayfair area, especially Stella McCartney at 30 Bruton Street and Marc Jacobs at 24-25 Mount Street.

For more funky and hip street wear, go to Carnaby Street and Kingly Court in Soho. Kingly Court is located between Kingly Street and Carnaby Street and the nearest tube station is Oxford Circus.

Let’s not forget Harrods and Harvey Nichols in Knightsbridge, or Liberty on 210-220 Regent Street near Oxford Circus. The clothes for women are designed by, for example, Vivienne Westwood, Acne, Marc Jacobs, Ann Demeulemeester, Dries Van Noten and Hussein Chalayan. Although I rarely can afford everything I want to buy, it’s a lot of fun to just browse through the designs and try on different outfits. No one says you can’t try, but not buy! What I like most about Liberty is the ground floor where they sell all my favourite skincare labels - Aveda, REN, the French brand Nuxe and Kiehl’s - and fragrances from Stella McCartney, Marc Jacobs, Agent Provocateur, Kenzo, Paul Smith and Comme de Garcons. Apart from this Liberty also sells nice scented candles in different shapes and colours, perfect to brighten up your room a cold winter day.