New 9 Handbags for Less Than $20

Tucked behind an accessories booth and a hat stand you'll find New 9 Handbag, a wholesale and retail handbag vendor that's been in Santee Alley for over 20 years. New 9 carries wallets, clutches, evening bags, totes, and purses in all shapes and colors. They also have a small selection of carry-on luggage and backpacks for the "Back to School" season.

This is the place for bargain hunters looking to score a good deal on a new bag. Prices range from $5-$20, with most items priced around $10. New inventory arrives at the store every week. See more styles at www.new9handbag.com.

For pricing or purchase inquiries please contact the store directly at (213) 749-6188 or visit them at 1057  S. Maple Ave. inside The Santee Alley.

Stylish backpacks and totes perfect for back to school!

A selection of evening bags and clutches, and carry-on luggage in the top right corner

The entrance to New 9 Handbag

New 9 Handbag
1057 S. Maple Ave. inside Santee Alley
(213) 749-6188

Weekly Fashion Finds: Makeup Cases

How sweet is the makeup case pictured above? Every makeup lovers dream! Makeup cases are becoming more prevalent in the alley and come in various sizes and colors. We found Halo Handbags has one of the best makeup case selections in the LA Fashion District. They carry everything from small cases for the everyday gal to heavy-duty portable cases for the makeup pros like the one pictured below.

We're especially smitten with the animal print rolling cases. They have multi-tier pull out portable cases too!

For pricing and purchase inquiries please contact Halo Handbags directly. They have two locating in the alley:

1016 Santee Alley #7

(213) 747-1080

1227 1/2 S. Maple Ave. #B

(213) 746-2440

And two other locations in the Fashion District:

1137 Santee St.
(213) 748-1332

311 E. 11th St.
(213) 745-4028

Top Star Prom and Special Occasion Gowns for Women and Girls

Past the sunglasses and handbags at the entrance of 1039 Santee Alley you'll find Top Star. The special occasion women's and children's wear store specializing in  flower girl, first communion, and baptism gowns, prom dresses, and special evening gowns. Styles vary from more conservative Mother of the Bride gowns to fun and flirty dresses for prom and graduation parties. They also carry tuxedos for boys.

New styles are added weekly and tailoring is available. For purchase or pricing inquiries please contact store manger Michelle at 213-747-9113.

Girls dresses are available in children and tween sizes.

Top Star
1039 S. Maple Ave. inside Santee Alley
213-747-9113

Weekly Fashion Finds: Back to School, Discounts and Princess Dresses

ICYMI (In Case You Missed It) Three's For Me is still offering 10% off  to all our blog readers as well as their Facebook and Instagram followers. More info on that here. The Princess and the Frog's Tiana gown is pictured above on the right. They carry most Disney princess gowns along with their flower girl and baptism selection.

On to this week's Weekly Fashion Finds... We're Back to School ready! The Santee Alley is fully stocked with backpacks for children and teens for the back to school season. We love the little animal shaped backpacks like the one the boy is wearing in the photo above. They're perfect for smaller children and oh so adorable! You'll find everything from cartoon and action hero themed backpacks to the high school classic Jansport. For the fashion forward crowd, we also have stylish totes and book bags available at handbag stores throughout the alley.

Bargain of the week: $5 animal print bags we found at New 9 Nine Handbag (located at 1057 S. Maple Ave. inside the alley). We'll be showing you more from Nine Handbag this week.

Also coming to the blog this week, gorgeous dresses from Top Star (located at 1039 S. Maple Ave. inside the alley). They carry prom, special occasion, bridesmaid, mother of the bride, and children's formal wear. Stay tuned...

P.S. Check out our amazing shoe deals!

Weekly Fashion Finds: Summer 2013 Trends

This week's edition of Weekly Fashion Finds features an old favorite: Madera Fashion. We love Madera for always being ahead of the game when it comes to fashion trends. Plus, they have the cutest clothes! Need proof? This is the one place where you will find this summer's trends all in one place:

• Geometric/bold prints - Like the tube top and maxi skirt pictured above on the far left.
• Coral and blue - We've seen these two colors matched together everywhere.
• American Flag - We've seen it on tops, jeans, shorts, everything!
• Bows - This trend has blown up in the alley over the last couple of weeks. Big bows on the back of shirts and dresses and now on bandeau tops. Love this look for the beach!
• Print leggings - Forget solid colors, right now it's all about prints. Madera has by far one of the biggest selections of leggings in all sorts of prints an colors.

Shop Madera Fashion at 1040 and 1041 inside Santee Alley. Check out their Instagram for more photos and current styles. For purchase or pricing inquiries please contact Madera Fashion directly at 213-745-4515.

Grand Opening: New Children's Formal Wear Store

Three's For Me has a new location in Santee Alley. The children's formal wear retailer is expanding their selection of Baptism, First Communion, and flower girl gowns to include boy's tuxedos. The second location at 1023 Maple Ave. will feature the newest styles, as well as Baptism and First Communion accessories.

Get a 10% discount off your entire purchase by following Three's For Me on Facebook or Instagram (@threesdresses) using Facebook code "ThreesFB" or Instagrm code "InstaThrees". Mention this post to the cashier for an in-store discount.

Three's For Me Exclusive: We were floored when we saw this dress. It's a 100% silk, handmade baptism gown  imported from Mexico. The 2-piece petticoat and dress set comes with matching booties and bonnet. For pricing or purchase inquiries please contact the store directly at (213) 744-1964.

Shoe Deals: How much you can save at Santee Alley compared to other stores?

It's no secret The Santee Alley is THE place to shop for heels. The shoe selection here in unparalleled. You won't find another place with so many trendy shoes at such low prices. A while back we showed you just how much you can save by shopping at Santee Alley compared to online retailers and department stores and today we're bringing you round 2.

All of the shoes listed can be purchased in the Santee Alley or online at LolaShoetique.com. We used the listed online price for this post, but in our experience prices will generally be at least $5 lower if you purchase them in-store.

Most styles are also available at these locations: I Heart Fashion, Betty's Shoes, Sensual Steps, Cherry 4-U, and Forever Fashion.

Top 2 Toe Department Store Brand Name Discounts

The Santee Alley is filled with department store brand name discounts, the key is knowing where to look. Case and point Top 2 Toe, which recently opened at 1023 Maple Ave. inside the Santee Alley. Top 2 Toe carries almost all brand name clothing and accessories for men and women, mainly Ed Hardy and Christian Audigier. The clothing is steeply discounted with items starting at around $5.

If Ed Hardy's not your style, don't be deterred. This is the kind of store that's made the alley famous for treasure hunting. Amidst all the tattoo-inspired tees and rhinestones we spotted bebe handbags in an array of colors. They normally retail upwards of $100!

The prices here are unbeatable. For all our bargain-hunting lovers this is a must-visit! For pricing or purchase inquiries, please contact the store directly at (216) 746-1646.

Weekly Fashion Finds: Beachwear, brand name sneakers, and celebrity spotting!

 

Summer is definitely taking over Santee Alley! We're fully stocked with beach hats, bikini cover-ups, sarongs, and swimsuits. Shop the look (above) at High Bijoux, 1103-A and 1138-C inside Santee Alley. See more on their Instagram page.

Spotted: Jomari Goyso was spotted in Santee Alley filming his hit segment, "A la Moda con Jomari". Any Jomair Goyso fans out there? If you're interested in buying something you see on his latest segment, most of the segment was filmed at Forever Shoes (1010 inside Santee Alley).

We featured Black Knights on the blog last year, but for all our new followers, this is the place for brand name tennis shoes and sneakers at discounted prices. Black Knights is an authorized dealer with three locations in the LA Fashion District. They carry brands such as Nike, Converse, Vans, and Jordans and retro Jordans shoes, apparel and gear.

Sneak peak into our next store feature... Top 2 Toe is a new store in the alley selling brand name discounted clothing, mostly Ed Hardy and Christian Audigier. More details later this week!

Iconic Fashion

Our featured store today is Iconic Fashion. Located at 1006-C inside the Santee Alley, Iconic Fashion carries women's clothing, from jeans and shorts to party dresses. They also carry jewelry, specifically body jewelry (pictured above) and head pieces a.k.a. "head chains". They are open 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. every day.

Check out their Facebook page for current styles and promos!

Weekly Fashion Finds: Discounted Perfumes, Store Photo Tour + New Styles

The Santee Alley is more than just clothes and fashion. We also have cosmetics and beauty products! Our featured beauty store this week is K.K. Distributors. A perfume wholesale and retail vendor located at
1115 1/2 inside Santee Alley (on the Maple side). They carry over 1,000 brands of perfumes all at discounted prices. For inquiries, please contact the store directly at (213) 746-7774.

In case you missed it... last Friday we gave our Instagram followers a tour of one of our shoe stores. Head on over to our Intagram page to see all the new shoe styles, and make sure to follow us on Insta!

New at the alley this week: Simple styles in bold colors. We're really into this look for summer. These no fuss outfits are perfect for hot weather.

These styles are available at Vickie's Fashion, located at 1136 Santee St. - Unit B. Have a question? Please contact the store directly at (213) 745-4336.