It seems like everyday I’m reminded what a small world we live in. Case in point, I was first introduced to Tour de Couture through a colleague of mine at Los Angeles magazine. Not a week goes by, and I get an email from a fellow stylist friend Laurie Brucker of Laurie B Style telling me how I have to meet her friend Ali Kahn (who’s also a personal/celebrity stylist), and hear about her new company.
So Ali and I meet over coffee (who am I kidding, it was mostly us wolfing down desserts and taking two sips of coffee – which led to one of many instant connections). We immediately realize how we are both from Houston and that she went to my husband’s alma mater Texas Tech (this Longhorn agreed to set aside our football rivalry, for now). As if I needed any more reason to like her, she took me through her idea around creating Tour de Couture and I literally said out loud “Man, I wish I’d thought of that!”. Her premise for the tour comes from realizing that so many people (both locals and tourists) are inundated with busy schedules and an overwhelming list of options when trying to navigate the LA shopping scene. Enter TdC – where you can craft your own L.A. shopping experience, from the type of style (vintage, designer, modern, boutique, etc.) to the level of luxury treatment you’re seeking. So naturally it got me thinking – how fun would it be to plan a killer shopping trip the next time all my besties are in town, or finally something unique and fun to do for a bachelorette weekend. She currently offers three types of tours for who she’s calling her “couturists”: Pret-A-Party, Haute Pursuit, and Bespoke.
I was lucky enough to be invited on a VIP tour she designed for me and 5 other editors/bloggers. And let me tell you, it was hands down one of the coolest things I’ve done in LA. We all met up at The Grove where we were greeted with champagne and swag bags in a super swanky Mercedes-Benz sprinter van. Once we hit the road, we were filmed for our intros on a video she plans to use for her site – to which I gave fair warning that when I drink “my country comes out” (so Ali – you have full reign to edit me out 😉 ). The minute I stepped foot in the first boutique, I knew it was gonna be a “camera-happy” kinda day – but hey, that’s what I’m here for right? Check out the whole tour below to see some of my favorites at each stop, with a few shameless selfies thrown in – but hey, it wouldn’t be a blogger event without ’em amirite??
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