General Information
NFT Map: 55
Address: 14006 Riverside Dr
Sherman Oaks, CA 91423
Phone: 818-783-0550
Website: www.westfield.com/fashionsquare
Shopping
When fun-loving couples in their twenties evolve into responsible parents in their thirties, they move to the Valley. Indicative of this shift, while the Westfield Century City unveils a spanking new multiplex, the Westfield Fashion Square in Sherman Oaks is the recipient of a new kiddie playground and a passel of children’s clothing stores (Naartjie, Janie & Jack, babystyle). The mood at the Fashion Square is cool, but not hip. Upscale, but not ostentatious. Entertaining, but not necessarily fun. The Fashion Square caters to the locals who have moved to Sherman Oaks because it is clean, tasteful and safe. Similar qualities may be found in the home furnishings dealers at the Fashion Square, a group which includes Pottery Barn, Williams Sonoma, and Z Gallerie.
Clothing choices are an equally predictable mix of Abercrombie & Fitch, the Gap, Banana Republic, and Victoria’s Secret. The Square is not without its high-end perks—the Bloomingdale’s shines and Teavana shows that there’s a world of tea that goes way beyond Earl Grey. Expectant mothers are treated like queens with two apparel stores (babystyle, A Pea In the Pod) and a group of dedicated parking spots located close to the mall entrance reserved just for them. Those few Valley denizens without kids in tow can hold on to their freedom, shopping solo at the Apple store or pampering themselves at the Aspect Beauty health club and spa, which could only be further from the playground if it had been placed outside the mall on the other side of Riverside Drive.
Food
The choices in the Garden Café Food Court seem so limited that the most appealing lunch selection often seems to be an Ice Blended from the Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf and a Cinnabon, extra icing please. Chain restaurants rule, from healthy(-ish) chains like California Crisp or La Salsa to those that are decidedly not healthy at all (Carl’s Jr., Sbarro). Downstairs options are more appealing. Barney’s is a Westside institution that now offers burgers, sandwiches, and salads, and the California Pizza Kitchen ASAP offers a faster-food version of its usual dine-in menu. For your convenience and snacking pleasure, gumball machines are strewn throughout the mall, filled with assorted candy and chocolate treats.
Drawbacks
The long line of cars waiting to turn into the mall can frequently serve as a deterrent for shoppers, sending them off to stand-alone alternatives in nearby Studio City or Encino. Also, the absence of a supermarket, a movie theater, and a decent sit-down restaurant prevents the Fashion Square from being a destination in its own right.
How to Get There
From the 101 in either direction, exit Woodman. Head north on Woodman one block, and go left onto Riverside. The parking lot can be accessed on both the Riverside and the Hazeltine sides of the mall, though Bloomingdale’s shoppers will want to enter
on Hazeltine. The bus lines that stop at Fashion Square are LADOT DASH Van Nuys/Studio City, Metro Bus 155 and 158.