Los Angeles is the land of crazy luxury shopping, picture-perfect beaches, tasty food (do not miss out on the best tacos in LA!), and an overall glitzy vibe with an infusion of laid-back relaxation. Visitors flock to LA for its sunny glamour, and nothing may be more glamorous than a thorough exploration of all things Hollywood! Yes, visitors can get the Hollywood experience by taking a tour of Universal Studios or visiting the Chateau Marmont (the best place for celeb sightings, by the way!). However, this LA-area thrift shop offers more than just a brush with Hollywood; visitors can actually buy a piece of it.
Located in Burbank, California, It’s a Wrap thrift store sells movie and television costumes from sets located right around the corner at all the major film lots. From millennial favorites like “The Vampire Diaries” to classic long-running sitcoms, it’s the only store open to the public where regular old fans can buy things from their favorite Hollywood productions. Ready to peruse the racks? Read on to find out how!
Hollywood sign in the hills of Hollywood
Founded in 1981, this woman family-owned business has been selling Hollywood’s costumes since 1981. It’s a Wrap is extremely unique; they boast that they are “the only store in the world” where the public can directly purchase movie and television costumes. No gatekeeping auction houses, no crazy online markups, just some good old-fashioned thrifting across two stories of bursting racks and shelves of clothing, accessories, and props!
Each of the top neighborhoods in Los Angeles and every LA-adjacent town has its unique flare, and Burbank’s vibe is in harmony with its Hollywood links. It’s a Wrap’s Burbank location makes it central to the surrounding Hollywood studios and a prime spot for sourcing and selling Hollywood merchandise. It’s also close-by other oddities and memorabilia shops filled with Hollywood souvenirs (and a fantastically stocked Goodwill)!
Pro-tip: get there early for street parking; otherwise, parking gets complicated!
It’s a Wrap is extremely accessible to the public and has really great hours of operation. Can’t make it to the store? They sell a small selection of their pieces remotely, but it’s best to email them for more information. Here are their store’s operating hours:
No complete travel guide to Los Angeles and SoCal would be complete without this special store on the itinerary, especially if someone’s a shopaholic and big-screen fan. Even before shoppers walk through the doors, they have the opportunity to shop the racks outside, which feature the store’s best deals. This is more of the traditional “thrift” experience where shoppers may have to sift through racks and racks of discounted products to find the diamond in the ruff. But if willing to hunt, dedicated thrifters may be well rewarded. After examining the deals outside, shoppers have plenty to work through inside the store.
Surrounded by legendary pieces of Hollywood history all over the walls of the store, shoppers will first encounter a large smattering of women’s clothing. Visitors will find everything from vintage pieces to wedding dresses to contemporary outfits with all the hallmarks of being a Hollywood costume – the interior tags often feature the character’s name in sharpie or shoppers may find a production tag intact that indicates the actor or actress who wore the piece!
To figure out where the costumes came from, shoppers need to check the store’s tag. Each tag has a code written on it, and code legends are posted all around the shop. The code corresponds to a movie or television show on the legend, so folks can decipher exactly what piece of La La Land glamour they’re buying. Further, into the store, there is a smaller men’s section, but don’t be discouraged by the well-curated offering. Rather, it makes sifting through the men’s racks easier, and the gems quicker to find!
While it may seem like the concept of thrift shopping and buying a piece of Hollywood memorabilia may be at odds with one another price-wise, that couldn’t be further from the truth. It’s a Wrap prices its pieces with the economical shopper in mind and often runs deals to liquidate stock faster to bring in more inventory. It’s possible to pick up some genuine designer pieces as well, so shoppers can potentially hit gold twice – find a designer piece for a discounted price that was worn in a movie!
Just a word of warning, however. Shoppers may find pieces that look worn, distressed, or in some cases, straight-up destroyed…remember these are movie and television show costumes, so some of these pieces may be altered to look like a victim of a vampire bite was wearing it! Otherwise, there are so many things (in pretty pristine condition) for shoppers to get their hands on – happy (Hollywood) shopping!
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