Seeing Stars: Where You Can Shop for the Stars

18730 Oxnard Street, Suite 204,
Tarzana, CA / (818) 881-9077
Alas, I have to report that Star
Wares has closed its store on Main Street in Santa Monica, as well as their website.
The company appears to have sold out to another memorabilia dealer, Piece of the Past, which you can find here: http://www.pieceofthepast.com
I'll leave the article below
online for a while, for anyone interested in reading about the shop, butbe aware that it is no longer in business.
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You say you're looking for a unique
souvenir from Hollywood, but you don't want to settle for the tourist trinkets
sold at Farmers Market? 
What you'd really like to get
you hands on is something personal that actually belonged to a movie
star, right? Something like... Elizabeth
Taylor's shoes. Or maybe Joan
Crawford's cigarette holder...
Well, then make your way to
Main Street in Santa Monica.
Just a short distance from Arnold Schwarzenegger's
restaurant ("Schazi on Main"),
you'll find a little shop that may have just what you want. If you can
afford it.
"Star
Wares" is a one-of-a-kind store, where the stars don't shop, they
sell.
"Star
Wares" (which might be more properly spelled "Star Wears")
sells clothing previously worn by Hollywood stars, as well as genuine movie
props, personal belongings of celebs, and other such movie and TV memorabilia.
Each item is labeled
clearly, not only with the price, but also with a description of the item,
and (most importantly) with the name of the star who contributed
the item.
The prices are reasonable,
considering the source. You can pick up a white scarf worn by Loretta Switt
("Hot Lips" from "M*A*S*H")
for a paltry $15. A nice (signed) sweater worn by Katharine
Oxenburg in "Dynasty"
can be had for a mere $145.
But
when it comes to the choicest items, the prices can go up in a hurry. That
cigar holder from "Mommie Dearest" herself (Joan
Crawford) has an asking price of $225.
And those Liz Taylor
pumps come with a price tag of $450.
But even if you can't afford
the big-ticket items, it's still fun to look at them, and "Star Wares"
is a virtual mini-museum of movie memorabilia.
Inside the tiny shop, there's
a glass display case just to the right of the door where you'll find their
most valuable collector's items:
- a goblet used by
Mel Gibson in the 1990 movie
version of "Hamlet" ($1,200).
- Michael Jackson's
"Dangerous" CD, autographed by the star himself ($975).
- Bette Davis'
purse & accessories ($950).
- a shot-glass owned by director Cecil
B. DeMille ($575) and
- a severed hand prop from 1979's "Dawn of
the Dead" ($750).
Look
closely and you can find:
- a rare autographed picture of Greta
Garbo ($3,500)
- Rudolph Valentino's
silver Tiffany tie clasp ($850)
- Fred Astaire's
cuff links ($375)
- Carole Lombard's
wicker net hat ($325), or
- a cupid-shaped pin from Ava
Gardner ($300).
Or perhaps your tastes run
more to the likes of a genuine pair of pointed Vulcan ears used in 1984's
"Star Trek III: The Search for Spock" ($800 a set), a
laser pistol from the TV series "Battlestar Galactica"
($300), or a bizarre stringed instrument from "Super Mario Bros"
($1,500).
You can own Gregory
Hines' tap-dancing shoes for $350,
a small carved ivory art-deco figurine that once belonged to John
Barrymore for $295, glittery shoes
worn by Olivia Newton-John
for $195, or Mary
Tyler Moore's rhinestone pill box for
$145.
There are less-expensive items
in this display case as well:
- a necklace from Raquel
Welch is $95
- Rosalyn Russell's
a membership card from the Catholic Actor's Club is only $85, and
- a prop wedding invitation from the 1990 movie "Betsy's
Wedding" is just $25.
But
if you're budget is limited, stay away from that autographed photo of Bruce Lee.
It costs $1,500. And you might want to pass on the $8,500 dress worn by
Julia Roberts in
"Pretty Woman." on Michael Jackson's
electric, sequined glove (priced at $27,000), and on Ringo Starr's
snare drum from his days with the Beatles ($30,000.)
Note that the above items are
only what's inside the display case. Most of the room at "Star
Wares" is devoted to racks of clothes worn by the stars, at much
more reasonable prices.
For instance, you can buy:
- a blouse worn by Cher
in "Gothic" for $40
- a black polo shirt from Cher
(worn in "Love Hurts") is just $30.
- A nice (signed) sweater worn by Katharine
Oxenburg in "Dynasty" goes for $145.
- a polka-dot mini-dress from Joan
Rivers for $55.
- A red & black hooded jacket from Jaclyn
Smith has an asking price of $50, and
- and a colorful "Miami Vice" jacket
donated by Cher is priced at $95.
(It
appears that Cher is
a big contributor to this store.) You could get a Linda Blair-autographed
skirt for just $5. Or a bra worn from Barbra Streisand
for $35. A Bob Mackie pantsuit designed for
Carol Burnett goes for $75.
Feel free to take the clothes
off the racks and try them on for size (despite their celebrity tags).
There are hats, shoes, belts, accessories, dresses, blouses, shirts, and
jackets, from both male and female stars (although at least 75% of the
clothing is for women).
In
the back of the small store, there's another glass display case against
the north wall. This one contains assorted movie props, such as an original
walkie-talkie from "Jurassic Park" (for $1,500), a signed bolero
hat from Mel Gibson ($450),
a flying disk from "Batman Returns" ($500), and a "Star
Trek" Feringi "nose appliance" for $100.
Lining
the top of the shop's back wall are photos of stars who have contributed
to the store's inventory, plus a few larger items, such as a mannequin
wearing a black dress from Madonna.
Bear in mind that these items
are for sell, so the inventory changes constantly. Chances are that
the items listed above will have already been sold by the time you read
this. But they are always getting in new merchandise, and it's always exciting
to see what new items they have in stock.
So, if you're looking for a
real Hollywood souvenir, forget about those tacky souvenir shops
along Hollywood Boulevard - this is the place to come! Open 10:30 to 6
PM Mon-Sat, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sundays.
Getting
there: "Star
Wares" is [was]
located on Main Street in Santa Monica, near the northeast corner of Ashland
and Main. If you weren't looking for the shop, you could easily walk right
past it. It's tucked away on the north side of a building with stained
glass windows. / From the Santa Monica (10) Freeway, take the Lincoln
Boulevard offramp. Head south on Lincoln (two blocks) to Pico Boulevard.
Turn right (west) on Pico, and go half a mile west to Main Street. Turn
left (south) on Main Street, and go about three quarters of a mile south
to near Ashland Avenue. The store will be on your left (east) side.
[For
more information, you can access Star Wares' own website at: http://www.starwares.com.]
Looking
for something in particular? Search the Seeing-Stars website!
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