Laissez les bon temps roulet!

For all those throwing parties or going to New Orleans,  happy Marid Gras 2012! 

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Don't Forget Valentine's Day is Tuesday, February 14th!

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Clothing for A Buck At Ozzie’s Dots

Reprinted from the Los Feliz Ledger, By Colin Stutz, Ledger Contributing Writer

 LOS FELIZ — On a recent Saturday morning, a group of eager shoppers amassed outside the colorful Ozzie Dots vintage clothing and costume shop on Hollywood Boulevard, waiting for 11 o’clock to roll around. There for the store’s monthly “Dollar Sale”—where racks of clothes are brought curbside and each article is sold for just $1—the 15 or so bargain-hunters hung around and chatted amongst themselves.

There was an elderly couple from up the hill, a hip-looking boyfriend and girlfriend in their mid-twenties, a group of thirty-and fortysomethings, and others, several of whom have been coming for more than a decade in search of a good deal. Soon, the glass front door swung open, and with a few employees the store’s owner Daniel Hazen pushed out the day’s sale selection.

“Just two racks today, people,” he said before stepping back and watching the throng dig in.

Pulling jackets, shirts, dresses and whatever else in an out-there assortment of styles, cuts and colors, the customers urgently grabbed their garments and brought them inside the store for further inspection and purchase.

The sale is a way Hazen keeps Ozzie Dot’s inventory fresh.

Clothes that don’t sell after three months are dropped to half-price for another month and then bargained off at the $1 Saturday Sale.

This month’s selection was light because Halloween had wiped them out, said Hazen, but stocks vary and sometimes they’ll have six racks on the street with even more clothes inside to restock. Forty or more customers may show up, and so they’ll keep them at bay until the sale opens with velvet ropes like those outside a Hollywood club.

“Within a half an hour we’re down to two racks,” said Hazen, 63 with grey crew cut hair, protruding ears, a mustache and goatee. “These people are just… You saw some of them, they were snatching it up.”

Inside the shop, regular Howard “Howie” Seth Cohen, dressed in a red sweatshirt and plaid green pants, checked out his choices on a small portion of the glass display counter that shows off knickknacks ranging from jewelry to plastic bugs. He said some of his best finds in the past have included furs and three-piece suits.

“Sometimes this whole area will be crowded, so there are certain rules in place,” he said. “You can’t put the clothes on the ground and you can’t use the changing room. So you have to be able to share this space to put your stuff down and tell whether or not it fits.”

Hazen’s plan for the Dollar Sale began in the ’70s when he and his two brothers each managed stores within the Aardvark’s vintage clothing chain around the Los Angeles area.

The Aardvark’s owner incentivized them to bring up revenue with an offer to share profits, and soon they were “ragging” the shops, says Hazen, discounting older stock to move inventory out and “clean the stores up,” and experienced great success doing so.

In 1985 Hazen bought his store—then in the building where Pull My Daisy currently sits on Sunset Boulevard and Hyperion Avenue—and changed the name to Ozzie Dots, carrying on his methods with the Dollar Sale.

“We wanted to make sure that we had something special,” said Hazen. “We’ve tried to have lower prices and then we also wanted to make sure everyone gets a deal. She’ll attest to that,” he continued with a chuckle, motioning to Sarah Barber, his 27-year-old employee with pink and black mascara, dyed red hair, dressed in a blue leopard-print cardigan and black pants. “All her clothes are from Ozzie Dots.”

“Yeah, most the stuff I have is from here actually,” she said. “And I get more compliments on the things that cost me a dollar from the Dollar Sale than the vintage Chanel I’ve been collecting forever. It’s demented.”

But for all the fuss, the sale’s regulars don’t want the word getting out.

“It’s like their goldmine,” said Hazen. “They’re the hardcore group. They really don’t want anyone to know because they get easy pickings.”

This entry was posted on Thursday, December 29th, 2011 at 7:00 am     and is filed under Community News, Lead Cover Story. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. 

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Celebrate the 113th Annual Golden Dragon Parade is January 28th

 In celebrating over one hundred years of tradition, the Chinese Chamber of Commerce of Los Angeles presents the 113th Annual Golden Dragon Parade, the premiere cultural event in the Southern California Asian-American Community.

© 2011 977 N. Broadway, G/F, #E, Los Angeles, CA

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Bad Christmas sweaters are still here at Ozzie Dots with a fabulous selection of taste-free designs!

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HOLIDAY FESTIVAL, SATURDAY, DECEMBER 3!

Los Feliz Village’s Eclectic Annual Holiday Festival Features lots of incredible Gifts, Cheer and Goodwill.  Complimentary Trolley and Open Air Bus transport revelers around the Village’s main streets of Hillhurst and Vermont Avenues and Hollywood Boulevard.  Carolers, puppeteers and Santa himself create mirth and an unforgettable holiday experience.

Who: The Los Feliz Village Business Improvement District, “LFVBID”, Village Merchants and Restaurants

What: 6th Annual Los Feliz Village Holiday Festival

Where: Los Feliz Village; Hillhurst Ave., Hollywood Blvd. and Vermont Ave.

When: Saturday, December 3rd, 2011 6PM-10PM  (Kick off at 6PM at the Los Feliz Library with Tree-Lighting Ceremony and live performances by the cast of For the Record: John Hughes (Holiday Road). Admission is free to public.

Why: The Los Feliz Village Holiday Festival, now in its 6th year, has become THE place for creative Angelinos to source imaginative, eclectic and one of a kind holiday gifts.

Special Attractions by Street

Hillhurst Ave.

• 6:00 PM Tree Lighting Ceremony at the Los Feliz Library (Hillhurst/Franklin) kicks off the Holiday Festival.  Master of Ceremonies Barrett Foa (NCIS) and the cast of For the Record: John Hughes (Holiday Road) will perform live, putting a holiday spin on Hollywood’s critically acclaimed 360-degree dining and concert experience playing a limited engagement at Barre Vermont, 1714 N. Vermont, through December 30th.  The show showcases signature songs and moments from John Hughes’ film classics such as ‘The Breakfast Club,’ ‘Sixteen Candles,’ ‘Pretty In Pink,’ ‘Ferris Bueller’s Day Off’ and ‘Weird Science,’ as well as Hughes’ holiday favorites ‘Home Alone,’ ‘Christmas Vacation’ and ‘Planes, Trains & Automobiles.’”  For the Record: John Hughes (Holiday Road) features a rotating cast from stage, record and screen. Visit www.showatbarre.com for performance schedules and tickets for John Hughes (Holiday Road).
• Photos with Santa at Coldwell Banker (1917 Hillhurst)
• Alphabet Soup Puppeteers at Dragonfly DuLou (2066 Hillhurst)
• Prudential Elves Holiday Workshop featuring bounce house, craft table, hot cider and cookies (1714 Hillhurst)
• Bring your pet dressed in their holiday best to Keller Williams (1660 Hillhurst)

Hollywood Blvd.

• Decorate your own holiday stocking at Springer Chiropractic (4645 Hollywood)
• Holiday Party featuring Guitar Driven Jazz Holiday Music by Jonathan Stout Trio at Sweeney Todd’s Barber Shop (4639 Hollywood)
• Join Father Xmas for refreshments at Ozzie Dots (4637 Hollywood)
• Astrology readings, Lavender Distillation Demonstration, DJ and for the kids….Candy Cane Reindeers at Primrose Organics Salon (4616 Hollywood)
• Free tamale samples & champurrado (Mexican specialties) and crafts from local artists at Yuca’s on Hollywood (4666 Hollywood)
• View the newly completed mural at the Barnsdall/Metro Arts Corridor & enjoy hot cider and donuts with the artists.

Vermont Ave.

• Enjoy complimentary Glazed Pumpkin Cake and Hot Spiced Apple Cider at Vermont/Rockwell (1714 Vermont)
• Half Off Clothing Store will be serving refreshments, cookies and offering discounts throughout store (1748 Vermont)
• Enjoy your choice of Hot chocolate, Espresso or Cappuccino and cookies at Il Capriccio (1757 Vermont)
• Strolling carolers up and down Vermont Avenue

Admission:  Free to public

Posted on November 25, 2011 by losfeliz

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Happy Thanksgiving to all of our customers and friends! 
Ozzie Dots will be closed for thanksgiving Thursday, Nov. 24th, but we will be open Friday at our usual hours.

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Fall is here in Los Angeles, which usually means moderate cold and rain, and then winter is right around the block. Ozzie Dots has fall sweaters, jackets, hats and gloves to keep you warm and dry. Our ugly Christmas sweaters and vests are also arriving daily.

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A great segment filmed at Ozzie Dots featuring Daniel and Allison interviewed by Alisha Del Valle, check it out:

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