like what thrift stores? there are a ton of shops on melrose that have some cute stuff. i don't know when it comes to things that aren't chains. the beverly center is a mall and obviously has chain stores in there but it's huge and they have kinda less known stores as well as the big chain stores like forever 21 and stuff. pasadena has a lot of good shopping. the only thing is it's not in LA really so it depends on if you have a car since our public transportation sucks. there are also a lot of fun non chain stores in orange county, but once again, it depends on your transportation.