F & S Apparel Fabrics

The apparel fabric prices are high, the selection is okay, and I’ve found the quality to be low. I will stop in if I need thread, buttons, or other notions, but that’s it.

The casher lady wearing glasses near front door was odd. Since i parked at the other F&S building, one block down and across the street, i just curious if it was okay to leave my car there and asked. Wow… Was it a rude question to ask about it? She cut my words and repeated non-​stop” i don’t understand what you mean” when i tried to explain then she cut it and again she repeated «i don’t understand what you mean.» wow… now i feel so dumb and humiliated. What a great Sat. Morning…

Marie Regino is superfabulicious! I was doing some jewelry projects with buttons and she spent about 40 minutes with me looking for the right combinations to make three pieces. Then, she cut off or filed down the back of the buttons so I could use them. I went back a few days later and she picked out fabulous buttons for a jacket. If you want too-​notch service, creativity and inventory knowledge if buttons, go here and work with Marie. (Mid you there were no other customers at the time.)

F&S is a great local resource! I give them four stars because they’re not my first choice, as I can usually find better prices at other locations. However, they have *quality* supplies here from fabric to zippers and everything in between. I love that they have ample free parking (that’s a big deal in Los Angeles!). A while ago, I wrote about them on my sewing blog, so if you want to see more pictures of their store, you can see them here:
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I have been shopping around for a small piece to fix my wedding dress. So yesterday I spend an hour in the traffic with sleeping baby in the back seat and got to the store 5:58 i.e. 2 min before closing.
No one stopped me to say we are closing please come back tomorrow. I walked right in the store (with the stroller) and walked right to the counter. The Asian woman behind the counter looked very tired and when I asked to be helped with fabric matching she send us even more to the back. The man (lgbt-​ish) was walking around not paying any attention to us and then suddenly walked to the speaker and announced that the store was closing.
We were not the only people in the store but I think his job was not to help the customers but to shush them away from the store. He annoyingly said that «we are closing».I need to stress «annoyingly».
We of course left the store — shoooshed away. I was speechless — I guess there is always the 1^st time. I grew up in Russia and used to rude csr but in US its very rare. I felt I was «back in USSR» :))
Can’t say anything bad about their selection — they seemed to have everything including the fabric I was looking for (but I couldn’t get it). That is why I am giving them 2 stars and (–3) stars for customer service.
I am looking for other stores now and I am sure someone will have ½ yard of pure white chiffon… but they have earned a negative review for really nothing.
I understand that they are closing but don’t close and be rude… be polite and I will come back…
downtown — here I come!

Fantastic selection, good prices. My only beef? I was here with my girlfriend and the cashier (latino dude) was extremely rude to her. I’m sorry, your tone of voice and your attitude is not appreciated. I would expect better customer service from a place that was featured on «Project Runway» but I suppose that is asking for too much. Next time I’M going to ask for a manager. Asshat.
When every single other employee is incredibly kind and we have a d’bag of a cashier on our hands, we have a problem.

How can you not love this place? Yes, it’s closed on Sundays. Yes, the staff always seems a little stoned (not entirely a bad thing) and the button lady will definitely give you a lecture if you don’t bring your garment with you.
But there is so much amazingness here! The ribbon section alone is dripping with fantastical objects that could inspire years of projects. For such a small space (compared to other warehouses downtown) they have a really great selection of fabric, if a little light on the lower-​cost fabrics.
And if you are willing to give the staff a chance, they are very knowledgeable. The button lady is actually an expert at dyeing and saved my butt recently. They don’t have an excellent selection of dyes, just RIT and similar type.
It’s also nice that it’s on the west side and has quite a bit of parking in the back. They have a rewards program as well, which is awesome but then you have a little card showing you just how much you’ve spent there…

this is my favorite shop after the now closed Florence Fabrics. It has a great variety and the atmosphere is pleasant and industrious. But the feature I like most is that there’s no snottiness on the part of the sales staff. The good attitude goes a long ways for me in wanting come back again, and again. There’s also always some fabric that’s a little whimsical that I end up buying in addition to the item I came in search of, which is like a cherry on top for me. Price is nominal, the expensive stuff is expensive because of it’s origin — you get what you pay for. But I don’t come here for the cheap stuff, so that’s not a problem for me.
What I Like:
Great selection of frock fabrics, natural fibers and The staff is pretty knowledgeable, they unobtrusively ask you if you need assistance and are readily available when you need it. Buttons and notions sections are pretty good. Linings are decent with silks and bembergs.
What I don’t like:
I wish it had more fine cotton fabrics and linens. This is LA and as much as I like my suiting fabrics, I’d like to make some nice dressy cotton and linen garments for the non-​winter months (which would be the 10.5 other months of the year).

10 624 W Pico is the F& S Outlet. It is the Art Deco Blue Tile exterior.
Decent prices, ok selection for @$ 10 yd. They have alot of Sunbrella in back area and $ 5 yd bolts on the wall.

One word review:
Okay, but Michael Levine is better, and so is Mood.
Well, that was more like ten words.
Please don’t review my math skills and give me 1 star. If anyone needs to «review» anything, it’s me. I’m dusting off the kindergarten arithmetic book already :-).
ANYway…
The first thing you’ll notice about F&S is that the outside of the building is covered with mural paintings of life-​sized people watering the grass, opening doors, etc.
Make sure you’re alert, because the figure paintings are so realistic you’ll want to say «excuse me, sir» to one, and whisper «I wonder what HIS problem is?» about another.
The store has a snappy, 1970s vibe, complete with faded photos of customers-​who-​must-​be-​old-​now, tacked to the walls. Lots of kitschy, Singer sewing machines from the [18]90s laying around, too, to dress the place up.
Speaking of dressing up, that’s probably why you’re here.
You’ve come for a great selection of fabric, and F&S doesn’t let you down. Have you come for chenille, pleather, feathers, velveteen, denim, or tweed? Maybe even some material with fake D&G or LV marquees printed on it?
They’ve got it all.
The only troubling thing is that F&S doesn’t have quite the selection of either Mood Fabric or Michael Levine.
And, not only that, the prices are a bit steep. $ 24 a yard for basic velvet? C’mon, now!
Other accessories, like scissors, buttons, zippers, and their like, are more hard to come by at F&S compared to other fabric stores (even compared to Joanne’s).
Of course, any of the above-​named stores are easily faaar more expensive than if you just go Downtown to the garment district to buy your materials. Even Michael Levine, which is IN the garment district, charges way more than its surrounding competition — and at the competition, you can haggle prices. $ 15 a yard? Show them a $ 10 (or even a $ 5!) and it’s yours.
The advantage of F&S (and Mood) is location: you don’t have to fight traffic to get downtown.
Particularly when you go to F&S, you can keep heading down Pico to go to the beach right afterward, where you can lay in the sand and ruminate why you spent $ 180 on fabric for something you don’t know you can even make successfully (FYI: by LOTS of extra fabric, for your inevitable mess-​ups :-P)!
Oh, look at that beach umbrella! Gives me an excellent idea for a new design…
Ultimately, F&S isn’t a bad choice — it’s a convenient choice.
One thing, though — they’re a bit stingy with sampling. There are signs posted everywhere: «no self-​sampling». I guess it’s because a lot of jerks bring outside-​scissors (now THERE’S a phrase for you!) to snip pieces of fabric without permission.
Particularly when the fabric is expensive, the sloppy-​self-​sampling ruins it for people who actually want to buy the premium grade gossamer or silk.
Go to Michael Levine if you can, and explore Downtown if you’ve got the time.
But if you live nearer to Santa Monica, just happen to be in the area, need to make the dress NOW or just want to peek at a 1930s era RCA radio, go to F&S.
Tell the painted man next to the painted door I said hi :-).

Small, but packed to the rafters with fabrics, trim, buttons, and almost everything else under the sewing sun. They even had some vintage hats, handbag handles and other pieces.
Everyone seemed quite friendly (even the trim lady, whom I am certain that we began to annoy with all of our sequin inquiries) and helpful. Their bead selection was, unfortunately, rather slim, but I suppose that they do not bother with it due to Bead Source being across the way (unhelpful for us though, considering Bead Source was closed sunday… the day we were in the area). Big ups for having a car park in the back.
Prices seemed fair. No problems of which to speak. Would visit again. C’est tout.

AWFUL.
This place gets 1 star only because I can’t give it a ZERO.
I have been shopping here for almost 20 yrs. The customer service is not great. I was resolved to just know exactly what to get when I’m there so there is no room for debate, conversation, opinion with the staff.
Today the woman behind the button counter refused to help me because I had only a button in my hand just to match the size — not the style, JUST the size. She said she wouldn’t help me unless I had the entire garment with me. I explained to her that I knew exactly what I wanted, and I pointed, and that I just needed to check the size. She still refused to help me.
I stepped away from her counter when I realized she wasn’t budging. As I stepped away, she had the audacity to challenge me (something to the effect of «oh, now you’re just going to walk away?!»), so I walked back to the register and spoke to the man there about her. He apologized discreetly, as this woman continued to insult me from behind her glass counter.
I have shopped for buttons this way for decades. I have shopped for buttons at Britex in San Francisco, which has an amazing button selection and puts F&S to shame in quality and selection. Not once has anyone ever refused to help me with a button simply because I didn’t not bring in the garment it is meant for.

This is the best fabric store I have found in L.A. OK, so it’s not Britex (it’s more like Poppy Fabric in Oakland), but they’ve got a great selection of wools, silks & cotton fabrics, including a ton of vintage silks. The staff are helpful and it’s a lot more low key than Britex.
note: the taco truck across the street makes a decent milanesa torta (next to the auto parts store).
update: usurped by Michael Levine

A week ago, I decided to complicate my life by a few notches when I decided to «make» a dress for a special occasion coming up. I use the term «make» loosely since I won’t be doing any of the cutting, sewing, sweating, or bleeding. That would be my tailor. Poor soul. But I did need to collect all the materials needed so off I went in search of fabric, zippers, thread, and special beads. Several people suggested F&S.
This place must be the holy grail of fabric stores. Within 2 blocks, there are 3 locations — each with a big sign that says «F&S Fabrics.» This review is for the apparel fabrics store which is on the northeast corner of Pico & Manning.
I was intimidated at first because there are endless rows and rows of fabric to chose from. One of the employees (Gloria) helped me and was the sweetest person ever. Together, we roamed the store for about an hour figuring out what fabric would be best, tracking down the color I wanted, and all the little things needed that I *thought* would be easy to find. They ended up not having the beads I needed but gave me a few suggestions.
Need some fabric? Go see Gloria. The best fabric store on the Westside!