Already trendy stretch boosted by new boutiques, celebrities.

TIMING is everything in the fickle world of Los Angeles upscale retail. Today s Grove at Farmer's Market is tomorrow's Westwood.

For Robertson Boulevard, the time appears to be now.

The roughly one-mile stretch of Robertson between Melrose Avenue and Burton Way has long been known for its wealth of design boutiques. But the antique shops and interior-design stores of the 1980s and 1990s have given way to a newer crop of high-end clothing stores.

Although a substantial interior design presence remains, retail spaces along the hottest stretch of Robertson--the three blocks between Melrose and Beverly Boulevard--are now almost entirely populated by fashion boutiques.

The shift has subtly changed the character of the neighborhood, boosting foot traffic and transforming the street itself--and not just the famed Ivy restaurant--into a magnet for celebrities. Fueling much of the change are skyrocketing real estate prices over the past decade that have turned the formerly middle-class neighborhood into a wealthy enclave.

One of the earlier clothing stores on Robertson was Lisa Kline, which sells apparel by East and West Coast designers in a range of prices. It opened its doors eight years ago and has since doubled the size

of its main store and opened a men's shop across the street, according to Rachael Robinson, the store's merchandiser.

"You are between Beverly Hills and the L.A. Eastside, so you get a mix of hip L.A. and ritzy Beverly Hills," Robinson said. "This past year I've seen the most growth, but a lot of stores open and close. There is a constant flux."

Predictably, rents have moved steadily upward. Camper, a Spanish shoe company that opened in June, is believed to be paying more than $9 per square foot for its 1,800 square foot store on the prime corner of Robertson and Alden Drive, according to one source with knowledge of the deal.

"Robertson has definitely taken over compared to Melrose and Sunset Plaza," said Chuck Dembo, a partner with Dembo & Associates, a retail real estate firm. "Traditionally it was all home furnishing, but some of the furniture stores haven't been able to afford the higher rents."

One of those is Chelsea Antiques, which had been north of Third Street for years before moving a few blocks south.

In their absence, clothing stores like Agnes B., John Varvatos, and Les Habitudes, which sells formal gowns and one-of-a-kind designs, have thrived.

"The Ivy really helps. It's such a celebrity hangout and they all come into the store," said April Tong, who has worked more than 10 years at Les Habitudes, where gowns top off at more than $20,000. "Beverly (Boulevard) is dying off and Beverly Hills is out. We are now the 'in' street."

Robertson's identity as a design mecca was forged in the 1970s as antique shops mad boutiques began to spill over from Beverly. The completion in 1975 of Pacific Design Center a few blocks away, with its 1.2 million square feet of showroom space, brought more interior designers into the area.

Current asking rents on Robertson storefronts range from $3 to $4 a foot south of Third Street to anywhere from $6 to $8.50 between Third and Beverly, and slightly less north of Beverly. Overall, those asking rents are up 50 percent in the past five years.

"Once you cross Third Street, it's a whole different world," said Matthew May, president of May Realty Advisors, whose father once ran a the store on Robertson. "One example is Reign (the restaurant started by pro football player Keyshawn Johnson). There's no parking down there and rents are half of what they are further north."