An epidemic of closings and downsizing has hit high-profile specialty boutiques in Los Angeles.

Lisa Kline, who has two namesake stores on Robertson Boulevard and one on South Beverly Drive in Beverly Hills, said she wants a retailer to take over the lease on her 2,500-square-foot Beverly Drive unit. Sergio Rossi has shuttered its Melrose Place outpost, opened just last spring as the Italian brand closes all its U.S. locations.

Rock & Republic doesn’t plan to occupy the 1,400-square-foot space on North Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills that it leased for 10 years last spring and is trying to find a retailer to sublease the store, which it rented for about $50 a square foot, said Jay Luchs, an executive vice president with CB Richard Ellis real estate, who is handling the transaction.

Ron Herman, with stores on Melrose Avenue and in Malibu and Brentwood, is looking to sublease about 2,000 square feet of his estimated 5,000-square-foot store on North Beverly Drive, said Chuck Dembo, a commercial real estate broker involved in the sublease.

“I don’t think it will ever be like the good old days, when people were spending like crazy,” Kline said. “It’s ugly out there. There’s no fat on my company. My store is anorexic right now.”

From Rodeo Drive to Melrose Avenue to Robertson Boulevard, economic reality has rocked merchants on some of the Los Angeles region’s best-known shopping streets. The shutdown of boutiques such as the iconic Tracey Ross, which closed on New Year’s Eve after 18 years in business, is becoming commonplace.

Stores that have closed in recent months include agnès b., Danmark, Diabless, Magenta, Presse, Il Primo Paso, Parasuco, Tryst and Vanity.

“There’s a lot of [boutique] saturation out there—some people do it better than others,” Ross said. “When nobody’s been shopping for a while now, it becomes foolish to throw in more money.”

Larger chains also are falling victim to the recession, as consumer confidence and spending continue to plummet. Rents that had been rising in once sought-after retail districts here are declining.

Kira Plastinina quickly rolled out six Southern California stores last year, and just as quickly pulled the plug on most of the shops, after just seven months in business. The Russian teen designer’s namesake company filed for bankruptcy this month.

Monthly rents along Robertson Boulevard are said to have plummeted to $10 to $15 a square foot from $15 to $30 last year.

“The rents were outrageous, and they’re coming down as fast as they went up,” Kline said. “At those rates, you’re working for the landlord. The street just wasn’t that hot to pull those prices.”