L.A. has a fashion identity that is all over the place. I love what Los Angeles has to offer in terms of fashion, but it does not have the traditional respected reputation that a Paris or New York has.
George Vreeland Hill
Art+Books
LA EventsTop PicksSubmit an EventEvents NewsletterGet MobileEntertainment AdsTicketsArtopiaTacolandia
LA MusicMusic BlogHenry RollinsConcert CalendarLA NightlifeSubmit an EventMusic NewsletterGet MobileMusic Ads
Fashion Issue 2011: Does L.A. Have a Fashion Identity?
Starlets, surf bums, shagsters, scarecrows, rocker vampires, and more: Our fashion issue explores L.A. style from the streets up
Because of the presence of the film industry and the city's intense celebrity culture, fashion films will drive the big players to L.A., Gurnz suspects. "It's gonna put steroids into our whole structure," he says in his deep, languid voice before slipping back into Martha's Vineyard.
Some trends do start here and spread out across the rest of the fashion world. Wren's Melissa Coker keeps a steady roster of clients stocked with her ready-to-wear line of "preppy but not too prissy" dresses, tops, skirts and slacks. "Feminine with a tomboy's touch," as she describes it.
PHOTOGRAPHY BY STAR FOREMAN
Heather Taylor, gallery owner
PHOTOGRAPHY BY STAR FOREMAN
Jeana Sohn, fashion blogger at closetvisit.com
"L.A. street style tends to be really influential throughout the whole country," she says, curling into a squashy chair in her Atwater Village studio. "People don't realize that." The current ankle-length skirts, voluminous maxi dresses, the cropped tops and button-down shirts knotted at the waist — those looks started here. And, if you believe Coker, so did UGG boots. She takes personal responsibility for the UGG's rise to infamy. She wore them a decade ago to fashion shows, where the stiletto-clad girls would make fun of her ("What are you wearing, Nanook?"). But Coker soon started seeing those girls wearing them, too.
Ilaria Urbinati, co-owner of the store Confederacy in Hollywood, introduced L.A. to Rebecca Minkoff, whose boxy, tasseled leather purses now can be found dangling on the arms of many a reality TV star. But an even more pervasive trend for which Urbinati can take credit is the current wave of young men who are newly discovering suits and ties. It's been said that Urbinati, who styles actors James McAvoy, Bradley Cooper and Giovanni Ribisi, has a talent for making guys look like GQ versions of themselves.
"Men in L.A. are only recently learning how to dress," she says. Guys come to her store for suiting. "They're now more likely to wear a suit to dinner. These are the same guys who before would've worn a hoodie." And they don't just want a suit; they want a tie bar and a pocket square.
The polished, dapper Mad Men man is still a rarity in this city, however. What Urbinati sells most is denim. Los Angeles is a denim culture. Denim is part of the relaxed aesthetic, but there is nothing relaxing about the serious consideration people here give to their jeans. Just the other day, a guy came in to Urbinati's store wondering about raw jeans, made from denim fabric that hasn't been rinsed after the dyeing process. She explained how raw denim is never washed, and how you put the raw jeans in the freezer if they start to smell bad.
Guys in L.A., she adds, are collectors of exclusive this and limited-edition that. Confederacy's best-selling item is the $300 Wolverine Thousand Mile boot from a company that has been making them since the 1800s. Urbinati can't keep the boots in stock; her waiting list is five pages long. "Guys get into collecting in a way that girls don't," she says. "Girls just want a pretty dress."
Partly that has to do with L.A.'s nightlife. This city isn't about bars so much as clubs, which call for a tight little dress and heels. And the velvet rope goes hand-in-hand with the red carpet, the most visible runway in the world. Compared to New York, girls in L.A. dress safer, more "on the nose." They love cocktail dresses.
"Here, even the women who aren't actresses are surrounded by the industry," Urbinati says. "They want pretty, easy to understand, accessible, as opposed to fashion-forward. The ones who are actresses have to worry about wearing something flattering because they might be photographed. They worry about having their makeup on and extensions in because a director might run into them."
Urbinati's theory is that all the tall pretty girls move to New York to become models and all the short pretty girls move to L.A. to become actresses. Girls in L.A. are tiny. Confederacy's best-selling size is a 0 to 2.
"In New York, you get kudos for wearing a cool outfit," she continues. "Maybe the Sartorialist will photograph you and post your picture on his blog. Here, style is not such a form of expression. In L.A., everyone wants to look good — healthy, sexy, pretty. Everyone hikes and has a dog and eats well." In L.A., having a perfect body and wearing clothes that show it off to best advantage are much more of a priority than wearing outfits that stand out.
Being concerned with style, with proper dressing, she thinks, is more innate on the East Coast. "People in New York look like they walked out of a Ralph Lauren catalog. It's the whole Hamptons thing. It could be a money thing, too. There's more old money there. In L.A., everyone's sort of self-made. It's more nouveau riche."
Even the color palette is different in L.A. It's wilder, more vibrant, more unstudied. "Everyone has baby-blue nail polish here," Urbinati says. "Not that I'm knocking it. I have baby-blue nail polish on right now."
11 comments
There's certainly a backlash from all the unkempt and boho looks perpetuated by non-L.A. folk which drive more and more Los Angeles denizens to adopt tailored and manicured self-images just to counter the stupidity of wearing $500-dollar printed Hanes cotton Tees marketed as "vintage".
L.A./So Cal is the birthplace of many now-mainstream-trends. Love 'em or hate 'em, here are a few "Distinct L.A. styles":
1) Chucks - "..The Mexican kids doing the...rockabily thing..." you mention in your article above helped bring popularity to Converse's Chuck Taylors. Once only worn by "greasers", these 'played-out' shoes (in various patterns and flavors sold by shark-y Nordstrom salesfolk) seen even on midwestern homecoming queen L.A. transplants were popularized, if not born, here.
2) Graffiti prints - popularized by Stussy, a retail brand which originated in the 80's from Laguna Beach became universally popular for its graffiti-inspired shirts. This version of "cool" or "urban" - incorporating nuances from skaters/surfers - was quite distinct from the NYC's definition of "urban" (read: hip-hop). The grafffiti/"bombing" style print was exclusive to "L.A. identity" during the 90's.
3) Terry cloth loungewear (a la Juicy Couture) - as hideous as they are (terry cloth tracksuits + Ugg Boot combos) were born and raised in So Cal (read: please blame Orange County). I'm not proud of this, however, it is distinctly "L.A." (if by "L.A." you mean trends not associated with NYC or other large metropolitan cities).
Lastly, trust-fund-bohemian-types who labor to achieve the "...nonconspicuous conspicuous consumption..." I'm-not-vain-and-it's-my-job-to-judge-those-who-blindly-consume-and-obviously-take-pride-in-their-physical-appearance are the most unoriginal, self-righteous judgemental L.A. transplant-types. (Totally non-sequitir, but I needed to vent).
meg@myprettypinkponies.com,the girl who conspicuously consumes but doesn't feel the need to hide it.
Nice analysis! I think it is feasible for L.A to get the identity of fashion! No matter what the sick things exist, the fashion can still stand stably in L.A.
Wow ..........The fashion in la is not the issue , it's the people behind it !!!!!! People who ''think'' they know what fashion is and try to make others feel bad about standing out of the crowd. I'm a cali girl and always will be ..i love the bright colors, band tee's, flip flops or jeffery campbell's look thats la ..laid back , relaxed ,having fun in the sun deal.....thats why people from all over the world come here! Leave it that way.....besides fashion week belongs to New York...they own it !
Seriousllyyyy? Proud to have been born/raised in LA (unlike most of these people quoted in this "article") I can honestly say that these people really need a grasp on fashion IN AND FROM LA. Tee shirts and jeans. LA style hands down. This MAJOR trend has bled onto Paris and NY. 15 years ago you could not find jeans in NY and Chanel had not introduced denim (to their ready-to-wear OR their bags.) Some European designers STARTED lower end divisions just so they could add denim and t-shirts.As far as UGGS, this girl has got to be kidding. We wore them before/after surfing and skiing (in high school in the '80's.) She started nothing.Putting Ed Hardy aside, LA has a HUGE and very influential sense of style and design. New and old designers....follow your dreams and don't listen to these people quoted.
LA influences fashion more than you would guess. Though the runways are in NY or Paris, the major motion picture originates in LA or a tad bit North. The Moaps not withstanding, most of what most of us see, to wear, comes from the BIG screen, not the runway. Oscar is the gold standard, not Coty. LA fashion could be said to be, nothing to buy because there's nothing open.
Angela Garcia as NeonMosfet
Although there may be other interpretations of this article, I definitely thinks it's a good start. It has some good content and makes for good reading. I will pass it along. :)
Fools like Gurnz are part of the reason Los Angeles struggles with being a fashion capital. Non-pros like him get involved and throw events under the guise of a "Los Angeles Fashion Week" that aren't taken seriously. They're poorly executed and have mediocre showings, trapped in all the cliches of amateur fashion events, only to advance his name as a third rate "fashion" photographer.
Gurnz and his crew stiffed numerous Los Angeles vendors and employees for thousands of dollars, including Vibiana downtown, one of the venues he's "rented" in the past.
From a letter from 2008, after one of Gurnz's 2007 fashion event:
This letter is regarding BoxEight’s defaulted contractual obligations exceeding $24,064.71 owed to numerous vendors and the host venue as a result of the production of their “Have Faith in LA” Fashion Week held in October 2007.This debt is the result of the disbursement of bad checks written on behalf of BoxEight, damages to equipment/rentals and the venue, and invoices for payment of goods and services fully delivered to BoxEight that have been acknowledged by Pete Gurnz and Gary Warfel as outstanding and past due.Other vendors associated with this event are also due significant amounts of money for services provided to BoxEight, but are pursuing repayment privately.A year has gone by without any efforts to satisfy these obligations and they are now considered to be walked out on.A detailed narrative of the amounts due is attached. Further information can be provided by:Vibiana Anika Warden awarden@gilmoredev.com 213-622-4949 x203October 13th, 2008
He's not a credible source and his word on fashion and LA's potential means nothing.
agreed .. just as LA Weekly isn't a credible source of fashion news or tuned in at all to what is stylish in LA
I just paid $22.87 for an iPad2-64GB and my girlfriend loves her Panasonic Lumix GF 1 Camera that we got for $38.76 there arriving tomorrow by UPS. I will never pay such expensive retail prices in stores again. Especially when I also sold a 40 inch LED TV to my boss for $675 which only cost me $62.81 to buy. Here is the website we use to get it all from, GetCent.com
Now Trending
Browse Voice Nation
-
Voice Places
Find everything you're looking for in your city
-
Happy Hour App
Find the best happy hour deals in your city
-
Daily Deals
Get today's exclusive deals at savings of anywhere from 50-90%
-
Best Of...
Check out the hottest list of places and things to do around your city
Join
Log In
- Profile
- Newsletters
- Mobile
- Logout
