Los Angeles is hardly the first place you think of when it comes to menswear. There are a number of great stores – Mohawk, Ghiaia, Denim Doctors – but it probably won’t appear on the top list of destinations if there are London, Tokyo, New York and a few across Europe.
Yet there are deep roots in menswear. California is the origin of denim, after all, and many related workwear. Western clothing has always been around, and that’s when it became mainstream. Sportswear, too, was arguably invented in California, where off-duty fashion began to develop after the second world war.
Then there are subcultures like surfing, skateboarding and motorcycling, all of which were developed in California and had a huge impact on the world of menswear. There aren’t many influences left in reality, except for the military and tailoring.
Initially, we identified some key themes.
For example, vintage has always been important. It’s closer to the spirit of how clothes are developed in LA than the fashion-oriented approach of New York. There’s a reason the famous Rose Bowl flea market is here, as well as the end-of-season event Inspiration, both of which were on the week we visited.
We were able to interview great people like Bob Melet and Zip Stevenson.
Then there’s Hollywood, which influences local fashion, moves from the old scene, and eats up the local builders. We spoke to Mark Bridges (Oscar winnerPhantom Thread) and Jenny Eagan (Knives came outand others), and heard from Anto Shirts howThe film’s budget is in line with standard shirts.
LA is the largest clothing manufacturing center in the US, and that’s how many brands start here – to make more samples because the workshops are more accessible. Our best visit in that regard was Lady White, who always makes a big deal about local production, especially dye houses.
And on the retail side, we’re looking especially at personal shopping. It’s a big part of how menswear works here – tailoring brands say about half of their sales are through personal shoppers.
In fact, in LA it seems like a radical thing to have a personal shopper, whereas in many European countries you can’t help but feel embarrassed – as in, you don’t know how to dress?
How about style LA? Our friend, fittingly, had just moved to LA from New York, and was in the process of getting used to watching how her friends and colleagues dressed.
“The weather is the most obvious thing,” he said. “You have lots of sunshine and mild weather all year round – few extremes.
“But there’s also something bigger than that – the city is open, it has a big sky. It’s very different from New York, which is built up and straight up.
“If I had to photograph it in one outfit, I’d say I wear 90% blue jeans here, where I wore 90% black jeans in New York. Blue denim feels natural, formal and simple. A t-shirt and jeans not only feels easy but appropriate.”
When we asked the store manager our friend, he chose a different outfit – a suede overshirt. “We sell more of that type of clothing here than anywhere else, by miles,” he said. “And it makes sense — the LA guy wants a little more comfort, cool, but he also wants to be comfortable and relaxed. Suede does that better than leather, and a top shirt better than a jacket.”
Man, it’s so much fun to check these things out. When you travel and talk to people, every conversation is about what the city is like, because you are seeing it for the first time. It’s about where people live and why, where they hang out, or whether you want to live there. It’s the same when people come to London.
I didn’t think I would like LA at all. I’m a cultural European at heart – I love old cities, old culture, exploring on two feet. LA is the opposite of all that.
But the longer we stayed, and the more we saw different parts, the more it grew on me.Reyner Banhamwhich I have been reading, calls it the first post-urban civilization. Aldous Huxley said the city was “nineteen cities in search of a great city”.
However you put it, the point is not to think of it in the same way as a normal, concentrated city. If you’ve just seen Hollywood and Downtown you’ll have a very different perspective if you’ve spent your time in Pasadena or Venice Beach. The problem is that if you are a tourist, Hollywood and Downtown are likely to be your focus.
Of course, I’d love to hear about all of this from the students in LA, although we also talked to a lot of them while we were there, at various events and just on the street.
And then the people who do everything. Yuki from Yuketen captures an unexpected photo in Redondo Beach. Dan,Wyattand Max from the Buck Mason design team show us exactly 27 different types of chambray shirts. Cody Wellema takes us to where his hat shop used to be, but also to a brand new (and incredible) restaurant, Betsy’s.
It’s about the people, then the clothes. Well they are a close second.
I bought an old, blade-eating Lee Storm Rider at the Rose Bowl. I got itshorts at Buck Masonwhere I lived. I ordered a handmade cardigan from Chamula that is not quite suitable for the weather, but sits proudly in my closet as a souvenir.
In the coming weeks there will be two or three short LA articles in PS, but the main thing is saved for the autumn magazine. It will be great.
Thank you to everyone who treated us generously and put up with us, from all of us. We are already talking about when we can come back.
