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Since we run a fashion website and write about the stuff for a living, it seems we’re supposed to be up on fashion blogs and people who post pictures of their outfits on-line. Sorry to say that we’re not. Like, at all (but we have been following the case of the LAUSD teacher who is accused of spoon feeding jiz to his students quite closely). Can anyone help with the below?
La Mill, the luxury Silver Lake coffee purveyor where an $8 cup o’Joe is the norm, may have taken their chicken and arugula salad off the menu (bastards), but there is still reason to hit up the impeccably-designed food spot with the opening of their L. Bazaar general store.
Located directly next to the existing restaurant, L. Bazaar promises to carry an array of bath, beauty and home goods in addition to gourmet chocolates, cheeses and other bad-for-the-butt delicacies. Expect Cavallini & Co. stationary, Mason Pearson hairbrushes and Guy Degrenne flatware as well as body lotions from Tocca, Caldrea soaps and various other decadent, non-essential items that make perfect hostess gifts (or just a pretty pick-me-up for those less-than-stellar days).
When you’re done buying your $100 hairbrush and block of rare brie, head next door for a buzz-inducing $5 iced Americano. While you’re there, please join us in begging the chef to reinstate their $12 scoop of chicken salad to the menu, which we firmly believe was among the best chicken salads in the entire city. Perhaps we should start a petition (power in numbers, y’all).
1636 Silver Lake Blvd.,Los Angeles. Noon to 6 p.m. Monday through Thursday; 10:00 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday, Saturday and Sunday. (323) 663-4441. lamillcoffee.com
1) Check out the new Crybaby Presents popup. The East Coast experimental popup leaves its digs on La Brea and sets up temporary shop at Space 15 Twenty. The popup will feature some pretty impressive indie designers: Surface to Air, Minimarket, Illesteva, Samantha Pleet and Hansel from Basel, among many others. The opening night party features wining and dining (sort of), and tunes from Princeton, Sean Bowie and Teams. The popup goes through March 29, but the party is Saturday, from 7pm to 10pm.
1520 N. Cahuenga, Hollywood
2) Shop the $20 rack at Native on Franklin. This is one of our favorite low-on-dough boutiques; it’s tucked into that one stretch on Franklin that also includes Upright Citizens Brigade theater and the Bourgeois Pig. You could do a lot worse than their $20 rack, which typically features the last one of a particular item.And since, during the weekends, they usually break free vino or bubbly, think of it like going to a bar, having a couple of drinks, and taking home a free dress. Which IS really weird if you think about it, but don’t. Shop instead! Monday – Friday, 11am to 10pm, Saturday and Sunday noon to 10pm.
5915 Franklin Avenue (323) 962-7710.
3) Prepare to come out swingin’ if you want a piece of the Jason Wu X Target collab. Will FLOTUS fave Jason Wu’s low-priced offerings bring out the crazies and the hoarders, a la last fall’s Missoni fiasco? Somehow, we’re guessing no. Cute, yes, but we’re not feeling the line 100%, due in part to the overtly preppy looks (if you haven’t figured this one out by now, we’re the anti-J.Crew) and some cuts that look slim enough to be not very forgiving. But anyway! Lines will queue up around the city on Sunday. Target opens at 8am.
WeHo Target 7100 Santa Monica Boulevard (323) 603-0004.
4.) Be a Jersey Girl, and stock up on Rachel Pally. This one was a tossup; we were actually pretty close to recommending the Super Bowl, simply for a glimpse of that David Beckham ad. But then, it’s the Super Bowl. Pass. Instead, take that time on Sunday to wander the gloriously uncrowded streets of LA, and mosey on down to the Rachel Pally sample sale, where you can score up to 85% on the comfy dresses and separates. Plus, if you go down Sunday, maybe you’ll score deep, last-minute cuts. Friday 10am to 6pm, Saturday 10am to 5pm, Sunday 11am to 4pm.
2301 E. 7th Street, Suite C100, Downtown (323) 780-1249
5.) Spend a couple of hours fingering the finery at The Way We Wore’s annual sale. Whether you’re looking for standout vintage couture or you’re simply looking for some little finishing touch that you won’t see everyone else in town wearing, TWWW is your go-to store. They’re edging towards the close of their 50% off sale (last day: February 12), but the store is still chock full of goodies. And the sales team ought to have their own reality TV show, because they’re gorgeous, snarky and hilarious. Monday through Saturday, 11am to 7pm; Sunday noon to 6pm.
334 S La Brea Avenue, Los Angeles (323) 937-0878.
6.) Hoard AETHER Apparel when you shop the 40% sale at the AETHER Outpost. As an outdoor enthusiast, lemme tell you: it’s tough to find good technical wear that doesn’t look all crunchy-hippie-backwoodsy (no offense, Patagonia). AETHER specializes in making clothes that perform just as well on the trails as they do in da club. Imagine, twice the garment, at 40% off. We suck at math, but we do recognize a good value when we see it. Friday 11am – 6pm, Saturday 10am – 5pm, Sunday noon – 5pm.
6100 Melrose Avenue, Los Angeles (323) 785-0700
L.A. brand Jet by John Eshaya always does fabulous jeans, usually in crazy colors and super-slim fits. But for Spring, we’re really pining for the label’s Crossback Camp shirt ($150), available in sky-blue and white. It’s so rare to see a creative (but low-key) play on the classic button-front shirt. Loving, lusting.
We’re going to save all of the hipster jokes and just bring you what’s really awesome news: by popular demand, some of LA’s craftiest artisans, designers and crafters are having an event in Brooklyn. The aptly-named Beautiful Dreamers will feature well-established talent, some of LA’s soon-to-be-no-longer hidden gems, and designers who are thoroughly, uniquely LA. The lineup includes Beatrice Valenzuela, Kathleen Whitaker, Annie Costello Brown, Heather Levine, Jessie Kamm, Magda Berliner, Dream Collective, and literally a couple dozen more. We emailed with Kathleen Whitaker about the event (you met her in this post), and she said, “I think the cool part is that creative counterparts around the country are wanting a piece of the Echo Park life and are doing so by getting their hands on some cool exported goods.” And cool they are, though we can only imagine how Beatrice Valenzuela’s handwoven and airy sandals will play out in the filthy, rat-infested streets of Brooklyn. Just kidding, but we really are LA people.
We wish them well, but hope none of them go getting crazy ideas about moving East. The residency is February 10 – 19, but if you’re really a dedicated party animal, the opening nite souiree is February 10. from 5pm to 9pm.
Beautiful Dreamers Popup, 326 Wythe Avenue, Brooklyn (718) 388-4884
As someone who fancies herself a tech nerd, my life has vastly improved since buying an iPhone (minus the fact that I can’t seem to grasp typing on the thing and people often think I’m drunk at inappropriate times of the day). With the addition of Spotify, Siri and all of my new toy’s genius features, I now also have the ability to download a wonderful array of apps that, too, have changed my life for the better.
And one such fashion app is Poshmark, a completely brilliant way to sell the clothes and accessories that no longer fit in your closet. Using your Facebook account as your log-in, Poshmark (which is free) allows you to take a picture of an an item, price it and post if for Poshmark users to see. The community in general or just your Poshmark followers can then like your item, share it to their social networks and, if you’re having a lucky day, buy it. Poshmark then facilitates your payment and sends you shipping labels, all for a 20 percent piece of the action (the figure may seem high, but Wasteland and Buffalo Exchange technically take 65 percent of what they get for your goods). The thing is so easy to use, that I literally listed a vintage pink lace dress while standing on a street corner the other day.
Vintage blouses, Herve Leger bandage dresses and Gucci pumps are just a few of the on-app items currently yours for the taking. And the company has even set up virtual ”Posh Parties” so users can come together and shop for specifically-themed goods at certain times. Come tomorrow night, the Silicon Valley-based company, which officially launched in December, will hit up L.A. for their first ever live Posh Party, taking place at the Crescent Hotel in Beverly Hills (which SSLA’s very own Emili Vesilind and, ahem, yours truly will be hosting).
From 6 to 9 p.m., come join us for a drink and learn how this cool piece of technology — which has the potential of supplementing your income in a very real way — works. Can’t make it? Fret not — the party will of course take place in the virtual world, too, so download the app and check it out.
And if you want to buy my vintage pink lace dress — which is just $35 on Poshmark now — I won’t stop you.
Thursday, February 2. 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. The Crescent Hotel, 403 N. Crescent Dr., Beverly Hills. RSVP to: rsvp@poshmark.com
Kelsi Smith is probably the hardest working non-designer in the LA fashion scene. The blogger/promoter/marketing maven/gal, who’s almost single-handedly rescued LA Fashion Week a bunch of times, recently coordinated a flea market stocked by friends, colleagues, fellow bloggers, and a few of our city’s rising design stars. On Sunday, we went down there to shop, but stayed for the voyeurism: The event was like getting to peep into the closets of the bloggers behind Lust For Life, Style With Benefits, and other LA-centric sites. Another big draw was being able to shop runway pieces from up-and-coming LA designers Jen Awad, Alana Hale, and Bryan Hearns — we fell in love with Hearns’ feathers-and-deconstructed-polo-shirt dresses at the last LA Fashion Week. Unfort, those weren’t there, but instead, Hearns offered a collection of edgy jewelry, starting at a paltry $8. Seriously, $8! You can’t even buy a burger at Umami, with so little scratch. But who needs to buy food? We strolled the farmer’s market beforehand, and filled up on free samples of fruit, giving us that much more money to spend at the flea. Don’t feel too bad if you couldn’t make it: the sale was successful enough to merit a Round Two on March 24. Be there!
Space 15 Twenty, 1520 N. Ivar, Hollywood
The world’s most famous pinkhead, Tarina Tarantino, is going to dose DTLA with her pink, sparkly fairydust: She’s just announced plans to take over the historic L.L. Burns’ Western Costume Building on Broadway. The huge building will serve as ground zero for Tarantino’s creative endeavors: it will include a flagship retail boutique, design headquarters, production facility, and an art gallery. (Wonder if that will include work from LA’s other famous purveyor of pink, Buff Monster.) At nearly 24,000 square feet and seven stories, that’s a whole lot of sparkle! We’ll have more information, like opening dates, tomorrow.
Tarina Tarantino’s Sparkle Factory (to be), 908 S. Broadway, Los Angeles
“This jewelry makes me want to eat it. It’s completely delicious. In fact it looks like it’s already been well-sucked.” Leave it to Tilda Swinton to inject something risque into what might otherwise have been just another Rodeo Drive boutique opening.
The striking actress almost literally tent-poled the Pomellato debut last night, standing well over six feet tall in high heels and a cream silk pants suit. (She even towered over Allison Janney). The star of the drama “We Need to Talk About Kevin,” who was recently nominated for a Golden Globe Best Actress award, yet snubbed—many say unfairly—for an Oscar, appears in the upcoming ad campaign for Pomellato, a Milan-based jewelry company
that is expanding its global retail presence.
The Beverly Hills store is Pomellato’s fourth US location, following New York, Chicago, and Miami. If the baubles seem at first glance a bit on the traditional side for an ambassador with such edgy cred, that’s because its uniqueness doesn’t shout.
Cabochon rings in diamond-encrusted settings and necklaces of pale pink or violet gems in watery, reflective cuts illustrate the classic yet distinctive design that Italian houses are often known for. “The company cuts all of its own stones,” explained Pomellato president Guglielmo Melegari, “and the designs are always asymmetric.”
More obviously odd, perhaps, is the choice of opening a store for unbridled luxury in the resolution-making, post-holiday month of January. But it’s also awards season, and the boutique, no doubt, will also serve as a styling suite for Tilda and those who emulate her—actresses like Rachael Harris, an Indie Spirit Award Best Actress nominee (Natural Selection) who also attended the soiree—to come get draped before hitting the red carpet.
–Laurie Pike
Photos, from top: A sneak-attack photo of Tilda Swinton posing with a fan while Pomellato CEO Andrea Morante looks on; some gorgeous Pomellato bling. Photos by Laurie Pike.
Hillary Rush, one of the boutique retailers that grew L.A.’s 3rd Street from a nondescript byway to the Beverly Center into one of the city’s most bustling shopping corridors, is packing up her bags and moving to the Berkshires.
In an email bearing the subject line “Yes It’s True. Everything Must Go, Including Me,” Rush said her flagship store on 3rd will be closing March 1, and that she will be decamping to the Berkshires to open a new namesake store and debut an HR MAN menswear shop inside Church Street Trading Company, a 20 year old store and brand “which is now evolving into what we have named ‘A 21st Century Marketplace.’” Rush will be the buyer and co-owner with Bob Rush.
She added, “Most of you know I am the epitome of an East Coast girl, and many of you would agree it is in my nature to stay ahead of the curve. Ten years ago, I would have only thought as New York City as my home full stop. Now I see the Berkshires as a haven for creative people seeking a stimulating world of arts and culture, technology, fashion and a low-key and unassuming lifestyle. Two hours from New York City, two hours from Boston and the world at my fingertips. California gave me my triple masters throughout my 20′s. No regrets, I know I will miss my California lifestyle, as always Thank God for JetBlue and Burbank Airport.”
The hillaryrush.com website will stay open and refreshed, as will the store’s current Facebook page. And before Rush skeedaddles for good, she’s having a rager of a February sale. “All are welcome to shop, visit and rage on,” noted Rush.
We’re sorry to see her — and her adorable shop — go east, but we wish her heaps of luck. Stay gold, Hill.
Until March 1: 8222 West 3rd Street Los Angeles.
