By Andrew Harmon on January 12, 2010
Newspaper style sections love to tout the return of natty dressing and mad men grooming, even if their subjects in question are all within a half-mile of the West Village. But it looks like San Francisco is really catching on. During a recent trip I saw less plaid, more Nudie and J. Lindeberg. And while I can’t exactly shout “trend!” I did spy two gentleman on market st. in the course of four blocks wearing designer pocket squares in the back pockets of white or gray denim. A cheeky play on hanky culture in 1970s Castro culture? I didn’t ask, but snapped this guy’s photo on the sly. I believe the pocket square is Paul Smith.
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By Emili Vesilind on December 30, 2009
Well, we’ve decided what 2009 trends we never want to see again – including cut-off jeans (especially worn over tights) and furry vests.
But what is it we’ll be wearing in 2010? The Spring runways were blooming with good ideas, as usual, but only a handful of the trends we see each season truly take root in our closets. Will we be donning lingerie-inspired pieces, as seen at John Galliano? Or perhaps a gussied-up sweatsuit, a la Alexander Wang?
It’s too soon to tell. But here are a few runway trends we’re hoping have legs (and trickle down into the H&M before we can say “copyright infringement.”)
Donna Karan’s cool neutrality
* Neutral Colors: Donna Karan, Celine and Narciso Rodriguez were among the designers to make slate, sand and stone look as sophisticated as saffron, cyan and salmon for Spring. We plan to don our pale pink frocks with jet-black cardies and supa-dupa high heels for a neat-o photo-negative look.
Chris Benz’ louche pantsuit
*The Slouchy Pants Suit: L.A. transplants Chris Benz, Band of Outsiders and 3.1 Phillip Lim all showed PJ-style pants suits comprised of tapered pleated trousers and tunic-like jackets. They not only look devil-may-care cool, but also hella comfy.
Balmain’s fall-out-shelter chic
* Post-Apocalyptic Dressing: Because some days you just want to be dark and slouchy and pretend you’re in the Matrix. Thankfully, a clutch of designers fond a way to luxe-up the urchin look — including Balmain — with glitz and creative tailoring.
Photos courtesy of Style.com.
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By Editors on December 30, 2009
The phenomenon of cashmina (casual pashmina) among Angeleno men has taken hold of the city with widespread ferocity. Gay, straight, old, young—all are afflicted. Like the great trucker cap, Ed Hardy and Juicy Couture pandemics of the early decade, this affront is easily dubbed an “L.A. Look” by New York fashion magazine editors on the prowl for West Coast fashion faux pas.
It’s not a functional look (are you really any warmer?) but that’s entirely not the point. You’re trying to “dress up” an utterly casual look by wrapping two yards of fabric and fancying yourself as au courant.
Au contraire.
For all those cashmina fans, I’d ask that they explain the difference between this “style” and grown men wearing stoles. Cashmina is lazy fashion. Don’t be a lemming. —Neal Broverman
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By Emili Vesilind on December 8, 2009
Design duo Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen are always ahead of the curve (I know, I know, but it’s true.)
And for Spring 2010, they’re tapping Burning Man-style hippie-ness for their lower-priced Elizabeth & James line.
Check out the Dogtown-meets-Dave Matthews look at right, featuring a tie-dyed shirt, surfer beads and bracelets, a flannel (wrapped, natch), clam diggers and bootie moccasins.
And their choice of model really says it all. This guy totally listens to Devendra Banhart.
What do you think of the look?
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By Editors on December 7, 2009
Come January, the oughts decade (or whatever you call it) will be kaput, and the fashion retrospective onslaught has begun, some more clever than others. New York magazine’s Harriet Mays Powell has her picks for short-lived trends for the past 10 years. Some of the most insidious sadly were conceived in our hometown—trucker hats (2003-2006), the Juicy Couture-wrought “all-day gymwear” (same years) and “solid basics, skeevy ads” (2005-; see below post on American Apparel).
Other LA entries may be less of a reflexive eyeroll and more a matter of personal taste—namely “flowy west coast style,” thanks to Roberto Cavalli or DVF wrap dresses, and Ms. Zoe. But Laurel Canyon songstresses mastered the aesthetic decades before. Except yet another resurgence in the years to come.
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By Erin Weinger on November 24, 2009
Ok, I know that I JUST mentioned them yesterday, but here is another find from my over-the-weekend Ron Herman jaunt. (I promise, they’re not paying me to write about them–I just don’t get out shopping very much and need material [but Ron, if you're reading, I'm not opposed to talking business. Have your people call mine.]) .
The Melrose Ave. purveyor of all things trendy carries a cute little foxtail fur keychain for $48. And safe to say, the piece is priced just a bit below the Louis Vuitton spring 2010 foxtail messenger bag Victoria Beckham lugged through the airport recently.
Eastside hipsters have embraced various types of road kill accouterment for the past two years or so. But now that Vicky has joined the fun with LV’s modern take on Davy Crocket, expect tweens at The Grove to have purse tails in no time, too.
Hence the suggestion that if you plan on bouncing on this bandwagon, you may want to get ‘er done early and for less than $50 bucks. Unless you have a trust fund and an in at Vuitton, of course. Then please proceed to the next post and pretend this conversation never happened.
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By Erin Weinger on November 23, 2009
Plaid pajama pants hold a special place in my heart. The soft, snuggly bottoms are what I used to wear to sleepovers and summer camp, and nary a seventh-grade weekend went by that I didn’t leave a Bar or Bat Mitzvah with a pair confirming that I did, in fact, Rock With Rachel.
Fast forward to last weekend when I meandered in to Ron Herman at Fred Segal on Melrose, where an entire wall is devoted to the plaid pajama pants of my youth. Only these babies are by Steven Alan. And on mannequins, I spotted the pants paired with jean jackets and Dr. Martens for an early 90s nod to punk rather than a comfy option for the recess-time kickball court.
As I thought about all the places my drawstring delights could take me, I checked out the price tag. $135. Uh, I don’t remember my University of Michigan flannels costing that much.
But I’m still way into the idea of wearing pajamas in public without judgement (not to mention the geniusness of that drawstring when Cecconi’s truffle spaghetti comes calling). So I did some digging and found much cheaper options for those of us that buy our pajama pants in a 3-pack from Target.
But word to the wise: pair your pair with heels or boots so you don’t look like you actually stumbled out of bed. Or out of a Bar Mitzvah.
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By Ronit Nabi on November 19, 2009
By now, everyone probably knows that thigh high boots are a major fall trend. But there are plenty of us finding it hard to scrounge up the cash for the boots we so badly crave.
Enter thigh high socks, which are just as–if not more– essential than that expensive footwear. Just add the socks with last year’s knee high boots and you’ll get the same sultry effect (which can take a trashy turn real fast, but thats another post for another day).
A few years ago, J. Crew and Prada both came out with ribbed wool thigh high socks– J. Crew’s were $18.50 and the Prada’s were, like, a million dollars. Guess which ones I got? Yep, I wore those J. Crew socks to shreds. No kidding.
And now they’re back. Same price. Same colors, grey and black. I advise buying both. In fact, I bought two of each. Can you tell I’m excited?
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By Erin Weinger on November 16, 2009
Traditional sartorial wisdom tells us that gowns are best worn to galas and pants saved for more casual fetes. But at the Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art’s 30th Anniversary Gala on Saturday night, the rule was vehemently broken.
Notables including Gwen Stefani, Sandra Oh and Liz Goldwyn were among the masses wearing pants to a party that found other guests clad in elaborate, floor-length gowns.
Gwen looked fabulously chic in her jodhpur-style bottoms that stayed formal in silk. While Rodarte design duo Laura and Kate Mulleavy looked like they came straight off the subway in their way-too-casual leggings.
Whats your take on this dressed-down trend?
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By Emili Vesilind on October 27, 2009
The last time you thought about donning a pair of denim overalls, you were probably working out what to wear to that Alice in Chains concert.
But the humble coveralls — which last clomped into vogue during the grunge era — are easing their way back into high fashion.
No mystery why: Grunge is back, Pearl Jammers, in all its plaid flannel, Doc Marten-shod glory.
Laurie Pike, Los Angeles magazine’s savvy style director, first clued us into the reemergence of the hayseed staple in the November issue of the magazine, positing, “when overalls get the runway treatment, a solid trend is afoot.”
She cited Ralph Lauren and Yves Saint Laurent among the high-end brands who’ve flirted with the one-piece recently, along with sportswear labels including Volcom and Joe’s Jeans.
I think overalls are adorable on tall-and-thin gals. But if you’re at all busty (like me), you might want to sit this trend out. Because there’s nothing cute about sporting a mini pup-tent on your chest.
Photo: Ralph Lauren’s overalls for Spring 2010. Courtesy of Style.com
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