California Apparel News

When John Knoedler quit his job in corporate sales at The Coca-Cola Co. last year, he wanted to open a store on a street whose character had not been completely defined by other retail. He got his wish. He opened his men’s boutique, J. Ransom, on Los Angeles’ La Brea Avenue in August 2004. The street is as sprawling and diverse as the city it intersects, and like Los Angeles, it’s always in flux.

La Brea hosts stylish furniture stores, funky art galleries, yoga studios, synagogues and chi-chi restaurants. It’s the home to both the punk rock–inspired skate and surfwear of the Volcom boutique and the blue-chip vintage dresses of The Way We Wore, whose gowns and dresses were made for the red carpet or swank cocktail parties or to be prized as collector’s items.

The street’s retail mix might just get more diverse. Los Angeles– based property management company Bomel Development plans to construct a complex of boutiques and lofts after it demolishes the 130,000-square-foot Continental Graphics building on the 100 block of South La Brea Avenue.

The company will develop a similar project in the former KCOP Studios building, less than one mile north at the corner of La Brea Avenue and Willoughby Street. Bomel Development Manager Matthew Aleksich did not give a completion date for these projects.

But these new boutiques may not give any more definition to La Brea’s sprawl, said Gabrielle Zuccaro, chief executive officer of women’s boutique Bleu. She noted that one of the street’s attractions is its undefined character.

“You don’t park your car on La Brea and walk,” Zuccaro said. “It’s more destination shopping. But at the same time, the market is not saturated with the same lines.”

The newest boutique on La Brea sells both luxury and grit. One of the biggest sellers in J. Ransom is the rock ’n’ roll–inspired sweaters of Los Angeles–based Raw7. The soft cashmere sweaters bearing tattoo-like art cost $545. Sweat shirts manufactured by Morphine Generation, also of Los Angeles, retail for $195.

Denim is important at J. Ransom because of the store’s location in the denim capital of the world: Los Angeles. Popular sellers include Chip & Pepper and True Religion. The boutique also carries Sweden’s Acne Jeans ($249 a pair), which feature a skinny 1980s cut. The pioneer of La Brea apparel retailing is across the street from J. Ransom. American Rag CIE opened for business in the mid- 1980s, and its buyers have remained astute students of the store’s eclectic surroundings. American Rag covers almost every base, offering vintage clothing, luxury shoes, denim apparel and dress shirts.

For women’s apparel, the store’s bestsellers have an Australian flavor, said Women’s Buyer Ruthie Miller.

“We’re retailing [them] because they’re different,” Miller said of the Australian designers. “They’re good, and they’re not sold everywhere.”

Aussies carried by American Rag include Alice McCall, a designer for Sass & Bide. Her capsleeve Nehru-style tops sell for $300. There’s also TL Wood, whose chiffon tops retail for $299.

Track jackets and Lacoste shirts are big sellers for the men’s section of American Rag, but highly detailed corduroy peasant pants by Newport Beach, Calif.–based Trovata ($165) are also popular. And jeans by New York’s Prpssell well at $325 per pair, said Stephanie Seeley, American Rag’s head buyer. “The price is not an issue if the product is correct,” she said.

Popular items at Bleu include Brazilian designer Teresa Santos’ apron dress ($570). One of the store’s best-selling denim brands is Culver City, Calif.–based Rock & Republic, whose jeans retail for $150.

“They’re long, so they fit the tall girls,” Zuccaro said. “And they’re slenderizing.”

La Brea fashion boutique Yellow focuses on new designers, and top sellers are Brooklyn- based Vena Cava, whose tanks with Native American graphics retail for $138. Korean label Y and Kei is also a hit. The line’s redand- white floral-print halter dress costs $979.

Oxygene specializes in French and Italian clothing. Top sellers for the shop’s menswear include a $75 sweat shirt from Italy’s Souvenir. There’s also Absolut Joy Jeans, which features metal bolts on the fly of the pants. Store owner Caline Kanbarian said the bolts can be taken out when the jeans are washed.

For women’s apparel, bestsellers include silk hand-embroidered dresses by Paris-based In Love by Carling ($384).