So Long, Pioneer
Retail Slut, a retail pioneer on Los Angeles’ Melrose Avenue, announced it will shut its doors at the end of the month. The store has been selling torn and frayed clothes to punk rockers since 1983.
Owner Jeff Rasul blamed soaring rents and declining interest in the punk-rock club scene for his boutique’s current run of bad fortune. He said he hopes to reopen the store in Silverlake.
John Q, owner of Anti-Market, an Echo Park boutique for punk-inspired fashions, said Retail Slut’s success paved the way for mall-based punk-and-rock fashion purveyor Hot Topic Inc.
“Retail Slut was pretty much the first,” Q said. “They were the early source of punkrock items before Hot Topic.”
Q said he felt the store lost some of its focus by selling clothes to other music subcultures such as the rave scene. —Andrew Asch
