Boutique Notes; Civilianaire, Ed Hardy, Mattison

Civilianaire's new Melrose Ave. digs.

L.A. is a jeans town and L.A. area label Civilianaire is staking out more space in the City of Angels.

The workwear-inspired jeans line recently moved into 8251 Melrose Ave. in West Hollywood. The boutique space was formerly occupied by much missed fashion/activewear label Ever. The 1,050-square-foot space was up for sale this summer.

Civilianaire was founded by former Ever owners Barry Perlman and Gene Montesano. There are six Civiliainaire stores. Also scheduled to open are Civilianaire stores in Carmel, Calif. and New York City.

In other news out of boutiqueland, the once ubiquitous Ed Hardy shops seem to be disappearing. The Ed Hardy shop at the Beverly Center shuttered recently. The former Ed Hardy headquarters across the street from Fairfax High School is empty. Also still swingingis a for lease sign on the Ed Hardy/The Same Guy emporium located on 8335 Melrose Ave. in West Hollywood.

Once presiding over a fleet of stores, the Ed Hardy brand seems to run just a handful of shops in America, according to its website, and most of them seem to be outlets. A call to Ed Hardy owner Iconix Brands was not returned when asking what was next for the label, which was as one of the major trends of the George W. Bush era.

In the meantime, controversial Ed Hardy founder Christian Audigier is reportedly ramping up his new T-shirt brand Lord Baltimore... T-shirts. The founder of the state of Maryland... Umm, where is the connection?!

Melrose and West Hollywood continue to attract the most stylish of fashion brands. A new menswear brand, Mattison, reportedly will be opening a store on Melrose Avenue in November. Mattison gained accolades from none other than GQ magazine when it debuted at the Project trade show in February.