California Apparel News

Nina Garduno, an influential former buyer for Fred Segal, opened her latest boutique FREECITYsupershopsupermat, in Hollywood, on Sept. 7, a signal that the once-tough neighborhood might be ready for fashion retail.

Garduno’s shop with a tongue twisting name debuted at 1139 N. Highland Ave. It’s the latest store opening in what has been a steady stream of retail debuts in a neighborhood better known for nightclubs and tough characters than for fashion retail.

Across the street from FREECITY, high-quality basics label James Perse opened an 8,000-square-foot compound at 1128 N. Highland Ave. The store features a gallery and performance space as well as plenty of room to sell its collection, including the brand’s $50 V-neck T-shirts.

There are other signs of change in the neighborhood. In May, a Trader Joe’s market opened at Selma Avenue and Vine Street. In January, the W Hollywood Hotel and Residences, located at 6250 Hollywood Blvd., debuted.

Hollywood boutique owners are divided over whether the high-profile debuts will quickly turn their neighborhood into a fashion shopping district. Jamie Rosenthal, owner of Lost & Found at 6314 Yucca St., said her neighborhood has become a much different place compared with a decade ago, when she regularly swept used syringes off the sidewalk in front of her boutique. However, it still has a long way to go.

For Beatrice Prochazka of Bizzy B at 6548 Hollywood Blvd., her street has taken a big turn. “It’s going to be the grand, old style of Hollywood,” Prochazka forecasted.

In a half-mile radius, Hollywood shoppers can find a crazy quilt of products ranging from Missoni ponchos to T-shirts for the rock ’n’ roll set, traditional handcrafts and lingerie favored by strippers.

But boutique owners in this freewheeling neighborhood said they have noticed an improvement in retail traffic since the beginning of the year. “Before the [W] hotel opened, it was not so good,” said Ladda Chan Punvong, owner of Muzer, located at 6380 Hollywood Blvd.

Punvong’s shop offers the Muzer brand of traditional fashions and handcrafts made by tribal peoples in northern Thailand. Top-selling items are the men’s handmade pants, which retail for $80, and a woman’s colorful wrap skirt, which retails for $100.

Tourists make up 80 percent of the retail traffic coming into L’Allure, located at 6378 Hollywood Blvd. But the tourists dropping by L’Allure are looking for fashion T-shirts with a nightclub sizzle. Top-selling items are T-shirts made by Los Angeles–based brand Hollywood Made. Its T-shirts bearing the fragrance bottle–style graphic “No 9” retail for $44.85. A tank dress from Los Angeles–based brand Joyrich retails for $48.80.

The several storefronts of Lost & Found are located a block away from the landmark Capitol Records building. Rosenthal, the boutique’s owner, said most of her customers come from Los Angeles’ well-to-do Hollywood Hills and Hancock Park neighborhoods, located close to Hollywood. There is no sign above her store, but it has long been a destination for people looking for refined fashions with a European and Japanese touch.

Top-selling items from Lost & Found’s women’s boutique are colorful ponchos from Missoni, which retail for $165, and Swiss company Repeat, which retail for $250. Also popular is a twill military coat from Italian label NSF, which retails for $178. At Rosenthal’s men’s shop, gauze and fleece polos from Japanese brand V-Room cost $195. Her boutiques sell children’s fashions, art and homewares.

Many women working the bars and restaurants at the W shop at Bizzy B, according to Prochazka, the boutique’s owner, who also stars in the reality show “Norwegian Hollywood Housewives” (or “Norske Hollywood Fruer” to those watching Norway’s TV3 network).

Bizzy B sells fetishwear, lingerie and swimwear. Top-selling brands include Bizzy B bikinis. The Brazilian-cut bikinis retail for $28 per piece. Also popular are bikinis produced by Miami-based Luli Fama. They typically retail for $72 per piece. A demi-cup bra from Los Angeles–based lingerie brand Felina retails for $39.

Hollywood also has been the address for a group of designers setting up boutiques near the intersection of Hollywood Boulevard and Las Palmas. Contemporary womenswear and leather designer Clay Webster opened a boutique for his Cerre label in 2009. Designer Marco Morante started a boutique and showroom for his Marco Marco label at 1641 Las Palmas Ave. in 2003. In early 2011, he’ll open another shop, House of Infinite Radness, on Las Palmas. Also in the vicinity are shops for label Cavern; new crochet and knitting boutique Artstring; and Scout, which sells vintage items and its own Scout brand.

“The people who moved in are cool, ’designery’ people,” Morante said. “We’re trying our best to keep them coming.”