It’s back to the 1930’s for Burberry’s Pre-fall (and pre-war) 2012 Collection. With updated tweed fabrics and reserved details, the king of coats is toning down last season’s collection for an English country feel. Some even think designer Christopher Bailey is trying to grab the attention of a certain member of the British royal family; the puffy sleeve dresses, slim waists, and luxe, form fitting jackets seem tailor-made for the new Duchess.
For all the attention given to the roaring 20’s recently – including Woody Allen’s Midnight in Paris and HBO’s Boardwalk Empire – it’s nice to see the equally fashionable 1930’s decade getting a bit of attention. We particular love the dark and muted colors – sage, bracken, lavender, charcoal, and pewter.
LA Weekly’s annual fashion issue is on stands now, and the paper explores the question, ‘Does LA Have a Fashion Identity?‘ We certainly think so.
For all of the LA style archetypes described in the article – the rocker vampire, the Morrissey, the scarecrow, the skateboarding surfer – the throughline is a great pair of jeans. Writer Gendy Alimurung relays how the average LA resident “hikes and has a dog and eats well” to get that perfect LA body; nothing shows off a great body like a pair of jeans and the right tee.
It’s the confusion about LA’s fashion identity referred to in this piece that gives LA a reputation for being one of worst dressed cities in the US. We think publications like GQ that make this claim are missing the point. LA is stuck taking the blame for the overembellished Ed Hardy look you can find on Melrose Avenue because he happened to set up shop here, but this is not an acceptable look for the majority of Angelenos. Rather, the constant here in LA, jeans, has become an increasingly central piece of a fashion forward equation, which is why you see everyone from Kate Middleton to Emanuelle Alt in the latest rise, and an army of denim bloggers behind them sharing each and every look.
There’s no dispute that New York is the hub of fashion, but the best denim in the world comes from LA. Any brand that wants to compete in premium denim has to have a presence in LA to develop the most current washes and fits and understand how people are wearing denim right now. New York-based brands like Theory, Ralph Lauren, and Johann Lindeberg’s BLK DNM have all crossed the country to develop their denim offering, and San Francisco-based Levi’s produces all of their premium lines out of LA. Even apparel behemoth GAP recently splurged on a 5,400 sq ft. design space called the Pico Creative Loft to house its 1969 denim line, and better position itself to compete with LA’s luxury denim makers.
The article gets closest to the mark when it says “Los Angeles is casual”. We’ll take it a step further, and say Los Angeles is denim, because no fabric exudes “casual” quite like denim.
The Royal couple is arriving shortly in LA, and we are really curious to see what they’ll wear. When she’s not in McQueen or Temperley, Kate Middleton - now Princess Catherine - does occasionally wear denim with a simple top or blazer. But Prince William in jeans is a much rarer sight; when not wearing a full suit, he will usually opt for khakis. We know they have a black tie event in Hollywood tomorrow night, but that still leaves plenty of time for them to sport a casual look in the city so well known for its denim culture. We think the Queen would approve!
