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Why LA is a Fashion Black Hole
By admins | April 10, 2009
First off, if you are currently living and loving life in Los Angles, stop reading this. No really, stop reading now. One of our contributors recently returned from a shop trip to LA and had the following to report.
I hate LA! I have tried not to, but this last trip left no doubt, this city is just not for me. My aversion to Los Angeles began with the driving issue, spread to the food, expanded to the lack of history and culture, and was sealed with the fashion deficit. Why, oh why is everyone walking around in sweats, tees, and flip-flops? What is wrong with people that they can’t even put it together; they can’t even get out of their pajamas when going into a restaurant! Where else can you find gorgeous women, who may even be well groomed, bopping around town in tank tops, ratty shorts, and Uggs? Dress the fuck up! And while you’re at it, pick a season! I guess I shouldn’t be surprised from a town that considers Ed Hardy and Juicy “designer” wear. We all know the LA aesthetic, bleach blond, fake boobs, Pam Anderson, OC house wives type that Californians consider hot, while East Coasters consider it trashy. But let’s not forget the younger LA fashion plate too, aka the slob. These girls really need to pull it together, they need to learn how to dress up, like an adult and accessorize. And by accessorize, I do not mean more loopy scarves and fedoras! Even more annoying then the pajamas come daywear, is what these young women wear out at night. Besides the fact that they all look like clones of each other, or Lauren Conrad, these ladies need to expand their closets beyond strappy, drapey, jersey dresses. As if things couldn’t get any worse, I was in LA shortly before LA fashion week; yes I know, they too have a fashion week (eye rolling). Now who shows at this fashion week, you may be wondering? Well, there are some interesting indie designers, but as for big names, not so much. LA fashion week featured couture mall labels Bebe, and French Connection. Oh and how could I forget the Pussycat Dolls were showing their new fashion line! I am just so sorry (sarcasm) that I had to miss all of that. Okay that’s my feelings on LA, no sugar coating here. God it’s good to be back in New York!
Here is more related scoop;
Topics: fashion, l.a., rant | 16 Comments » 
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April 10th, 2009 at 2:13 pm
Nice pics you have here. thanks for sharing.
April 10th, 2009 at 4:45 pm
Thanks! This is so true, after moving to california I was expecting something a little more fun, interesting. Not so much. I am so sick of fedora’s, ratty shorts, loopy scarves and the like. I appreciate artistry in fashion and I am just waiting for “old hollywood” glamour to make a comeback. I wear it well, anyway. Vintage dresses are so easy to wear and don’t need a ton of styling to make you look polished. Did you hear on the news today that Uggs are really bad for your feet, not to mention style?
April 11th, 2009 at 2:30 pm
Love the post!!! Finally someone making a real observation about LA’s poor fashion choices.
April 12th, 2009 at 8:38 pm
But what I’m wondering, if all the girls are dressing like this…. must there be lots of awesome goods up for grabs in the vintage and second hand stores?
April 13th, 2009 at 11:42 am
Brilliant! I often have similiar thoughts when traveling to the west coast. Wasn’t it the Huffington Post who called it the City of Slobs! So true.
April 13th, 2009 at 6:38 pm
I love this letter.
April 14th, 2009 at 7:29 pm
well said. i agree completely, but to be fair…these jersey wearing fanatics are usually found on the west side. there is a whole other side to LA- the east side (silverlake, echo park, etc.) with enough hipsters to rival williamsburg. that too makes my eyes roll.
April 15th, 2009 at 2:53 am
hahahathis is hilarious ..actually one of my best friends is californian..she is always telling me how awful girls are dressed up there..I ‘ve always thought LA STYLE has special vibe..but somehow more and more am begining to think i was in illusion
April 15th, 2009 at 5:27 pm
I totally agree and I am a California gal. I mean being a little “lazy” every once in a while is fine (in my opinion) but these people are “celebrities” and they look trashy. California has no fashion sense…. and we probably never will. We will always be jeans and flip flop wearers.
April 16th, 2009 at 12:14 pm
Wow, so glad you guys liked it and it’s nice to know we aren’t the only ones who have noticed this. We really expected to get bashed in the comments. Great minds…
April 23rd, 2009 at 4:33 pm
Ok, I live here in LA and I say give another chance! Stay away from that bastion of sheeple hipsterati aka Silverlake/Echo Park and alot of West/Hollywood–which is just an overpriced vintage store version of the westside only more conformed to the “hipster”. I mean NEVER get caught there without tattoos, something ripped, dyed BLACK hair AND the ratty scarf. (Anyone who is actually FROM the Eastside laughs at those who consider Silverlake, Echo Park eastside)
Try some places downtown. Embrace local fusion food in the “real” neighborhoods. Take the bus. And there is alot of history and art here involving areas non related to Hollywood.
At least here, when you dress you get noticed because you stand apart from the crowd. However, individuality doesnt get you far here since unique is just misinterpreted that you dont “get it”.
Oh and yes for the most part, most of it is an illusion–that’s why so many people are wearing sunglasses. You didnt think it was the sun did you?
May 19th, 2009 at 2:25 pm
Ok – I’m not originally from Southern Cali – in fact I just moved here last October. I’m from Florida (which I guess could be considered East Coast..I dunno, Florida doesn’t really count) and, being from there, I’ve seen enough polos and bermuda shorts to make myself puke. One could easily argue that Floridians are also in a fashion black hole, as they too have only one season. I mean, as much as I wanted to rock a killer leather jacket when I lived there, I just couldn’t. The coldest it gets there during the winter (at least in southern Florida, where I was born and raised) is maybe a high 40 degrees if you’re lucky. Does that mean Floridians have no sense of style? Not at all. They just know what works for where they live. No sense in trying to make a leather jacket, scarf, peacoat, trench or tights work in 80 degree weather.
Moving to Southern Cali was actually refreshing for me in terms of finding new styles. Absolutely everything is accepted out here and I’ve noticed that you are more than encouraged to dress how you want. No, people in LA may not dress like the fashionistas of NYC, but who is to say that means they’re in a fashion black hole or in a fashion funk? The way they dress IS their fashion, it IS their style. In my opinion, when you can categorize an entire city by the way they dress, it means that city has a sense of fashion and style that they have managed to make their own. Seriously, you can look at someone and just know that they are from LA completely by the way they are dressed. That’s not a bad thing. Yes, NYC is filled with high end designers, luxurious fabrics and more than enough neutrals to go around, but LA (and Southern California while we’re at it) is filled with neons, bright colors, edgy style, trends, lots of skin, poofy hair, tons of fun accessories, studs, leather, ripped denim, hipsters, scene kids, bathing suits, beach wear, bleach blondes, tan skin, celebrities, bright nail polish, short skirts, comfy slub wear and UGGS…yes UGGS. They aren’t the only city that rocks them and they’re freakin’ comfortable as hell so get over it.
Bottom line, it’s all about the lifestyle down here in Southern Cali and the fashion has just been a natural progression of that lifestyle…kind of like our own little culture. We like to have fun and we don’t take ourselves too seriously. Most days, we just throw on whatever works and go about our business. Throw a trend or two into the mix and we’re good to go.
But, just like LA and Southern California have their own sense of style, NYC has its own sense of style, too – which is always spot on. You can also look at a New Yorker and tell they’re a New Yorker – which is not a bad thing. But please, don’t knock us out here in Southern California…we’re doing the best we can with what we’ve got.
May 20th, 2009 at 1:32 am
[...] There was a posting at 39th and Broadway awhile back that got me thinking. Granted, 39th and Broadway is a blog based out of NYC so they are biased in terms of NYC fashion – but I don’t think what they said about LA style was very fair. Read the original post here. [...]
July 14th, 2009 at 10:50 pm
[...] we rarely write about our West Coast sister city LA, and when we do the results aren’t so pretty. However, upon hearing the news that LA’s March fashion week has been canceled, we felt the [...]
July 17th, 2009 at 12:55 pm
California in general is pretty laid back when it comes to fashion. It’s not easy pulling off casual fashion. The weather in socal is pretty nice and so I believe there is also a great emphasis on physical beauty also, thus nyc fashion may seem to really chic and sharp; however, people in LA have their own vibe. And I see a decent amount of well dressed vintage summery style girls in LA. My brother used to go to USC(University of Southern California) and it’s an expensive school, so the girls did not look trashy yet they dressed in sexy southern california styles. Different lifestyles=different clothing options. I’m more comfortable living in a 4,000 sq. ft, 2 story house, with a pool (brother house’s is in newport, but i consider it a part of LA) than a cramped up apartment in NYC.
July 21st, 2009 at 3:20 pm
http://www.jcreport.com/intelligence/business/040509/fashions-westward-march