L.A. Fashion Report

Our recent trip to L.A. was quite an adventure, and we noticed many fashion trends worth sharing. From the surf scene down at Huntington Beach to the look-of-the-moment crowd on Robertson Blvd, there was a huge mix of trends in the L.A. area.

In Huntington Beach and places like the C.A.M.P. in Costa Mesa, the look for guys was pretty down to earth. In both Jack's Garage and Huntington Surf And Sport, there was a sea of browns, tans, black and neutral shades. Plaids were everywhere! From the lumberjack look to more menswear inspired plaids, there was no escape. Stripes were big as well, as well as some fun interpretations on sweater prints.

Sweater knit prints for guys:



Buffalo Plaid reigns supreme:


More plaid styles from Quicksilver and Matix. Quilted hoodies, especially from Matix were in all of the shops at the beach. Matix seems be be gaining a strong following.



Aside from all the plaid, we saw a lot of solid color outerwear with a strong utility and military feel. There was a much larger offering of solid color jackets than colorblocked. Many jackets had large boxy pockets, and metal snaps and button were prevalent. Jacket by Penfield:


The sport shops in Huntington had a wide selection for girls, some trends were similar to men's. There were quite a few plaids, and stripes especially were everywhere. There was an onslaught of houndstooth and checkerboard prints from many brands.

Hurley Sweatshirt:

This type of long stripe top was popular:


Shopping on Melrose and Robertson Blvd was a totally different scene than the beach. Style for women especially in L.A. is very driven by celebrities. At any of the trendy shops frequented by the rich and famous, the staff is quick to point out which celebs shop there, and what they buy. The look in L.A. continues to emulate the look of the stars. We saw plenty of sparkle, rhinestones, sequins, and metallic fabrics. There were many things embellished with metallic studs and rivets. The metallic look was quite garish in most cases. Hopefully the shimmery, drapey tops and dresses will go away soon!
Metalic emblished styles:



Amid all the frothy frocks and drapey dresses, we liked seeing items with more structure and shape. There were quite a few interpretations on classic silhouettes for fall, like the pea coat and trench. The look is longer and leaner, we hardly saw any of the blazers that have been so popular in past seasons.



A fun jacket from L.A.M.B.


One trend we couldn't help notice was a return to bright, loud 80's colors. This trend has been brewing for a while, and it seems to be gaining steam. We went to streetwear store ALIFE and were overwhelmed buy super loud graphics and bright colors. They even had brigt neon denim. Reinterpreted 80's style is making it's way back, watch out! Australian brand Insight is doing a great job of bring back some of bold 80's style.

ALIFE's current line:


Some highlights from Insight:

Walkin' In L.A.

November is always an exciting month at SY Design. There's the gluttony of Turkey Day to look forward to, anticipation of the first big snow on Mt. Hood, and our annual trend shopping trip! This year we decided to head down to southern California to check out the latest and greatest in west coast fashion. The past 2 years we flew out to New York, so this year was a big departure from our usual trip. We braved L.A. traffic, sweated in almost 90 degree heat, and shopped 'til we dropped. We decided to rent a Prius Hybrid for our trip, and of course it cost more than anything else at the rental lot. But as soon as we saw the car's computer showing we were getting 45 mpg in bad L.A. traffic, we were stoked!

Our first stop on our west coast adventure was to sunny Huntington Beach. A big thanks to Kyle for letting us stay at his awesome beach condo! We checked out the many cool shops on Huntington's busy Main Street. From Jack's Garage to Huntington Surf and Sport, the so-cal beach look is alive and well in Huntington.
The corner of Main Street and Pacific Coast Highway:

We also took a walk to Dog Beach, about 1 mile north of the Huntington Beach main drag. This place was a pooch paradise! All other beaches are closed to dogs in the area, but local pups have their own 1 mile stretch of beach heaven at Dog Beach. We saw a group of early morning frolickers having a great time running, digging, and chasing each other.

After our brief stint in Huntington, we headed north to L.A for some serious shopping. But what is a trip to L.A. without a visit to Magic Kingdom? We made a detour to Anaheim to visit good ol' Disneyland, and discovered that just because your an adult, it doesn't make Disneyland any less fun. It was totally packed the night we went, but we braved long lines to ride Thunder Mountain Railroad, and get scared all over again by the Yeti on the Matterhorn. The coolest ride was the Haunted Mansion. The Nightmare before Christmas 'took over' the Mansion, and the whole place was transformed for the holiday season. If you are in the area the animation and special effects are a truly spectacular thing to see.


On our drive up to L.A. we stopped in Costa Mesa to visit two unique retail experiences, The C.A.M.P and the Lab. The C.A.M.P. has all kinds of gear and apparel for the outdoor sports fanatic, and is probably one of the most environmentally friendly shopping experiences in the area. The Active Ride Shop is totally worth checking out, with a huge selection of outerwear and streetwear, both of us left the store packing new winter gear from their great selection.


Adventure 16 is a first class sports outfitter, it's like a super posh version of R.E.I.

The Lab boasts itself as the 'Anti Mall' and is right across the street from the C.A.M.P. There is a mix of big names like Urban Outfitters, and little boutiques, we thought this was a bit sleepy in comparison to our experience at The C.A.M.P.

In L.A. we first headed to Venice Beach and the very cool stretch of indie stores on Abbot Kinney street. The shopping was an eclectic mix from high end boutiques to great home stores. There were some drool worthy condos on the street, and any modern design lover should check this place out.

There was a great dog shop, we were greeted by two crazy French Bulldogs at the door of this cute converted house.

We also went to Stronghold Jeans. For some serious bucks, you can get fitted into custom made American denim here. They were quick to point out the giant book of celebrity clients at Stronghold, it was quite the shop!

Next was a trip to uber-trendy Robertson Blvd. With shops like Kitson, Lisa Klein, and Intermix, we were sure we would have a star sighting, but not so! Robertson also boasts celebrity eatery The Ivy. There were TONS of paparazzi hovering around outside, just waiting for a photo op.

A trip to Melrose is a must, from the ultra hip Fred Segal, to endless junk shops, there is a little bit of everything. The Max Azria shop has an amazing facade of swirled branches. I don't know how they stay in place, but it is seriously impressive.


On our last day we headed to Fairfax Ave. to check out some streetwear. In a 2 block stretch you can find Supreme, ALIFE, The Hundreds and others. The attitude is 'too cool for school' and you are lucky if any one working in these shops will give you the time of day. These shops are known for dishing out the must have items in streetwear, from limited New Era hats to Nikes that kids camp out over night for.

Outside The Hundreds:


A highlight of the trip was an awesome vintage sunglass/eyeglass shop next to the Hundreds called Hotel de Ville. With a laundry list of celebrity and hip hop clients, this is THE place to score some killer shades. This dude, Van, was on hand to help us pick out some shades. He was quite the character, and totally decked out in Fairfax streetwear. He told us it just 'felt like a purple day.'

We had a great time on our trip to L.A. We saw tons of inspiration, ate great food, and after 5 days and lots and lots of driving, only put $20 into the Prius!! We loved driving it around, and felt better that we didn't contribute too much to the L.A. smog.

The Power of Green

...has finally gone mainstream this year, but still there is so much to learn, here are a couple of things worth passing along.

"Tofu Bear”, the really cool thing about him is that he’s…
“Made from 100% SOYSILK® brand fiber, these fabulous creations are soft, cuddly, and earth-friendly. SOYSILK® brand fiber is a cutting edge fiber made from the waste produced during the manufacture of tofu. Known for its soft feel, like cashmere, SOYSILK® was first introduced in 2001 by South West Trading Company, pioneers in luxury yarns made from soy, bamboo, and other cutting edge fibers.”

Every time you look at him, think how cool it would be to use this same technology to create luscious eco-friendly cozy plush pile fabrics as lining inside of the outdoor apparel that we design. Food for thought, literally

ATV’s are everywhere, when heading outside of PDX for some mountain biking at Brown’s Camp/Roger’s camp, just pulling into the parking lot is like watching two world’s collide. One is the man-powered mountain biking crowd; the other is the ATV and off-road bike crowd, with their large trailers full of gear, gas, and loud polluting 2-stroke and 4-stroke engines.

It’s great news to hear about the pioneers at Barefoot Motors , with their pioneering new EUV, the worlds first Earth Utility Vehicle!
“We are building the first heavy duty all electric ATV. Our Model One does not pollute, it has better power and if you consider the fuel savings alone – forget about utility rebates, forget about carbon credits, forget about incentives for now – just the fuel savings, the vehicle could actually cost 50-75% of the gas equivalent over the course of its life. Now, add to that, that eliminating one gas-powered ATV because of the emissions it creates, is the equivalent to removing 4 cars off the road. And consider the impact.”

Portland Fashion Week

October 19th-24th marked Fashion Week here in Portland, and some great local talent was showcased. Our fashion week is billed as one of the 'greenest' around, with an emphasis on eco-friendly designers and proceeds going to restore fish and wildlife habitat in Willamete river. Portland has a rich local fashion community with independent designers offering their wares in local boutiques or in their own small store front. On NW 23rd street alone, you can find store fronts for local designers Michelle DeCourcy, Lena Medoyeff, and Souchi

23rd is also home to Seaplane, one of the best boutique showcases of local, handmade apparel and accessories.

Just off 23rd at 2305 NW Savier, is the collaborative storefront for designers Liza Rietz and John Blasioli (John's line is called A Broken Spoke). Both of these designers were featured in Portland Fashion week, and each have wonderfully unique styles with an emphasis on quality and tailored fit. Both do custom designs, and if you are in the market for a perfectly fit men's jacket from A Broken Spoke, or a unique dress from Liza, their shop is worth the trip.

Here are a couple styles from A Broken Spoke, more at the website:



Here is a piece from Liza Rietz, more info at her website:


Another featured line at Fashion Week was Pinkham Millinery. If you know Kim, then you probably know that her Achilles Heel is buying hats! We love these fun styles, Pinkham hat are available at their shop on SW Broadawy, info at their website