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.