In Orange County, “heritage brand” means something different. There are no tailoring houses that have been owned by the same family for centuries or dressmakers that can trace their origins to the court of Louis XIV. Southern California has historically been a very casual place, and most of the clothing companies that are […]
Fashion
Some (Virtual) Ink for “Ink” at Museum of Latin American Art (MOLAA)
The Museum of Latin American Art’s “Ink” is a complex, sophisticated history of tattoo art in California—in particular the way Navy town Long Beach served as a focus for artists who’d go on to help invent a distinctly Chicano vocabulary of imagery. Think of it as a lesson in art, history, sociology, culture and politics […]
Trendzilla: Louis Katayama is the Renaissance Man
If you ever find yourself at the corner of Fairfax and Melrose on a Thursday, you’ll see lines down the block of people clamoring to get their hands on the latest drop by streetwear giant Supreme. About half of the people there will be buying for themselves, the other half are there to flip […]
Burlesque Superstar Dita Von Teese Performs Sold-Out Homecoming Show at the House of Blues Anaheim
Miss Dita Von Teese may not have been the type to be named homecoming queen when she was a student at University High in Irvine in 1990 (she was too busy staying home perfecting her craft and building the empire she now sits proudly on the throne of, after all) but she had a homecoming […]
Dita Von Teese, International Queen of Burlesque, Still Feels Like an Orange County Girl
“Somewhere in the archives,” a satin-smooth voice of a woman on the other end of a San Francisco hotel phone line says, “there’s a picture of a blond me inside this cage.” She estimates the photo would have been taken in the early 1990s: ’91, ’93 maybe. And it would have been used in the […]
No Fear of Color: Fashion Designer Trina Turk Continues to Define California Style
The fine Imagineers at our friendly neighborhood Walt Disney Corporation took on a rather arduous task in the 1990s. They had to answer the question: How do you define California style and how do you embody it? The question was asked in 1995 when Michael Eisner and his cronies announced plans for a California-culture and […]
Above The Clouds: How LRG Looks Over The Streets
It’s not everyday a company pops up in your backyard and takes over the scene. In this case, Lifted Research Group (commonly known as LRG) is the exception. Started in 1999 by Co-Creators Jonas Bevacqua and Robert Wright, the apparel brand is now on the verge of celebrating twenty years in the game. Bevacqua was […]
Contemplating ‘Costuming the Leading Ladies of Shakespeare: From Stratford to Orange County’ at UC Irvine
The first work of Shakespeare’s I ever saw performed was A Midsummer Night’s Dream. On the giant white-box set, the lovers swung on trapezes, and acrobatic tricks amazed with shimmering props. It enthralled my 13-year-old self, creating the delusion that all Shakespeare was done just like that. Much later, I learned that the production was […]
Designer Betsey Johnson Shares Her Guide to Living and Loving with Style
When it comes to matters of happiness, career and style, Betsey Johnson’s advice on all three are essentially the same: “decide it, then do it.” The iconic fashion designer knows there’s a time and place to be superfluous (which is to say, often) but when it comes to success in all aspects of life, […]
Marigold Shadows Brings High Fashion to Goth Millennials
While most local boutiques lean more toward skin-revealing garments and beach-friendly casual-wear, one brand is bringing designer-inspired couture to your closet. Marigold Shadows’ refreshing array of individualist avant-garde clothing is a departure from on-trend retailers with its oversize fit, dark color palette and asymmetrical silhouettes. In fact, most of its inventory looks as if it […]