LA la land.

To be able to say anything about fashion in Los Angeles you first need to say a few things about Los Angeles. LA is a big city.  So big that the first time I came here I got into a cab at LAX and asked the taxi driver to take me to my hotel. What city, he asked. I had just been awake for 24 hours because a large mans body kept occupying both mine and his own seat and was really not in the mood for stupidity. Did he really think I wanted a cab to San Francisco? New York? London? Los Angeles, I said looking at him with my most “you stupid F**k” eyes. ‘Yeah, but what city?’ he continued asking. Turns out I was the stupid one. Los Angeles is not “a” city. It is several. Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Santa Monica, Venice and more are all cities that reside in this massive city otherwise known as Los Angeles. Apparently I wanted to go to Century city.

As with any city, trends tend to keep within areas. I mean let’s face it. The pearl necklaces I used to wear as a Hoxton girl were of a very different kind than the ones my fellow women wore over in Chelsea. And LA is no exception. Trends here tend to stay within their city limits, sometimes they don’t even cross streets. Maybe because it is just too bloody far to the nearest zebra crossing.

I now live in Venice, therefore I find it appropriate to start here.

A couple of days ago, I decided to get up early and do Yoga in Santa Monica. I got on my bike and was riding along the beach with my yoga mat in my basket. It was early Sunday morning, the sun was shining and the streets were quiet. As I looked to my right I saw dolphins play in the sea. Awwww, I thought. As I looked to my left there is a guy shooting crack on his beach view balcony. Venice, I thought.

It is a city of contradictions. It was the centre of hippie culture in the 60’s, and is the cradle of skateboarding. The style here is an eclectic mix of surfers, skaters, hippies, bohemians, rock n’ rollers and gangsta. Sometimes individually wrapped and sometimes a mixmatch of them all.

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