October Issue 06

FRONT Here
BY NIKI SMART • PHOTOGRAPHED BY AMBER LYNN KIMBERLING
Silver Lake
TAKE A WALK ON THE WILD EAST SIDE
On the neighborhood
hipness index,
Silver Lake scores
high. Filled with avant-garde
boutiques, vintage stores, quirky
consignment places, coffee
shops, locally owned bars and
restaurants, food trucks, farmers’
markets, pop up stores, and even
pop up architecture, Silver Lake
is a trendy community. Plus, it
ranks high on the walkability
factor, is home to a multicultural
blend of residents with eclectic
professions and artists galore,
and Silver Lake features some of
the most celebrated modernist
architecture in the country,
for example, Richard Neutra’s
VDL Research House and
John Lautner’s Silvertop. In the
shopping arena, Silver Lake
offer buyers a smorgasbord
from high-end stores to the
Army Surplus Center (which is
a trip in and of itself). There’s
everything from fine dining to
hole in the wall taco stands, or
why not go to Purgatory and
enjoy a pizza while you’re there.
A.P.C. Silver Lake
3517 Sunset Boulevard
Los Angeles CA 90015
+1 424 252 2761
Recently the Paris-based,
upmarket retail chain, A.P.C.
opened a storefront in Silver
Lake. This minimalist-cool
boutique offers A.P.C.’s newest
fall/winter apparel collection
for women and men, plus
denim, luxe leather accessories,
footwear, and the brand’s quilt
line.
RetroSuperFuture
3531 Sunset Blvd
Los Angeles CA 90015
323.906.9188
www.retrosuperfuture.com
Right next door to APC is
RetroSuperFuture, producers
of exceptional contemporary
eyewear that are all handmade
in Italy. Of note is their
collaboration with the Andy
Warhol Foundation, a surreal
and strange collection based on
Warhol’s drawings of people
wearing unique sunglasses.
Matrushka Construction
3822 West Sunset Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90026
323.665.4513
www.matrushka.com
A few blocks away is Matrushka
– where the clothing line is
designed by the owner, Laura
Howe, and produced on site.
Styles range from the 30’s
through the 70’s, with dresses
inspired by the likes of Veronica
Lake and Jean Harlow, to the
70’s retro “hippie” look. The
slogan at Matrushka is: Size
is Relative- the store stands
by this statement and will
do any alterations necessary
to accommodate you. Their
fabrics come from DTLA, and
their remnants are turned into
handbags. The dresses here are
predominantly one-offs, not
mass-produced, making this
little gem of a store truly worth
a visit.
The Casbah Café
Continuing north on Sunset
Blvd there’s The Casbah Café, an
eclectic French-Moroccan styled
café that specializes in strong
coffees, fresh mint teas and crisp
salads. If you venture up the stairs
at the back of the store, you’ll find
a boutique that sells whimsical
clothing and home goods.
Then there’s Dean’s
handcrafted leather goods
(a store that smells like your
favorite leather jacket), and the
Cheese Store of Silver Lake with
stinky cheeses en masse, or Bar
Keeper (for everything alcohol
related), and Intelligentsia
Coffee (just try it) - all clustered
at the iconic Silver Lake
Junction, where Sunset Blvd and
Santa Monica Blvd meet.
Café Stella
3932 W Sunset Blvd,
Los Angeles,
323.666.0265
You can’t visit Silver Lake
Junction without going to Café
Stella and sampling the famous
French sandwich “Croque
Monsieur”. In the evenings,
mixologists make worthy drinks,
and though the place is small, it’s
super hip and celebrity sightings
are a common occurrence. Go to
Stella to see and be seen.
Knuckle and Claw
3112 Sunset Blvd,
Los Angeles
323.407.614
If you want a quick bite and are
hankering for a lobster roll, then
try Knuckle and Claw. Roald
Dahl’s granddaughter, Chloe
Dahl runs this place - both his
grand daughters are successful
as Chloe’s sister, Phoebe, runs a
charitable clothing line at Fair
cloth designs.
14 The LA FASHION MAGAZINE