|
LOS
ANGELES — On a recent fall evening, three young women
walk down Beverly Boulevard together toward Jerry’s
Deli. They’re dressed in vertiginous high heels,
cut-off frayed denim shorts, sheer peasant blouses and,
for the tallest in the group, a floppy brown suede hat.
Their outfits might lead an observer to conclude they
are on their way to a Malibu beach party. But after they
pass the deli’s brightly lighted windows, they stop in
front of the Beverly nightclub, and within seconds they
bypass the crowd huddled around the doorman and claim
their places inside.
Los
Angeles is home to some of the most exclusive
speak-easies and lounges in the world, and even Malibu
Barbies have a place to call home. Each venue comes with
its own personality and unwritten rules on dress. Style
is measured in heel inches, attitude and accessories.
“I
think you’ll find a mixture of styles at every
venue,” says Ari Goldberg, chief executive of
Stylecaster.com, a fashion and beauty website. “But
“people end up role-playing. I think people do that
naturally.”
The
tastemakers in the corner booths aren’t always famous
— they are frequently people like stylist Donna Danon.
The 24-year-old says she changes her look based on her
mood, but she can play up a certain style based on the
night’s venue.
“If I
go somewhere like Hemingway’s, more of like a lounge-y
place, I do more of a hipster look because that’s the
vibe that place gives off,” Danon says. “I’ll
maybe do shorts, a blazer and a cute little hat. If
I’m going somewhere like Eden, I’ll do something a
little sexier like an LBD,” or little black dress.
Just in
case the subtleties of the L.A. scene seem elusive, what
follows is a style guide to some the city’s most
fashionable clubs and lounges.
———
The Cool
Kids
The
Beverly
When you
arrive at the Beverly, an exclusive club open only two
nights a week, a tall man with finely trimmed facial
hair wearing a suit and a newsboy cap stands guard at
the door. Patrons call him L.T., and as head of security
(and selection), he ensures that patrons embody a
“cool kids” vibe.
There are
no guidelines for dress at the Beverly. “It’s more
about personal style,” L.T. says. “It’s like a
delicate formula we work with. One individual could pull
off something that might not work for another.”
That
“delicate formula” involves a heavy dose of
confidence oozing from the clientele, who often seem
effortlessly attractive and trendy — but casual — in
their dress.
The
aforementioned Malibu Barbies blend in with the
Beverly’s varied clientele — women in shorts and
espadrilles, one-shoulder mini-dresses and sequined
skirts and frocks.
The men
seem to be going for a different look. On a recent
evening, a young patron sitting in a private booth that
costs hundreds of dollars to reserve for the night
orders a bottle of Cristal Champagne — with a price
tag of several hundred dollars more. But he isn’t
dressed in a suit befitting a luxury buy. He wears a
Ramones T-shirt, dirty Converse sneakers and a pair of
Burberry boxers peaking out of his slightly saggy jeans.
“Individual
and personal style with a particular flair will always
stand out,” L.T. says. But just because the Beverly
doesn’t have a dress code doesn’t mean it’s not
selective.
“Anything
sparkly, Ed Hardy or Affliction-style graphics,
square-toe shoes and sunglasses are definite
‘don’ts,’” says Darren Dzienciol, co-owner of
the Beverly and Trousdale lounges. “If it’s on the
‘Jersey Shore’ it’s not coming through the
door.”
The
Beverly, 8713 Beverly Blvd., Los Angeles; 10 p.m.-2 a.m.
Thursday and Saturday; (310) 855-0202.
———
Old
Hollywood
The
Sayers Club
To enter
the Sayers Club, patrons must walk through the Papaya
King hot dog storefront on Wilcox Avenue in Hollywood.
Inside, the space seems to exude old-time Hollywood
glamour. Thick theater curtains line the bar, plush
leather booths house hushed conversations, and mirrors
along the walls offer partial glimpses of patrons.
Men in
suits, vests and fedora hats chat at the brick bar with
women in modern versions of flapper gowns with dropped
waists and sparkling headpieces. Bartenders in
suspenders pour stiff drinks while a live band
entertains at the center of the lounge. Outside on the
back patio, women smoke using cigarette holders.
On a
recent Thursday night, a young woman stands and gulps a
martini at the bar. She is dressed in a silk navy and
white polka-dot jumpsuit, tightly cinched at the waist
with a brown braided belt. Her hair is pulled back and
her lips are bright red, bringing to mind a young
Lucille Ball.
Farther
down the bar, musician and comedian Elijah Rock sips his
drink and takes in the crowd. Dressed in slacks, a
button-down shirt, vest and fedora, he looks as though
he could step onto the set of a 1920s-era film.
“Bottega Louie, the Edison, the Sayers Club, all these
great classic spots in L.A. remind me of a certain
nostalgic character that I really admire,” Rock says.
The
Sayers Club, 1645 Wilcox Ave., Los Angeles; 10 p.m.-2
a.m. Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday; (323) 871-8233.
———
Hipsters
on the Loose
Hemingway’s
Lounge
This is a
literary bar in the most literal sense of the word, with
antique typewriters and shelves of books lining the
walls and pillars. The crowd at Hemingway’s Lounge is
composed of avid vintage shoppers who test the limits of
color blocking and accessorizing on a nightly basis.
Young
women mingle in high-waisted pants or shorts, arms lined
with bangles, shirts adorned with pins. Plenty of heads
are topped with hats. Men wear ultra-skinny jeans, Top-Siders
or high-top sneakers, wide-brimmed hats and scarves.
“Clothing
is one way of determining if one person is worthy of
entering our doors, but attitude is the most
important,” says proprietor Elie Samaha, who
characterizes the dress code as “upscale vintage,
shabby chic, eclectic, fashion-forward and bohemian.”
Crowd
standouts on one night include Kelly Love and Geisha
Cotan, who visit Hemingway’s for a drink after a
nearby event. Love wears a pink scarf piled atop her
blue hair, a yellow blouse tucked into coral-colored
wide-leg trousers and orange shoes. She accessorizes
with ‘80s-style geometric-shaped earrings and bangles.
“We are with the kids who run L.A.,” Love says. “I
dressed for a night out and went for the eclectic
vibe.” Her friend Cotan wears yellow silk pants with a
scarf for a belt, a vintage black bustier and a necklace
adorned with black feathers. Her arms, like Love’s,
are covered in colored bangles.
Shelby
Walters wears a sequin-adorned ‘80s-style boxy jacket
with shoulder pads and colored geometric shapes. “I
found my jacket thrift-store shopping for vintage
designs,” she says, adding: “I think it’s hard for
people to take risks with their fashion, but
Hemingway’s is really hipster Hollywood.”
Hemingway’s,
6356 Hollywood Blvd., Los Angeles; 9 p.m.-2 a.m.
Tuesday-Sunday; (323) 469-0040.
———
The
Clubber’s Clubs
Eden and
the Colony
Unlike
the Beverly, Hemingway’s and Sayers Club, which feel
more like lounges, Eden and the Colony are nightclubs in
the most traditional sense of the word. Expect a wait in
line, a DJ’s reliable lineup of top 20 hits and a
doorman with a selective eye. Both clubs are typically
packed with bodies in motion and amped-up patrons ready
for another round of shots.
Inside
Eden, quick two-steppers, dirty dancers and amateur
go-go girls with glistening bodies slide their hips
through the aisles that separate the 19 VIP tables,
pausing only briefly to take a sip from their drinks.
Women are dressed in teeny-tiny dresses and heels, while
the men are in jeans and collared shirts with blazers.
“It’s
not a shock to people that style is important in this
town,” says Chanell Oliver, assistant director of
night life and VIP services for SBE, a hospitality
company that owns hotels, restaurants and night-life
venues. Anything super-casual, including shorts or
athletic gear, is not permitted, Oliver says. “And
those loud graphic printed shirts are a no-no.”
Just a
couple blocks away, the Colony, another dance club,
evidences a different style. Unlike at Eden, the doorman
doesn’t wear a suit. Instead he sports a leather
jacket and ripped jeans to pluck people out of the large
line with no apparent rhyme or reason. On one night he
admits a group of men, most of them in T-shirts, and two
groups of women, one in skin-tight Herve Leger-esque
dresses and the other in denim and espadrilles.
The idea
behind the Colony was to re-create the Hamptons for the
West, which translates into a distinctly relaxed L.A.
dress code. Inside, men in printed T-shirts lounge on
hammocks in the center of the venue or replicas of
sailboats. A pop-up store inside the club sells
Ray-Bans, vintage jewelry and flip-flop sandals.
“L.A.
is the only place where you see more people out in a
T-shirt and a baseball cap,” says Dave Osokow,
director of night-life promotions for SBE.
“The
days of getting really dressed up in L.A. are over,”
adds Osokow, dressed in a Phillies hat, jeans and
chucks. “The more bummed out you look, the more
attention you get. It’s the ‘Fonzie’ thing.”
Eden,
1650 Schrader Blvd., Los Angeles; 10 p.m.-2 a.m.
Wednesday, Friday and Saturday; (323) 525-2452. Colony,
1743 N. Cahuenga Blvd., Hollywood; 10 p.m.-2 a.m.
Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday; (323) 525-2450.
|
