Talking about Shelter Half a while back, I noted the further development of L.A.’s La Brea Avenue as a new little area of interest for retailers. There have been great stores in this part town for a long time, Union and American Rag being probably the two best known and most widely respected. General Quarters is one of the newish shops to join the menswear fray on La Brea. The store got a lot of call outs when I was working on an update to the LA shopping map and it wasn’t until recently that I had a chance to stop by. While the store is not “just opened,” I think it was worth highlighting here for those that don’t spend much time in LA.

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Out in L.A. last week, my buddy Nick Maggio took me on a little retail tour of a burgeoning stretch of South La Brea. First stop? The temporary retail spot Shelter Half which is organized by Environment furniture’s Davide Berruto (with some assistance from Mr. Maggio and others). The shop is a mix of clothing, objects, furniture, leather goods and vintage books — all under the concept of made in America. Brands like RTH and Save Khaki (among many others) are involved and have set-ups within the big open space that is loosely divided up between brands. The shop is an interesting mix of stuff and feels more crafty than heritage-y (not a word, I know), which is refreshing.

Before heading across the street for Mexican food from Tinga (which is sublime) Nick and I stopped in and chatted with Davide (who is a really engaging and nice guy) about the concept and how Shelter Half came to be. It’s an interesting play on things, especially because Davide is there most days to interact with customers or people that are just passing by. That’s one thing we love about the Pop Up Flea. It gives people a chance to really interact with the people behind the brands, the people that dream up the things they buy.

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Convincing your best friend to drive you to downtown L.A. to check out a new shop isn’t always an easy thing. As someone that lives in New York I get the aversion to “downtown” — it’s a big commitment. Similarly for me, at times it is difficult to get me to leave my twenty block bubble in downtown New York. Luckily though, my friend didn’t mind making the trip and today we got to check out the new retail arm of maker Apolis for the first time.

The new shop, dubbed Apolis: Common Gallery is a minimal men’s retail store on East 3rd Street that stocks all of the complete line from the burgeoning menswear label, along with nearly all of the brand’s many collaborations. The simple space, true to its name, also serves as a gallery to showcase the content (film and otherwise) from the company’s many sourcing and humanitarian missions all over the world.

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During my most recent jaunt out to Los Angeles my work schedule only permitted time for one or two ACL oriented diversions. Since I have been concentrating on getting the hang of my newish Fujifilm X100 Camera, I figured the IWC boutique in Beverly Hills would be as good as place as any to explore during my free time and take some photographs. While I’m still getting the hang of the camera, the sharpness of the X100 is really something to marvel at — especially when capturing the precise and good looking IWC watches.

The IWC shop space is small and bright with specific displays for each of the different watch families. The main wall in the back center of the shop featured the new Portofino collection, which I like more and more and more each time I see them. To me the Portofino pieces are a more refined answer to the Portuguese group. Not sure I can pull off the Milanese bracelet, but I’m sure that there are many guys (especially in Beverly Hills) who can. Of course, if I was on the Italian Rivera maybe I would reconsider my position on the metal bracelet. All that said, I think I have my eye on a Big Pilot more than anything else.

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All photos with the Fujifilm X100 + some post production.

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We just posted an update to the L.A. shopping map (that lives on the Maps & Intel page) to include some new openings (like Unionmade L.A.) and some old favorites that should have been on there long ago. Any suggestions, drop them in the comments and we will take them under consideration. Next on our list to update, New York shopping. More on that soon.

View Men’s Shopping in Los Angeles by ACL in a larger map

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After my trip to the Rose Bowl flea I headed over to check out the recently relocated Mohawk General Store on Sunset Blvd in Silverlake. The shop is owned by Kevin Carney (who is also co-founder of Generic Man) and his wife Bo. The menswear and vintage stereos are Kevin’s responsibility the ladies clothing is handled by Bo and the furniture is courtesy of Amsterdam Modern. Mohawk creates a unique mix of European mid-century modern furniture and a strong selection of good menswear from brands like Post Overalls, Engineered Garments, Tellason, Baxter of California, Tanner Goods, Our Legacy, Eastland Shoe, Earnest Alexander, The Hill-Side, Gitman Bros. Vintage, Yuketen, Moscot and of course The Generic Man. I really wanted to buy a set of Dutch stacking chairs that are set up near the entrance, but I erred on the side of owning less chairs. Especially since I have been so successful on Craigslist recently. If you are in LA, check out Mohawk’s new space and maybe pick up some Dutch stacking school chairs or a pair of jeans; whatever you may need or want. [Mohawk General Store]

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It is great to be in L.A. for the second Sunday of the month when they hold the Rose Bowl flea market. Luckily, my last few trips to the West Coast have coincided with the Rose Bowl Flea weekend and I have been able to shop all of the vintage goodness. This past weekend I knew Steven Alan was in town and I asked him if he would mind letting me tag along with him at the Rose Bowl. Being the nice guy that he is Steven agreed, so we got up early on Sunday morning, grabbed a couple giant duffel bags and headed to Pasadena.

Steven is a soft spoken, introspective and polite guy. He’s someone I very much admire for his great style and ability to make something as simple as a button down shirt interesting and cool. No one in menswear is as multidimensional and talented as Steven, which makes spending the morning shopping vintage with him an awesome experience for someone like me who is a big fan of his work.

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One morning a few months ago I was thinking about donuts. That seems normal right? Thinking about donuts in the morning. Especially if you consider it was me doing the thinking. Well anyway, I was wondering who has better donuts, New York or Los Angeles? So I did what anyone would do, I took to twitter to conduct an impromptu (and non-scientific) poll of the best spots in their respective cities. One place that numerous people called-out in the Greater Los Angeles area (I just like how that sounds, Greater Los Angeles) was Randy’s Donuts in Inglewood. And man, I have to agree. Randy’s makes some tasty donuts. After a long flight in LAX, nothing is better than stopping at Randy’s for a cup of coffee and a donut.

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When I was in L.A. a few weeks ago I stopped by to see the gents from Baxter of California at their then unfinished barber shop on LaCienega. Well today the veil has been lifted, and the new spot dubbed Baxter Finley, Barber & Shop, looks even better than I had anticipated. It is opening officially tomorrow, if you want to stop in for L.A.’s newest (and possibly best?) wet shave.

Baxter Finley, Barber & Shop | 515 N. LaCienega Blvd. Los Angeles, CA.

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An unscientific survey of some of L.A.’s best burgers. Jonah and Palmer — the gents from Aether (who are friends, clients and advertisers on ACL) — and I decided to visit five (or so) burger destinations while I am on my left coast tour. The first stop, Umami Burger, was a place many had highly recommended. We met up at the outpost on La Brea for lunch and Umami did not disappoint.

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The Taschen New York store is directly across the street from my office and sometimes when I need to clear my head I’ll trot over there to flip through some of their beautiful books and drift off into another world. After I posted the old Kodachromes of L.A., a few people pointed me in the direction of Los Angeles, Portrait of a City and I was immediately sucked in to the amazing photography of an amazing city.

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