Main Street's Easy Fashions
Years ago, it would have been difficult to imagine Main Street in Huntington Beach, Calif., teeming with locals and tourists. Back in the 1970s and early ’80s, the street’s infestation of drug trafficking and prostitution kept shoppers away.
A wave of redevelopment, however, both on Main and in the surrounding city has spawned one of Southern California’s hottest street attractions, as families, hipsters and action-sport enthusiasts converge at area bars and restaurants on the weekends.
Recent efforts by Huntington Beach to close off two blocks of the stretch have met with mixed responses from new and long-time Main Street merchants. The idea behind the city’s proposal is to boost pedestrian traffic along the thoroughfare.
Diamond Lane’s Nina Hoke, however, balks at the idea, citing concerns about parking.
“As it is, we don’t have enough parking garages—you’d be surprised on the weekends at how jammed it is,” she said. “If we make it inconvenient for people, they’re less apt to want to shop here.”
A surprise for some, Main Street stores sell more than surfboards.
In between the handful of boutiques on Main, the fashions, for the most part, are easy and laid-back in step with the carefree, surf-inspired attitude of most locals.
At Huntington Surf and Sport, where shoppers are under the watchful eyes of the fish in the circular aquarium and the open-jawed sharks hanging from the ceiling, consumers are partial to the athletic looks by Hurley and Paul Frank, especially logo T-shirts, sweatpants and sweatshirts.
Brisk mornings recently have led to a run on cream, black and gray cowl-neck sweaters and dusters by Stussy, O’Neill and Roxy, said juniors buyer Erin McDaniel.
Stussy’s Western plaid shirts are paired with Billabong corduroy skirts and low-rise jeans for casual silhouettes. For now, oncepopular ultra-feminine looks are wilting into wallflowers, McDaniel said.
“We’re not selling dresses nor anything bright,” she said. “The glitter thing’s dying down and so are ruffles.”
A return to basics is also the theme at year-old Jack’s Girls, where a Roxy display promoting Johnny-collar shirts and T-shirts takes center stage. When in stock, girls are matching up the tops with denim and corduroy jackets and low-rise bottoms. Split’s gray corduroy jackets already have sold out.
“We can’t keep them in,” said sales associate Sarah Ettinger. “Also, anything denim is what’s selling now.”
O’Neill’s zip-up hoodie sweaters in solid hues also have shopper appeal. So far, the boutique—an outgrowth from nearby Jack’s Surfboards—is on a hot streak, Ettinger said.
“We’re 200 percent above our sales expectations,” she said. “We’re really pleased.”
For boutique looks, young women aged 20 to 30 head on over to Merrilee’s Swimwear, which also sells piece goods. Mavi’s dirty-wash jeans are a key seller in the store, according to manager Judy Isermann. The line’s soft corduroy Western shirts with snaps and side-slit long skirts with kangaroo pockets are also checking. New to the store are chunky, hand-knit sweaters made by Saskia in cable knit and front-tie styles that are selling quickly.
B. Lucid’s floor-length suede coats in brown, black or cream with faux-fur trim are an indulgence most shoppers also can’t seem to pass up, Isermann said.
Diamond Lane’s Hoke—a 19-year retail veteran on the street—said shoppers are planning ahead for holiday parties with festive dress purchases. Betsey Johnson once again defies all basic trends as shoppers scoop up her colorful slip dresses and fitted cocktail gowns.
“People are looking to feel good and celebrate,” Hoke said, adding that on the casual front, denim leads the pack.
“It’s still jeans, jeans, jeans,” she said, noting that Serfontaine, Bella Dahl and Sky are the top three sellers. Customers are often snatching up two to three pairs of Serfontaine at a time, according to Hoke. On the flip side, Frankie B. sales are scaling back.
Shoppers are creating jeans ensembles with Michael Stars’ T-shirts and the nylon mesh tops by San Francisco-based Weston Wear, Hoke said. Weston’s batik, floral and geometric prints range from camisoles to three-quarter-sleeve tops.
The only bottoms seller at the 6-year-old Closet is denim jeans, and Diesel and Levi’s dominate the sales, according to store manager Richard Garcia, who added that the store doesn’t even carry wool trousers. And in spite of cooler temperatures, sweaters aren’t checking as fast as T-shirts by two new Huntington Beach lines, Howe and Ruca, Garcia said.
“People are still shopping like they live in Southern California,” he said.
