Temper Tantrum
What’s next after sexy sweats? According to the designer of Los Angeles T-shirt line Temper Tantrum, it’s contemporary-styled novelty tees.
“In today’s fashion there aren’t a lot of comfortable looks that are fashion forward,” said Temper Tantrum’s founder, Staci Bienenfeld, who, about a year ago, got tired of the same old casual looks so she created a line of novelty T-shirts.
Influenced by New Wave–era fashion, the Los Angeles-based designer said she wants her collection to be known for its informal approach to novelty shirtmaking.
For the collection, Bienenfeld creates basic and deconstructed looks in cotton shirting with several contemporary silhouettes in mind: short-sleeve, off-the shoulder, fluttersleeve and square-neck with side slit. Wholesale price points range from $22 to $28.
“You can dress them up with accessories or wear them casual,” said Bienenfeld.
It’s a concept retailers are increasingly warming up to as an alternative to tank tops and cap-sleeve shirts,” said Joanna Cataldo, buyer at Sharon Segal Santa Monica.
“Temper Tantrum offers a nice novelty twist to basic tops because it has a little bit of an edge. They can be worn with denim, trousers or anything,” she said.
Bienenfeld, who attended the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising in Los Angeles during the ’90s, got her first taste of fashion merchandising working as a sales associate at a number of specialty retailers in Los Angeles, including Lisa Kline, the Beverly Hills Bikini Shop and Fred Segal Santa Monica.
Temper Tantrum’s no-frills collection retails for $60 and is carried at Scanty in Venice, Sharon Segal Santa Monica and Sara Shaw in San Francisco.
For more information on Temper Tantrum, call Adrienne Phillips and Sybil Gladney at the Basix showroom; (213) 833-0070. —Claudia Figueroa
