Third Street Yankees Come to Town
What does a New England girl like Danielle Kays do after she moves to Los Angeles? She opens a boutique that reminds her of her wild college days.
The boutique is South Willard, located on Los Angeles’ burgeoning Third Street, where retailers such as Aero & Co. and Scout dedicate their storefronts to new designers. Kays and her boyfriend and business partner, Ryan Conder, celebrated the grand opening of the 800-square-foot store on Sept. 2.
Like its neighbors, South Willard concentrates on new designer lines, including Corpus Denim from Los Angeles–based Corpus Clothing and Slow and Steady Wins the Race from New York–based Mary Ping. Unlike its neighbors, the store draws inspiration from Kays’ New England past.
Kays operated something of a costume closet in her house while attending the University of Vermont in Burlington. She moved to Los Angeles in 1998 to work in the wardrobe departments of commercials and films. She met Conder, who managed the Third Street boutique formerly owned by Santa Monica, Calif.–based menswear manufacturer Modern Amusement.
After Mossimo Giannulli purchased the company in January, Modern Amusement got out of the boutique business. So Kays and Conder approached the building’s landlord with a plan to open a boutique. They took over the lease and then redesigned the interior of the space to look like New England, with clapboard wall coverings and teal coloring on the floor. Kays named the store South Willard, the street where she kept her University of Vermont costume closet.
Half of the store is reserved for casual contemporary designs for girls, and the other half is dedicated to guys. Price points range from $50 to $600. All of the designs take unbeaten paths to creating new looks.
Sportswear label Slow and Steady Wins the Race features women’s blazers made out of fleece ($100 retail). New York–based Noah designs men’s blazers made out of a unique waxed-cotton material ($396).
People attending the party included Lukus Eichmann and Daniel Green, co-founders of Pasadena, Calif.–based Saddlelites Jeans Inc.; Keith Richardson of Corpus Clothing; and designer Jesse Damm, whose fleece and cotton voile tanks also sell in the store.
Alisa Loftin, co-owner of Aero & Co., also visited the party. She said her hosts have given the alternative shoppers of Third Street yet another alternative.
“They have a different aesthetic,” she said. “It’s cutting edge, but not avant-garde.” —Andrew Asch
