California Apparel News

After years of being a destination for women’s contemporary fashions, Los Angeles’ Madison boutique chain will open a men’s boutique.

Madison Mens Shop is scheduled to open Aug. 1 at 8741 W. Third St., on the corner of West Third Street and Robertson Boulevard, just off one of Los Angeles’ most prominent retail streets, said Mark Goldstein, Madison’s chief executive officer and founder. He currently runs six Madison boutiques.

The men’s shop will be 1,000 square feet, and it will be carved from the sprawling 7,000-square-foot space where Madison currently operates at the corner of West Third and Robertson. The new men’s shop will have its own entrance and can be accessed from the women’s store.

Goldstein will be a “hands-on” executive in this new venture. He will do all of the buying, and the store’s merchandising mix will be inspired by contemporary American looks. “It’s going to be very clean Americana,” he said. “It’s classic but with an edge.”

This edgy, Americana look is Goldstein’s personal style and, he said, one shared by fashionable guys shopping America’s top retail streets. He stressed that the men’s boutique is a passion project, and he wanted to explore this burgeoning men’s fashion category. He was fortunate enough to realize his dream because he had enough space to create a new shop at his Robertson/West Third Street shop.

Madison Mens Shop will offer denim and twill pants, shirting, footwear, and some accessories, Goldstein said. Retail prices points will range from $195 to $395 for denim and $175 to $245 for a shirt. Some brands sold at the store will be Levi’s Vintage Clothing, Acne, 3x1, Gant, Maison Katsuné, Wings + Horns and Rag & Bone.

At the beginning of the month, Madison’s neighbor, the Moods of Norway boutique, announced it was moving from Robertson Boulevard to Melrose Avenue because Melrose attracts a larger men’s fashion crowd, said Stefan Dahlkvist, a Moods president and co-founder.

Still, Goldstein believes there is opportunity for men’s fashions on Robertson. “There have been men’s stores on Robertson that have done well,” he said. “If you buy good things and people like it, they will come.”

It is a good time to be in the men’s fashion business overall, said Paul Witt, who runs men’s e-boutique Wittmore. It currently does business at pop shop Concept 8366 ½ Presents Wittmore on West Third Street near the intersection of West Third Street and South Kings Road. His temporary lease was extended until Aug. 15 after the store had been initially scheduled to close down on July 30.

“The guy is more style conscious than ever,” Witt said of men’s fashion shopping. “I think there is an opportunity for men’s stores in each Los Angeles neighborhood.”