California Apparel News

If you happened to see Detective Kate Beckett wearing a form-fitting T-shirt on the television show “Castle,” it just might have been made by Crown Jewel, a 10-year-old T-shirt and lifestyle brand that makes all its clothes in Los Angeles.

“We get a lot of studio business from the Jami Lyn store on Robertson Boulevard, which carries our line,” said Dave Sauerbrey, founder and designer of the line, headquartered in a small industrial park in Santa Ana, Calif.

Crown Jewel T-shirts have been seen on other TV shows, such as “Parenthood” and “Shameless,” and they are being considered as part of the wardrobe in the new “Batman/Superman” movie to be released in 2016. “They bought the samples we sent over and are doing fittings,” Sauerbrey said of the possibility that the T-shirts will be seen on the big screen.

The apparel company is a small operation where the designer whips up organic lunches in the office kitchen for his three employees, who pride themselves on keeping everything local. The garments are dyed in Anaheim or tie-dyed in Compton after being sewn in Los Angeles.

Sauerbrey, who went on an intensive self-taught crash course in fashion and design, creates all the styles and determines the color palette for every season. He offers as many as 60 colors in styles that range from tank tops and short-sleeve scoops to raglan boat necks and long-sleeve hooded henleys. Tank tops are the label’s best sellers.

Most of the T-shirts are made of a soft fabric that consists of 48 percent cotton, 48 percent Modal and 4 percent Lycra.

“It is a quality T-shirt,” said Jami Roberts, whose Jami Lyn boutique in Beverly Hills has stocked Crown Jewel since 2007. “When you wash it, it doesn’t get holes in it. It wears very well. His colors are always spot on, and his fabric has the right amount of Lycra.”

When he launched his line in 2004, Sauerbrey’s idea was to create a quality product that was sophisticated and lasted a long time. Prices were kept low with items wholesaling from $20 for a tank top to $34 for a ribbed zip jacket.

Crown Jewel has maintained the same basic fitted styles over the years, occasionally injecting a new look. But now the designer is branching out to new fabrics and looser silhouettes that include a slim fit made with a slub fabric that won’t pill. Sauerbrey is also developing looks that drape and flow.

For more information, go to www.crownjewelbrands.com or contact the Rande Cohen showroom in The New Mart at (213) 489-3044.