LA Has a New Temple for All Things California-Casual

Meet the Trading Post. They make good things by hand.

August 29, 2017 9:00 am

Don’t let East Coast style rules fool you: you’re welcome to wear white past Labor Day in Southern California.

And with a heatwave in session and more to come, owning some comfy yet natty whites will keep you feeling as cool as you look.

Best place to find ‘em? Trading Post, a local brand with shiny new digs on La Brea.

The store is owned by Olivier Grasset and his wife, Beatrice. Olivier is a designer who worked for Goyard and Chipie in France before settling in L.A. He now makes clothes for himself under the moniker Dr. Collector.

trading post store (3 images)

The bulk of his collection consists of reworked vintage clothes and fabrics. Think deadstock army parachutes transformed into shirts and jackets. Vintage jackets turned into hand-dyed indigo kimonos. Retired canvas tents that are now pants. Bandanas sewn together into scarves.

trading post 2 (5 images)

Olivier loves indigo, and he hand-dyes the apparel in his own backyard. It doesn’t get any more local or artisanal than this — as evidenced by the fact that he never used either of those words to describe himself when we visited him.

In the back they sell random records, vintage California ephemera and indigo pottery from Japan.

It’s a cool spot. You should pay them a visit, heatwave notwithstanding.

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