This is Mark Zuckerberg’s closet.
His rationale is simple: by removing one major decision from his daily routine, he is afforded more time to think about important things (like his ongoing mission to replicate Tony Stark’s virtual assistant in his own home).
We rather like this idea. What we don’t like are his actual choices.
Luckily, there’s The Lost Explorer, a discreet store in Venice that specializes in the perfect L.A. uniform: hard-wearing, raffish men’s garb you can wear pretty much anywhere.
The fact that they also make small-batch mezcal — and share it happily — doesn’t hurt, either.
Started by David de Rothschild (yeah, that Rothschild) and a former Levi’s designer, Lost Explorer’s in-house collection is categorized by use case — rather than season — and everything is designed to travel.
Take the Desert collection. The suits, shorts and shirts are lightweight and roomy enough for hot temps, and the palette — hues of beige, pink and lime — pairs well with a Mojave sunset.
All of the fabrics are natural: hemp, cotton, wool and even used cork, which they break down and splice with wool. It’s termed ecorepel, and they use this water-resistant fiber for their travel suit, which is blended and sewn by the venerable Schoeller in Switzerland. The cork actually gives it flecks of brown, as you can see when you look closely at the Corkshell Mountain Jacket.
These guys are also environmentalists, and are using as many recycled fabrics as they can to help keep clothes out of landfills. If you were to buy two of these suits and several of the shirts, you’d be on your way to your own signature look, and one that would fit neatly into their travel bag alongside the full suite of their natural skincare products.
They’re calling it Merchant Ivory meets Wes Anderson.
We’re calling it goals for 2017.
The Address:
208 Westminster Ave.
Venice, CA 90291
The Hours:
Mon – Fri: 11am-4pm
Also available for limited time at Magasin and American Rag
This article was featured in the InsideHook LA newsletter. Sign up now for more from the Southland.