Friends and fans of new Los Angeles-based website, shopnativela.com--which went live last week--gathered at Bar Lubitsch in West Hollywood to celebrate the site's launch and toast the creators, Mandy Mitchell and Camille Joseph-Jordan. The site features clothing and jewelry from new LA designers, as well as vintage clothing and accessories handpicked by Mitchell and Joseph-Jordan.
Having both grown up in LA, "we draw inspiration from the city, so choosing the site's name was the easiest part," says Mitchell. Another inspiration for the site, she adds, is "their mutual love for digging through piles of clothes at thrift stores and trolling for jewelry at random yard sales."
Native LA is very unique in its design, merchandising and layout. All of the items are named in reference to LA cultures, streets and landmarks.
Shop Native LA
"The most unique part of Native LA is that everything on the site is handpicked and the whole process of buying items, new or vintage, is completely personal...we always think in terms of our customers when we are out purchasing things. Online shopping can be so cold and detached...we knew that we wanted it to be as personal as possible," says Joseph-Jordan.
The site also features new designers, such as Lauren Wells Fashions and Lustre Reincarnated Vintage, as well as private label clothing and accessories from LA. Mitchell and Joseph-Jordan felt it was important to build a site that features up-and- coming LA designers. "We appreciate and recognize the new generation coming into their own and wanted to give them an opportunity to show off what they can do," states Mitchell.
Both women have different style sensibilities, but they agree that, "the best part of LA is that the style is more of a vibe than a definable uniform," says Joseph-Jordan. They feel that shopnativela.com will be essential to those who enjoy creating individual looks: "we want to cut out the middle man and do the legwork for people that want unique items...so we are finding them and putting them on the site," promises Mitchell.