REISS’ TASTY PIECES
JUST when you thought you’d seen everything -- not those YSL Mary Janes again! -- and seen it all on sale too, along comes a little lift in the doldrums of the summer shopping season.
Reiss, the London fast-fashion chain with a mad European following, has opened its first L.A. store, and on Robertson Boulevard, no less.
The jeweled-neckline dresses, the metallic-sheen tanks, the classic palette punched up with just the right pop of golden yellow and summery green -- Reiss is right on trend, but not because it’s knocking off all the usual suspects.
It has a distinct style that doesn’t feel like anyone else’s, and quality that is beyond most cheap-chic brands. The prices are not H&M;, but they’re on par with Banana Republic.
And you won’t run into anyone else wearing those khaki toreador pants.
“I hate silly clothes and fashion for the sake of being fashion -- I like purity,” says David Reiss, the company’s founder.
His lofty L.A. space intriguingly displays the men’s and women’s lines on racks, tables, low shelves and behind scrims. It invites shoppers to “discover.”
In the women’s line, there are beaded, flapper-style cocktail dresses and saucy red bikinis, tailored linen jackets and baby doll cardigans, satin evening clutches and large leather tote bags -- and no piece is more than $380. The popular “Berty” dress, a cotton and linen A-line shape with cap sleeves and rectangular stones on the neckline, is a perfect day-to-night number at $215.
The men’s summer line has a “Talented Mr. Ripley” feel about it, with nautical striped Ts, tan linen suits and well-structured, stingy brim fedoras.
The suits are $720 to $902; the fedora, $110; and a pair of suede loafers, $325.
In men’s and women’s, the fabrics are not flimsy, and the cropped jackets and blazers are not boxy, but well tailored.
Reiss has recently hired a team of four designers to develop the accessories line, and eventually will open stand-alone accessories stores. One new hire designed for Marc Jacobs’ bag line; the rest count luxury-goods maker LVMH as their alma mater.
Next, Reiss has his sights set on Malibu. He plans to open 50 more stores in the U.S. during the next five years.
Until then, Reiss can be your little secret.
