Hot couture

L.A. loves to love its labels

By Jaime Honkawa, Special to Metromix

May 7, 2008

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Many people seem to be under the impression that L.A. style doesn't go beyond the T-shirt-and-jeans uniform that's become synonymous with our perennially sunny city. They are mistaken. It’s not that we have anything against comfort—we just think style is a lot more fun. Some say that money is well spent if you can measure it in horsepower or carats, but we think its best gauged in labels. From Beverly Hills to Echo Park, everyone knows that dealing in the legal tender that is Vuitton, Prada, Chloé, McQueen and Gucci is one of the safest investments you can make these days. Once restricted to Rodeo Drive, the following household names—many of whose designs you’ll find draping the bones of a forgettable famewhore in the pages of US Weekly on a regular basis—are popping up all over the city like lagomorph offspring. As more and more fashion houses open up shop here, blowing five months' rent in five minutes has never been easier. To make going into debt even easier, we’ve listed the latest and the greatest of L.A.’s urbane outfitters.