Last week, I visited membership-based boutique Stylehaüs to interview its creative director, Marina Monroe. In addition to giving me the full Stylehaüs experience complete with a private consultation and makeover, Marina answered a few burning questions: 

What is the philosophy behind Stylehaus? I wanted to create a space where everyone that works here is a stylist.

What is the key to shopping smarter? I will use a piece in a lot of different outfits.

What are some staples that every closet needs? A leather jacket, a great blazer, leather pants, black boots, really well fitting trousers, a little black dress, and a statement necklace. Basics that look sexy and fit well.

What is your favorite label? Veda. They just have really great leather basics. And the best fitting leather jacket in the world.

If you were to relive a previous fashion decade, which would it be and why? Is it ...

Jonathan Adler designed some sippy straws for Diet Pepsi, Isaac Mizrahi created a fashion line inspired by a Chevy Malibu. Now, Starbucks snags Rodarte. The Pasadena-based Mulleavy sisters— known for high-concept, high-fashion couture collections (and recently took on Don Giovani, designing costumes for the L.A. Phil), have created a line of travel mugs, cup sleeves, and tote bags. Well, pixilating the logo won't hide the shame, ladies!

Was anyone surprised when it was discovered that this years’ US Olympic Team uniforms were made in China?  Some members of Congress were shocked and outraged, even demanding the outfits be burned. Clearly, these officials don’t shop at Target or read clothing tags.

And so the rumblings of a Made in the USA zeitgeist began. Creating jobs in America and boosting the nation’s economy became a hotly debated topic during the presidential race and it was on my mind heavily when I attended this years’ MAGIC trade show (the largest apparel sourcing trade show on the continent.)  I went with a mission, to find out how many companies produced their lines in the USA and how many of those were in L.A.  Turns out that finding L.A.-based companies was a lot easier than I thought.

Thanks in part to a grant, and a push by Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, the first ...

Few of us can brag about having a personal stylist but when I visited Melrose membership-based boutique Stylehaüs for an interview, I got a behind-the-scenes look and the ultimate makeover.

“I don’t really wear dresses. I’m obsessed with separates,” says Marina Monroe, Creative Director of Stylehaüs and Executive Style Director at The Grove. Casually perched on a display table wearing a floral blouse and leather shorts over tights, Marina describes exactly how Stylehaüs has separated itself from other boutiques. Over the past decade, Marina has held various positions in retail (manager, stylist, and PR rep to name a few) and ”needed those years of slaving away in the industry to really grasp what was going on.” She mentions how multi-brand stores suffered because of the economy, making her realize that although “boutiques can’t compete with price, [they] can compete with service.” With that philosophy in mind, Marina took everything she ...

Chartreuse was all over the red carpet at the Emmys and the color shows no signs of dimming down any time soon. We featured Wren's chartreuse kimono sleeve dress in our Made in LA fashion feature (November issue), now we're spotting lots of starlets in the same bright yellow-green number—like Candice Accola of The Vampire Diaries (on left) and Olivia Munn of The Newsroom (middle). On the right,  our model shows off the open back of the same dress.

I must admit that I’m a sucker for the magic of stop-motion films, but it’s not the only exciting thing about Uncharted, Paige’s new denim line for men. We’ve been identifying exciting local designers in light of Mayor Villaraigosa’s recent Made in L.A. initiative and this denim label is absolutely full of local flavor. Not only is the brand manufactured in L.A. by an Angeleno (former model Paige Adams-Geller, right)--it is also inspired by none other than our Southern Californian coastline.

Those of us who get land-locked can bring some beach vibe to the city with this raw denim line. It is available in a wide range of blues that represent the depth of the ocean’s hues and the sun’s influence on the intensity of color. And as with all of Paige designs, it’s about the details. The stop-motion short takes us behind the seams and shows how a pair of ...

If you recognize the word “Margiela,” it will spark one of two thoughts. You will either recognize it as an obscure lyric in Kanye West’s infamous song about Paris, or the word will symbolize decades of artistic and unconventional design by a French fashion house. Whichever category you fall into, a re-edition of iconic Maison Martin Margiela pieces will be available to you at H&M stores worldwide this Wednesday, November 15.

In 1990, Margiela made a waistcoat out of Parisian metro posters (right) and though the collaboration has moved towards more functional designs, it hasn’t suffered a loss of artistic soul. In fact, the 2012 collection features Margiela’s most iconic pieces, reconstructed with updated shapes and materials then labeled with their original season to provide a synopsis of the maison’s archive. You will find concepts such as masculine and oversized shapes (blue dress), visible tailoring details (jacket), ambiguity via trompe ...

No plans for the weekend? With samples starting at $20, you're guaranteed to find great pieces for your wardrobe and home at the Trina Turk Sample Sale.

Who: Trina Turk is a California native with a flair for retro-chic designs. She was one of the artists featured in our November issue’s “Made in L.A.” spread (see video below).

What: Womenswear. Residential, and Mr. Turk

When: Friday, November 9 9:30AM-6PM and Saturday, November 10 10AM-5PM

Where: 3025 West Mission Road, Alhambra, CA 91803

Cash, Visa, Mastercard, AMEX. No strollers or shopping bags. Call 626.236.5950 for more information.

Photograph courtesy of trinaturk.com

Demand for Made in the USA goods spiked in the wake of the controversy caused by our outsourced US Olympic team uniforms earlier this year. To celebrate the many talented fashion designers who create jobs and boost the economy by manufacturing here in L.A., we decided to showcase them in a special style section in our November issue (on newsstands now!). Here’s a sneak peek at one of the many we feature in the issue.

Photo: Singer-Songwriter Ciscandra Nostalghia front woman for the Gypsy punk band Nostalghia wears Carmella

About the Designer:
As a child Carmella designer Katheryn Rice was captivated by old Hollywood movies. She often watched them with her grandmother, for whom she named the line. Rice was starstruck by the glamorous onscreen wardrobes of the early film legends. Taking inspiration from them, she created a collection of dresses with curvy ’30s and ’40s silhouettes made of delicate ...