Anto the distinctive shirtmaker

I've always wanted to come here. I've had shirts made for various films with American actors who insist on Anto shirts. And I've always had to do everything by phone, choosing the fabric, the colour. So to actually go to the shop and meet Jack, one of two brothers who now run the business was a real treat. 
Anto has established itself as the shirtmaker to the film and television industry. They have two shops, one in Beverly Hills, the other in Sherman Oaks, so they also have a regular 'public' clientele.
I sat with Jack, who with his brother Ken, is now running the family business that their father, Anto, set up. Jack thought he was going to study architecture, but fell into the business in the early eighties, and Ken soon followed suit.
Anto pride themselves on being able to have a shirt made in a day if needed. They have a huge workshop in Sherman Oaks, with over 10,000 patterns for all their various clients. And over fifteen shirtmakers, who can keep up with the crazy time demands of costume designers and stylists  who so often need something immediately. They will alter a shirt collar by an eighth or sixteenth of an inch if required. Some clients like collars to sit higher or lower than normal. Most people have one shoulder higher than the other. Every little physical idiosyncrasy is taken into consideration. Hence every single shirt pattern in their archive is unique.

Anto made all the principal shirts for Casino, many for Ocean 11, Ocean 13, Inception,  and more recently Behind the Candelabra. They made pretty much all the shirts for Michael Douglas and Matt Damon. They've also made for many period films, including Titanic,  and Dark Shadows.

When you look at the wall behind the desk in the Beverly Hills shop, you realise that they have made shirts for most leading men over the last fifty years, along with politicians (Ronnie was on the wall) and musicians. They made shirts for Mick Jagger recently for the Stones last tour.

They also make ties, and still have a selection of original vintage tie fabrics, which are slowly but surely thinning out.  Their shirting fabric comes from Italy, Switzerland and the UK. They choose the best Sea Island Cotton, Piquet, Twill, cotton Cashmere and Silk.

Jack invited me to the Sherman Oaks shop to see the warehouse, and where the shirts are made, the Beverly Hills shop was smaller and is more of a showroom, where people come to choose their fabric, and have fittings. 
So there may be another post on Anto!
Thanks Jack for your time today. 

Jack, left and Louis

Anto, 258 N Beverly Drive, CA 90210

Gorgeous Vintage shop on Main St

I popped into this shop last week knowing nothing about it. It just looked interesting, especially in the evening when it sort of shone out along quite a boring bit of Main St.

As soon as I went in, I loved it. Its run by Jeff Weiss and his partner David Bailey. Its only just opened and they're having a ribbon cutting in a couple of weeks that I totally intend to be at!

The shop was mildly chaotic, I think because it was still early days, but that gave it the charm that made it so interesting.

Jeff was really excited about it, and was brilliant with everyone who came in. I spotted a few pieces of clothing that were obviously costumes from studios, that seem to come from Jeff's past connections in the film industry.

An old Warner Brothers costume 

I love seeing old costumes, especially 'period costumes'. They so often have some of the style of when they were made, instead of what period they were designed for. Think Elizabeth Taylor in Cleopatra, with her nipped in waists and prominent bust, shot in 1963. Or Mia Farrow, draped in rather alot of transparent nylon in The Great Gatsby in 1974.

 The shop is full of clothing, shoes, paintings (I fell in love with a really badly painted Colour By Numbers picture) and just lots of interesting things that you'd want in your house..

I loved this shop, it was small but crammed with gorgeous things. Jeff and David obviously love clothes and love working together.

I wish them every success in their new venture. And will be back very soon.

Jeff and David outside Gumbo Vintage, 1378 Main St, Venice, CA 90291

They're on Facebook too.

Jeans made to measure.

My neighbour told me today that she'd just had some jeans made  not that far from where we're staying.

I drove up with Sam, my partner as he had a day off and I knew he'd also be interested.

The shop is called Rufcut. Its at 11301 W. Olympic Blvd, Suite 104, Los Angeles, 90064. Its owned by a man called Robert.

Robert worked in the rag trade with his father and brother in law in the 80's, was a stock broker in the 90's. And then lost everything. Then through a series of events, he found himself in a shack mending jeans.

Robert is still mending and now making jeans, but under his own business name, Rufcut.  You can either have 'made to measure', or 'off the peg'. The denim either comes from America (he had some on the cutting table from South Carolina), or Japan.

There are different weights and colours of denim, and if you choose a basic style of jeans, either skinny, skinny straight or I presume straight, he'll alter the shape until you're happy with the fit. I love the idea of my own personal cut of jeans. Sam left some old jeans to be mended, and I think I might indulge in a new pair of jeans when we go to pick his up.

Robert and his team only use non automated sewing machines.

This beautiful old Union Special makes the waist bands. 

The shop which has since moved from the original shack, is full of vintage Levi clothing, jeans, jackets, shirts along with everything he needs to make the jeans. He'll also make jackets and shirts too.

The jeans take up to two weeks to make, and you need to come for at least one fitting if you're having the more bespoke service. The quality of the finished product is amazing. The selvedge is prominent in all the designs, whether on the inside or outside. The perfect stitching, the button hole details, and the new label (an homage to the railway track that the shack was next to), all make for a very desirable product.

Robert has a huge passion for what he does, its obvious from the moment you start talking to him. And that makes the whole process even more enjoyable, from the moment you walk in, you know you're going to have a good time, discussing the cut, choosing the fabric. The jeans may cost a bit more than some shop bought ones, but you walk out with a unique pair that fit perfectly to your size and shape, and having had a great experience in the process.

A Costume Designer passing the time in Los Angeles....


While my partner works here for three months, I have come out with our son until Christmas. 
While one is blowing up ships (acting in a TV series), and the other is at school, I've decided to do some research just for me. 

When you start a film, one of the best parts of the job is the research. And when you've started to work out the look that you want for the film, you have to decide how you're going to make it all come together. You might spend your prep on one film rummaging round markets one day, and then be in some high end department store the next. You might be in costume houses for a whole job, choosing costumes from stock and working with makers, sampling and buying new and old fabrics.  Often you might have to work abroad, and with the help of local assistants, find great makers, tailors, costume houses and shops. 

I'm not working on a film right now, but what I want to do is find some of the interesting people who work here. I was inspired by an actor I worked with last year, who lives here in LA, and loves clothes. He told me that he has his jeans made, his boots made, and that whenever he can get any of his own personal wardrobe tailor made for him, he will. I liked his style!

I know I'll barely scratch the surface of this very particular city, but for my own sanity, and general inquisitiveness, I'll see where my spare time takes me......