EricaTrejoLoraThisisareportbasedonmyexperienceandopinionsfromtheApparelMarketTripinLosAngelesCaliforniaSeptember30ththroughOctober3rdof2009.SincewevisitedavarietyofplacesIwillgoinchronologicalorderofwherewewentandasummaryofwhatwenton.

ApparelMarketTriptoL.A.

C l o t h i n g T e x t i l e s a n d D e s i g n a t t h e U n i v e r s i t y o f I d a h o

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ApparelMarketTriptoLosAngelesCaliforniaSeptember30th‐October3rd

Day1

SoonafterarrivinginL.A.weheadedstraighttoSouthCoastPlazainCostaMesa.WemetupwithWernerEscher(ExecutiveDirectorofDomesticandInternationalMarkets)andhekindlygaveusaquicksummaryaboutSouthCoastPlaza.SouthCoastPlazaisamoreluxuriousmallthatfocusesonhigh‐endretailandcomplimentsitsvaluedcostumersbyhavingaloungeandclassyrestaurantsopposedtoatypicalmallwithafoodcourt.Someofthebrandsthatwe

focusedonwereBarney’sCo‐op,Brook’sBrothers,Coach,andChanel.

InoticedthatplaceslikeGucciandCoachhadsecuritythathadaclosewatchonanyonewhowasroamingaroundthestore.Thestoreshadaverywideandopensetupwithveryfewitemsfordisplay.Thisreallyshowedhowvaluabletheiritemswere.Mostofthestoreshadsimilar

stylesandforthemostpartthefashioncolorsfortheseasonwerepurplesandblues.

AfterleavingSouthCoastPlazaweheadedtoourhotel.WestayedatTheFarmersDaughter,whichwasonamainavenuecalledFairfax.WehadtheFarmersMarketrightacrossthestreet

fromusincludingashoppingcentercalledTheGrove.

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Day2

OntheseconddayweheadedearlytoourscheduledtouratAntex,whichisamanufacturerofcircularknits.Rightfromthebeginningofourtourwewereguidedtotheknittingmachines.ItwasareallygreatopportunitytohaveseenaCircularKnittingMachineinpersonbecauseitdoesnotcomparetoonlinevideosorclassroomtextbooks.Thistourwasbyfarmyfavorite

placethatwevisitedwhileonourtrip.Afterseeingtheyarnturntofabricwethenwereabletoseehowactualfabricsweredyed.Itishardtoexplainalltheprocessbutbasicallythefabricswereputinthisbigsteammachineandweredyedinside.Afterbeingdyedtheywereputinthesebigplasticbagstoavoidthefabricfromdryingunevenly.Afterthefabricgoesthroughaprocessofdryingandgettingcutthenextstepwastobeprinted.TherearedifferentmethodsusedtoprintdesignsonfabricsbutthemethodtheyuseisRotaryScreenPrinting.Thismethodisbasicallyabigrollthathascutoutdesignswheretheinkwillcomeoutfrom.Inordertoprintadesigneachcolorthatwouldbeusedwouldneeditsownroll.Forexampleifthedesignwasaflowerwiththreedifferentshadesofpinkthentherewouldneedtobethreedifferentrollers

thatwouldcontainoneofthethreecolors.

AfteranexcitingtouratAntexweheadeddowntoSantaMonicatovisitatrendyupscalestorecalledFredSegal.IexpectedFredSegaltobeatypicalretailerbutinsteadithadlittle

departmentswithinthestore.Thereweresectionswereonlygarmentsweresoldothershadahugevarietyofjewelryandaccessories,therewasasmallsectionthatsoldafewhouseholditemsfordécorandsomethatsoldfragrances,bodylotionandmakeup.Overalleverything

camefromtrendydesignersandforthemostpartthemajorityofitemsweretrendyanduptodatewiththelateststyles.

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Nextonourschedulewastolearnandfocusonboutiques.Aboutiqueisasmallshopthatisveryexclusiveandsometimesonlyjustafewofthemcanbefound.Theytypicallytakerisksby

makingclothinglinesthatarenotinstyleandalotoftimesthosearethestylesthatlaterbecomeinfashion.Theboutiquesthatwewenttowereaboutablockfromourhotel,whichwasquiteconvenientforus.AfewthatwelookedatwereTrinaTurkandSatine.Forthemostparttheitemssoldataboutiquearesometimesone‐of‐a‐kindsincenotveryofthemaremade.

WecalleditanightafterhavingagroupdinneratLunaPark.Duringourdinnerwejustdiscussedaboutourexperiencesandthethingswehadlearnedthroughouttheday.

Day3

OurthirddayofourtripstartedoffindowntownL.A.wherewedidsomefabricshoppingintheFashionDistrict.ThefabricstorethatwewenttowascalledMichaelLavineandletmejust

saythattheyhadeverything.It’sbyfarthebiggestfabricstorethatIhaveeverbeento.IboughtafewyardsofknitandwovenfabricstouseinmyApparelDesignclass,whichI’m

surprisedIdidn’tgocrazysincetherewassomuchtobuy.

TheInternationalTextileShowisalsointheL.A.FashionDistrictandwaslocatedintheCaliforniaMarketCenter.Manytextileeventsarenotopentothegeneralpublicandsowehadaprivilegetoattendandtooseehowthingsaredoneattheshow.BeforestartingofftothetextileeventwequicklystoppedbyatTheFashionBookstore.Theyhadahugevarietyof

fashionbooksandmagazines.

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TheInternationalTextileShowisthelargestintheWestCoast.DuringthistimewehadtheopportunitytofollowLoriandherteamandseehowtheysourcefabrics.Wewereabletoseehowtheyworkedtogether,heardthequestionstheyasked,andhowtheyallcametogetherto

agreeordisagreeoncertainthings.

AfterleavingDowntownL.A.weheadedbacktoourhotelwherewehadtherestoftheeveningtodowhatwewanted.Itookadvantageoftheopportunityandhungoutwithsomecousinsthatlivearoundthearea.TheyboughtmeatickettogotooneofHalloweenHorrorNightsatUniversalStudios.Wearrivedatabouteightandstayedthereallnightlong.Itwasascary

adventure.Thereweredifferentmazestogothrough,eachwasbasedonactualscarymovieslikeSaw,Halloween,andChuckyfromChildsPlay.Aroundthethemeparktherewerescare

zoneswhererandompigsandzombieswouldrunafteryouwithachainsaw.ItwassoscarybutoverallIhadagreattimewithmyfamily.

Day4

EarlymorningofourlastdayinLosAngeleswestoppedbyHollywoodBoulevardandTheGettyMuseum.OnHollywoodBoulevardwewalkedbyGrauman’sChineseTheatre,KodakTheatreandHollywood’sWalkofFame.AtTheGettyMuseumwesawavarietyofartformssuchassculpture,paintings,andphotographs.IwouldrecommendanyonewhoisintheareatostopbythismuseumbecauseithadsuchgreatatmosphereanditalsohadaspectacularviewofLosAngeles.WehadabitoftimetosparesowestoppedbySantaMonicaforsometimeandwent

tothebeach.Itwasjustagreatplacetoendourtrip.

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ThiswasagreatexperienceformeasastudentmajoringinClothingTextilesandDesign.IfeelthatIlearnedalotofnewthingsthatIdidn’tknowbeforeorthatweren’tascleartome.ItwasafunexperienceatthesametimeandIwouldlovetogoonanothertripsimilartothisonebutpossiblytoNewYorkandtoseehowsimilarordifferenttheindustryisfromcitytocity.Idorecommendhavingthisbearequiredclasstotakejustbecauseitisanopportunitythatcan

influencewhatyouwouldliketofocusoninthefuture.ComingfromasmalltowninIdahothiswasalsoagreatopportunitytoseewhatcitylifewaslike.