From the Ocean to the Prairies

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LA-based labels have found a surprisingly rabid new fan base in the boutiques of middle America—and it's not just tabloid staples like Kitson and Intuition (due to launch a Target line next week) that are getting in on the lovefest. WWD reports that brands like Joe's Jeans, Gregory Parkinson, and Elmer Ave. are doing considerably big business in shops from Kansas to South Dakota, where competition is slim and reverence for Hollywood is high. The only problem? Several retailers told the pub that LA-born clothes are "cut too narrow and slim" for the public at large. [WWD, sub. required]