A Handsome Newcomer to Sunset Junction: Driftwood

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There's a new store at Sunset Junction, taking over the old Kicks space, and we had mixed feelings when we discovered it. First there was anger: Driftwood opened about three weeks ago—before the Kicks corpse was even cold! Not that it's their fault, but we do tend to develop oddly personal relationships with stores in the area. Then there was ennui: like, another vintage store on Sunset? And once we got done with that, we actually ended up liking it a lot.

Driftwood is light and airy, but still rustic and handsome at the same time. It's a well-organized hodgepodge of new and vintage clothes, vinyl, books, and even furniture. Being that it's so new, their "vintage" selection is a bit on the modest size. (And we use vintage in quotes because we saw a few pieces from J Crew, which is hardly vintage?maybe vintage in spirit or aesthetic, but still.) But well-picked and well-priced: sweaters in the $30 range, dresses for $40 - $50ish, and a lot of good quality menswear, including a few more recent blazers in impeccable condition for one hundred and some change.

It was the new offerings that impressed us the most. Great tees for $34. Driftwood also stocks a line of jeans we liked?the logo was in a scripty font, so we couldn't really read it?Them jeans, perhaps? (Perhaps not, since that's also the name of a fairly popular DJ?) But anyway, they're dark-wash with a slim silhouette and an even slimmer pricetag: $75 for both men's and women's jeans.

We applaud Driftwood for offering a good mix that's probably going to go over like gangbusters in this neighborhood. We really hope they'll bring in more new merchandise, since they've clearly got an affinity for it. And since it's a nice space in a terrific location, we hope they'll throw regular parties, too. They're at 3938 Sunset Blvd. in Silver Lake. (323-644-1272)
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