A postcard from LA
Oversharing, eccentrics and a little go-to list from the City of Angels.
Nothing draws the hidden patriot out of you like leaving your home country. In September last year, laden with Twinings Lady Grey tea, a handful of British mags, M and S giant chocolate buttons and Percy Pigs I carried my clichés into my carry on and headed to LA for two months hopeful for work, a tan and natural highlights. I snatched all three in unequal measures.
Brits might pride themselves on their oddball quirks but what struck me most on this stint is how inherently reserved we Brits are in comparison to LA’s cooky dwellers. LA is full of wild eccentrics, it’s a city of over sharers and wild ambition in comparison to Englands die hard self deprivation. You order a coffee in the City of Angels and before the milk has foamed the barista is deep into her third year of therapy with you. You’re two minutes into a taxi ride and the driver immediately thrusts their photography portfolio/IMDB page/Youtube/gym steroid routine onto you. The yoga teacher promises her class is a neutral space the morning after the election, whilst fire breathing, barking positions at you. Strangers ask you out for dinner. At times it’s intrusive and exhausting, but mostly it’s hilarious and freeing.
There’s got to be something said for opening up in front of a total stranger, how liberating! It feels more important now than ever to listen to new ideas and livelihoods in todays polarising world led by loud, angry men. It’s all too easy to kick back and put our feet up in our comfortable echo chamber, but without understanding we just stagnate in our own stench.
Along with an impressive selection of vintage finds (more on that later), I took LA’s open, gung-ho sensibility home with me. On home soil that looks like chatting to the dry cleaner, corner shop owner, new person at work on topics beyond weather and their commute but with an added English twist — more about them and less about me. The resounding hunger, borderline desperation for self betterment and progress is the LA sensibility I can leave behind however.
For peak eccentricity head to LA’s winding canyons and dusty trails. Here you’ll find women asking to promote yet another athleisure brand on their TikTok (no thank you), a strident silver haired septuagenarian, half Dumbledore half Laurence Olivier, booming nonsensical orders at his dogs and passersby. They’ll stop to talk, drawing out unsolicited chitchat from you. “What a beautiful dog!” they exclaim. I questioned if we’re looking at the same feral pup that’s choking on it’s own drool whilst expelling a great Mr Whippy of a poo alarmingly close to my right foot. “Have a great day!” I hurriedly responded and marched on. One middle aged lady barged her way up to me, demanding I quit modelling, lie about my age and immediately start acting. She gear shifted conversations quicker than The One Show presenters, telling me tales of her ex-husband, of the genius of Jerry Hall for marrying Rupert Murdoch — “but imagine those old balls swinging in your face!” she yelped. Maybe the altitude gets to you or maybe it’s the crystals? Either way you’ve been warned.
But the light. Oh the light. It's why David Hockney moved there. It’s why people have more energy. It performs like clockwork and never disappoints. It sprinkles Hollywood stardust onto the most mundane of architecture and places. Gas stations, road signs and shop fronts illuminate with promise and ache like Edward Hopper paintings.
One of the best things about modelling is the opportunity to travel and call a new city home for a while. Often you’re not there long enough to make long lasting roots but I always seek comfort and solace in galleries and museums. Strangely enough I wrote about this very topic for Paperboy magazine whilst out in LA.
Time away from home feels at once extremely luxurious and over indulgent. Invariably freelance life is made up of either hectic busyness or eery silence, balance is near impossible. I can ride that rollercoaster quite happily on home soil but when you’re far from it, the silence can feel a little heavy under the weight of expectation. The compulsive list maker in me wants to tick off every admin job, visit every gallery, read every book, write daily etc. Like I have to squeeze every last drop of creative juice out of my responsibility-free life when travelling. Ha! Why bother even trying?
My LA postcard is a gaggle of shops, museums, galleries, a garden, grub, beaches, a chic tourist destination and one iconic hotel. I’m not kidding myself into thinking I qualify to write an ‘LA guide’ but I can take a leaf out of the unbarred pocket of an LA local and share with you the spots that brought me real joy. Here goes…
SHOPS:
Arcade Vintage at The Row in Downtown LA is hands down one of the best vintage stores I’ve ever stepped into. It’s dangerously good, like spend all your money good, but I haven’t regretted a single purchase, plus it’s walking distance from the lauded Pizzeria Bianco and sister deli Pane Bianco. The area in general is good for a mooch, there’s Dover St Market, the ICA and Hauser and Wirth all in walking distance from each other which feels like a real luxury in such a driving dominant city.
Now this next bit might seem very LA, very self promo of me but I promise you it’s not. I shot a campaign for the LA based slow-design studio practice Margaret that was established in 2024. Margaret makes beautifully crafted and hella soft opera wear, yes opera wear even when you’re not at the opera! I first worked with the founder Margaret Williamson-Bechtold on a job for Wilson in Barcelona and have loved admiring her work from afar in the least creepy way possible. She has impeccable taste, leech off it and buy her impossibly chic wares.
As a bow obsessive (it’s in the name) I’ve long been a fan of Lisa Says Gah so it was a real thrill to visit their very aesthetically pleasing store in Echo park.
CULTURE:
Exceptional galleries are galore! I never made it to the Getty museums but I did tick off a fair few. LACMA was my favourite but The Broad (pronounced bro-ed), MOCA and Walt Disney Concert Hall are a titillating cultural triangle. Again walking distance is a rare treat so it’s worth noting.
GRUB:
Food wise, I was saving up for a wedding whilst in LA and having spent all my pretty pennies on Ubers and at Arcade Vintage, restaurants weren’t massively on my radar. I did however really enjoy stopping by various food trucks and bodegas for light, well priced bites. They felt like the most authentic food option. ‘Pan’ didn’t pop up on the menu, nor did it need explaining. Hallelujah.
BEACH:
Having grown up in the Midlands before moving to London, living in a metropolis so close to nature and the coast will always feel deliciously bonkers. Sydney is the only city that I’ve worked and lived in that compares to it. I was quite literally the cat that got the cream in LA, skipping from sand to hill to city. Now LA’s beaches aren’t exactly tropical but they’re a darn sight nicer than the Kent coastline (no offence). The beaches in Malibu are my favourite (see my Wes Anderson inspired video below), they’re a lot safer and cleaner than Santa Monica and Venice Beach. Framed with white picket fences, glass fronted mansions and faded striped umbrellas it feels like you’ve walked onto a very twee film set that could potentially have a dark undercurrent to it. Sip on your iced latte and side eye.
THE ONE AND ONLY…
Chateau Marmont, the hotel home of Hollywood royalty. I did a shoot there and spied Graham Norton, Ariana Grande and Chloé Creative Director Chemena Kamali. Enough said. It’s a little shabby around the edges thanks to the fabulous debauchery it welcomes. I broke the hotel rules and took pictures of its impeccable furnishings. You’re welcome.
TOURIST BUT CHIC:
Lastly, if you only have one hour in LA I strongly suggest you head up to the Griffith Observatory to live out your Charlie’s Angels/La La Land dreams. The observatory is the perfect package-it’s mostly free unless you want to visit one of the exhibits, gives you a good view of the Hollywood sign and hills, but mostly it gives you the chance to appreciate the sheer sprawling vastness of the city. Be warned the signal is pretty dodgy up there. One time I had to hitch hike back to my hotel after visiting it at sunset. Don’t worry I was picky, only raising my thumb to families. As you can imagine, my Mum loves this story. Take a picnic and marvel, you can feel the dizzying magic of Hollywood up there.
You might be thinking, why is she writing this now? Well it didn’t feel right to write about the frilly stuff post the aftermath of the horrendous wildfires, but recently I returned back to LA and I was relieved to see and hear how the city is healing. We need the frills to balance out the metaphorical fires to carry on I suppose. Keep the fires at bay and help rehabilitate communities by donating here.
Hurrah! You made it to the finish line. The (dead) end.
Please comment with any LA recommendations you have. Sharing is caring and all that, just not too much please. Sorry, I’m English.
Loved this!