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Clothing
built strong, sturdy in Long Beach
Shopping
• Long Beach Clothing Co., located
at The Pike, which is one of Long Beach's
premiere attractions, sells a variety of
clothing to suit anyone's tastes. The store's
clientele includes laypeople as well as
celebrities. Long Beach Clothing Co.
Snoop
• Snoop Dogg, seen here prior to his
appearance on "The Tonight Show with
Jay Leno," is an avid wearer of Long
Beach Clothing Co.'s gear. Long Beach Clothing
Co.
By
Brooke Karli
Online Forty-Niner
Staff Writer
What
do Snoop Dogg, No Doubt, Cypress Hill, Blink
182 and P.O.D. all have in common? Besides
great music, they all sport merchandise
that can be found and purchased at Long
Beach Clothing Co. (LBCC), a store dedicated
to West Coast apparel located at The Pike
in downtown Long Beach.
Jay
Tilles, the owner of LBCC and executive
producer for "The Kevin & Bean
Show" on KROQ, along with his wife,
had originally set out to open a clothing
shop in their garage. They simply wanted
to create and sell products that would reflect
their pride for the city of Long Beach.
One evening, while leaving The Yardhouse,
Jay and his wife noticed an empty lot with
a "coming soon" sign that notified
them of the soon-to-be shopping center known
as The Pike. After submitting an 80-page
proposal and getting positive feedback from
companies interested in selling their lines,
they were able to open LBCC on April 18,
2004.
Approximately
25 percent of the retail is the in-house
brand LBCC while the remaining 75 percent
consists of other West Coast apparel. These
brands consist of Travis Barker's Famous
Stars & Straps, Compton's FMF, Los Angeles'
Joker Brand and Thirdrail, San Diego's Tribal
Gear, and Long Beach's Skin Industries and
West Coast Choppers. The store also exclusively
carries merchandise from Black Kat Kustoms
and World Famous KROQ. Men and women's apparel
include T-shirts, sweatshirts, tank tops,
hats, beanies, visors, watches, sunglasses,
bags and scarves. Accessories for sale include
belts and belt buckles, wallets, key chains,
socks, stickers, patches, wrist bands, necklaces
and bracelets, and even snowboards. The
cost of LBCC retail ranges anywhere from
$20 to $40, making it a lighter purchase
for everyone's wallet. To date, the store
has sold over 6,500 LBCC shirts and sweatshirts.
And while shopping at LBCC, you have the
opportunity to throw back a Rockstar energy
drink.
According
to Jay Tilles, who is also known as the
"West Coast pride guy," "People
are proud to say that they're from Long
Beach, and we wanted to give them something
to show off that pride without being too
‘touristy.'"
Taking
into consideration that Long Beach is the
fifth largest city in the state of California
and the second largest city in Los Angeles
County with a population of 450,000 people,
Jay wanted to make sure his representation
of the city of Long Beach was legitimate.
To help him create the right designs for
the LBCC line, Tilles called upon tattoo
artist Mr. Cartoon and graffiti artist Natoe
to contribute some artwork. Designs are
updated often to avoid lack of individuality
and to keep retail fresh and new.
As
their one-year anniversary approaches, the
staff at LBCC is preparing for yet another
successful year, kicking off the upcoming
summer with the addition of an in-house
stage. Once they receive an entertainment
permit, Tilles plans on building a stage
with turntables, along with a surrounding
lounge area. This will allow aspiring musicians
to take the stage on either a Friday or
Saturday evening for two-hour increments.
The summer will also include celebrity signings
with appearances by Travis Barker of Blink
182, P.O.D. and more.
If
you are interested in knowing more about
LBCC or checking out their merchandise,
log on to www.longbeachclothing.com
or visit their store located next to the
Ferris wheel at The Pike.
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