Welcome to our New Website series, where twice a month we’ll feature an e-retailer that we love and know our readers will too. Whether it’s an old but under-the-radar favorite or a newly launched label, you’ll want to report back to your friends with the findings (or maybe keep them to yourself)!
As someone who technically shops for a living, I can tell you with certainty that are very few places where one can find everything from the latest Isabel Marant It item to Stussy streetwear to Rochas’s covetable accessories to MadeWorn’s unassuming yet amazing distressed vintage tees. Lucky for us, however, such a place does exist. For those in L.A., it’s a little store on La Brea called Shop Super Street, and for everyone else, it’s the corresponding website: ShopSuperStreet.com. There, you can not only buy the latest It girl–approved pieces but also check out the store’s next-level lookbooks to see exactly how to wear those pieces too. Naturally, we needed to know more (and knew you’d want to as well), so we reached out to owner and buyer Lucy Akin, who agreed to answer our most pressing questions.
Scroll through to read the full interview, and then continue to shop our top picks from Shop Super Street!
WHO WHAT WEAR: Can you give us a brief history of when, how, and why you launched Super Shop Street?
LUCY ATKIN: I launched Shop Super Street online in March 2014. I started the shop because I thought a really cool, interesting site of how women dress was missing from the market. I love incorporating men’s skate clothes into my wardrobe and mixing it with high-end fashion pieces. We’re a pretty casual store, but I think we have a really cool brand mix and a special style that was missing from other websites out there.
WWW: You carry quite an eclectic range of brands, from highly established ones to more under-the-radar finds—how do you go about choosing them?
LA: I find my brands in a lot of different ways—first I go to New York and Paris four times a year to meet with all of our current designers. From there, I will see new designers at showrooms, friends will tell me about new brands, and sometimes I’ll even go down some weird path on Instagram and end up on a small designer’s page that no one has ever heard of. In that case, I will for sure reach out!
WWW: How does social media play into your business?
LA: Social media is a HUGE part of our business. I love having that direct contact with our clients, showing them everything new and amazing that we have to offer. It’s so nice to sell clothes from an image verses a piece of clothing hanging in our store. We get an opportunity to tell a story about the clothes with social media, and people get excited about the story.
WWW: How does being based in L.A. affect your buying choices and aesthetic?
LA: It’s quite funny because a lot of our clients live outside of L.A. I don’t think it plays a major role in what we buy, but I think a lot of fashion is inspired by the L.A. look right now—the “grungy yet refined L.A. girl” look. A lot of people come into the shop and get confused as to why we carry so many heavy outerwear pieces in L.A. of all places—and, well, it’s because our clients in the UK and NY need them!
WWW: What brands are you most excited about right now?
LA: This spring, we’re introducing a new brand out of New York called Lorod. They make raw denim jeans with a zipper going all the way down the front and up the back. We’ve had so many requests to purchase those already! We also added Mari Giudicelli to the brand mix—her shoes are so covetable, and I think our clients will definitely (if not already) want a pair.
WWW: Tell us a little bit about your Super Stylish Girls! How do you choose them, and do they style their own shoots?
LA: It’s a collaborative effort between my photographer, Jen Wolf, and me. After the last couple years, we’ve shot so many cool L.A. girls that we wanted more insight into their own personal style. I think all the Super Stylish Girls we shoot fall into the Shop Super Street look—creative, eclectic, and feminine. My favorite one to date was with Madeline Poole—she’s got such a good eye for cool, quirky pieces.
WWW: What is the biggest trend you’re seeing customers buy for winter?
LA: I think the biggest trend for winter would be a statement jacket—we’ve been selling a ton of cool jackets that we have online: purple faux-fur coats, fur puffer jackets, shearling jackets, bombers with embroidery or patchwork all over it. We have a really good selection of not-so-typical winter coats right now that make a statement for fall.
WWW: What’s your single most popular piece right now?
LA: The Rochas embroidered slides have been a huge hit. While steep in price, the hand-embroidered slide is the most casual yet chic shoe that we have in-store right now.
WWW: What makes Shop Super Street different from other e-retailers?
LA: Shop Super Street is different because of the brands we carry and the way we style it all together. Our client is really cool—she pairs Rochas slides with a Huf long-sleeve tee. It’s very current, and I don’t think any other store is offering that look right now!
Shop Our Picks From Shop Super Street:
We can’t tell what we love more: this shape or color.
Corduroy makes this racing-inspired jacket just that much cooler.
Still obsessed with two-tone denim over here.
Now these are shoes!
Who needs real fur when the faux options look this good?
This brand has the coolest graphic tees.
Wrap skirts are always a flattering option.
Half statement bag, half everyday bag.
Once simply a cold-weather necessity, puffers are the new cool trend in town.
Who doesn’t love a pair of party pants?
Now in two-tone, the bonsai bag just keeps getting better.
Just the right amount of fringe.
Style this with ankle boots for an edgy yet feminine look.
Perfect patch placement if we’ve ever seen it.
Do you have any favorite sites you’d like to see featured next? Share them with us in the comments!
Opening Image: Adam Katz Sinding of Le 21ème
