George Esquivel

There's magic afoot in Orange County that has nothing to do with a giant mouse or a legendary berry farm and everything to do with George Esquivel and his band of craftsmen who, for more than a decade, have been hand-cobbling high-end shoes for a who's who of the well-heeled, including rock stars, NBA players, politicians and Hollywood heavyweights of every stripe. In a nondescript building off I-5 in Buena Park, pieces of white leather destined to become booties for singer Janelle Monae are being meticulously hand-stitched at one table.

There's magic afoot in Orange County that has nothing to do with a giant mouse or a legendary berry farm and everything to do with George Esquivel and his band of craftsmen who, for more than a decade, have been hand-cobbling high-end shoes for a who's who of the well-heeled, including rock stars, NBA players, politicians and Hollywood heavyweights of every stripe. In a nondescript building off I-5 in Buena Park, pieces of white leather destined to become booties for singer Janelle Monae are being meticulously hand-stitched at one table.

Driving through Anaheim, men's shoe designer George Esquivel points to several motels he and his family called home during his middle school years. "Most of the time we didn't know where the next meal or the rent money would come from," he says, pulling into a parking lot. From the driver's seat he stares at the motel with a tropical sounding name. But the place was anything but paradise.

Here's the cliche: Men slumped over seats in cushy boutiques giving compulsory nods while women shop for shoes. Laden with shopping bags, the sticker-shocked males stumble out of the store, pondering all the other things on which they could have spent their money. Like rent. But that's the modern cliche. It wasn't always thus. According to the author of "The Essence of Style," Joan DeJean, "The transformation of the shoe industry that made possible the current craze for luxe footwear began during Louis XIV's reign . . . because the Sun King himself was a shoe addict of the first order."

Until this weekend, a man hoping to score a pair of custom-fitting, handmade George Esquivel shoes (his client list includes basketball players Yao Ming and Tyson Chandler, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and members of the band the Killers) had two choices: trek to the cobbler's Buena Park atelier or make a house call worth his while. But this week, Esquivel will open a new Los Angeles showroom and appointment-only shop called B.Spoke just off 3rd Street behind Douglas Fir.

Size matters to men. It's a topic of locker room chitchat (reportedly, of course). And it's introduced unabashedly in a plaintive declaration on this rainy Saturday evening inside Meow, a vintage dreamporium in Long Beach. "You're bigger than I am," blurts out the young man in the neat, inky black pomp. Josh Ellman--the object of his envy--is standing in the middle of a gaggle of guys, his black stockinged right foot planted on an oversized sketch pad.

Here's the cliche: Men slumped over seats in cushy boutiques giving compulsory nods while women shop for shoes. Laden with shopping bags, the sticker-shocked males stumble out of the store, pondering all the other things on which they could have spent their money. Like rent. But that's the modern cliche. It wasn't always thus. According to the author of "The Essence of Style," Joan DeJean, "The transformation of the shoe industry that made possible the current craze for luxe footwear began during Louis XIV's reign . . . because the Sun King himself was a shoe addict of the first order."

NEW YORK -- Michael Bastian sent a sharp-looking men's spring-summer 2013 menswear collection down the runway at Milk Studios here on Sept. 9 during New York Fashion Week. The inspiration: Michael Bastian's luxe but relaxed wares have always given men a sartorial edge, and this collection more than usual, thanks to a razor-blade motif that could be spotted in intarsia sweaters shirts and Stubbs & Wootton slippers, but overall, while most of the American menswear collections have boarded the preppy train, for spring Bastian (himself no slouch in the preppy-inspired apparel department)

Although Los Angeles' attempts at an organized, cohesive fashion week have yet to come to fruition, we're occasionally reminded that the city and its environs have a deep bench of talent in the style arena -- one that includes retailers as well as designers. Two in the retail category are Jack's Eyewear (120 S. La Brea Ave., L.A.) and Deus Ex Machina  (1001 Venice Blvd., Venice), local boutiques named to GQ magazine's list of "25 Shops Worth Traveling For," which appears in the style bible's April fashion-focused issue currently on newsstands.  Another menswear purveyor, luxury e-commerce site Mr. Porter , is also currently paying homage to West Coast cool via a California-themed edition of its weekly journal , which includes visits to (and product from)

On the heels of the Baltimore Ravens' win over the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl XLVII on Sunday, we are sure what you really want to know is who designed the costumes Beyonce and her former Destiny's Child mates wore for the half-time show. Fortunately, a flurry of press releases in my inbox Monday morning answer the question. New York fashion designer Rubin Singer designed the costumes Beyonce wore, basing them on his upcoming Fall 2013 "Valkyrie's Dominion" collection. The costumes incorporated leather, engineered python, iguana and lace and took five fittings, a team of 14 and 200 hours to make, according to the release.

Until this weekend, a man hoping to score a pair of custom-fitting, handmade George Esquivel shoes (his client list includes basketball players Yao Ming and Tyson Chandler, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and members of the band the Killers) had two choices: trek to the cobbler's Buena Park atelier or make a house call worth his while. But this week, Esquivel will open a new Los Angeles showroom and appointment-only shop called B.Spoke just off 3rd Street behind Douglas Fir.

Driving through Anaheim, men's shoe designer George Esquivel points to several motels he and his family called home during his middle school years. "Most of the time we didn't know where the next meal or the rent money would come from," he says, pulling into a parking lot. From the driver's seat he stares at the motel with a tropical sounding name. But the place was anything but paradise.

Size matters to men. It's a topic of locker room chitchat (reportedly, of course). And it's introduced unabashedly in a plaintive declaration on this rainy Saturday evening inside Meow, a vintage dreamporium in Long Beach. "You're bigger than I am," blurts out the young man in the neat, inky black pomp. Josh Ellman--the object of his envy--is standing in the middle of a gaggle of guys, his black stockinged right foot planted on an oversized sketch pad.

NEW YORK - Tommy Hilfiger sent a fall 2013 menswear collection full of bold patterns down the runway at the  Park Avenue Armory on Friday evening, the second day of fashion week here. Titled “Savile Row meets Ivy League,” the collection unspooled against a set piece designed to look like the library of a British boarding school. The inspiration: “Sartorial tradition meets all-American prep,” read the accompanying show notes. “Traditional tailoring is approached with a rock 'n' roll irreverence in the spirit of Tommy Nutter, sixties London's go-to tailor who counted the Beatles and Mick Jagger among his clients.