SCENE | Julia Leach's Guide to Los Angeles


Photos by Andrew Southam.

Designer Julia Leach launched her label Chance right around the same time when I started Tomboy Style. We found each other as kindred spirits on the Internet and quickly became e-mail pen pals, comparing notes as two Midwestern tomboys living on the coasts sussing out the style and definition of the 21st century tomboy. I did that by writing a blog, Julia, by designing a collection of timeless items anchored by a fresh interpretation of the striped t-shirt. Chance marries classic aesthetics with a modern point-of-view on the world, and I can't tell you how many things I've found from her posted discoveries on the Chance site—from bands to artists to key chains. It was a prefect thrill to collaborate with her and photographer Andrew Southam for a Condé Nast Traveler story that outlines Julia's guide to Los Angeles. She lives here part time with her boyfriend, so knows the city well, but still has a visitor's sense of discovery—an insider/outsider. This unique hybrid that Julia envelopes allows for a guide that doesn't overlook the classic staples that make L.A. so L.A. but also includes the lesser known and harder-to-find beacons of Los Angeles culture. The entire guide is online here (or if you're into print, you can find it in the September issue on stands now). Below are some unpublished photos from a day spent driving around town in a chocolate brown vintage Benz.




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