Wondering where to sell that lamb skin Prada Jacket that’s been collecting dust that no longer fits? The last thing you’re gonna do is give it away on Craigslist… Right? Enter David Devine and Museo Men’s Clothing.
Museo – Menswear Resale & Consignment shop has opened it’s flagship doors in Silver Lake and it’s on our radar. For the first time Museo Men’s Clothing are available in a brick & mortar spot on the Eastside of Los Angeles. The owner Jake Devine (sounds like a super hero) seems as if he knows what’s going down in vintage fashion, and can get you top dollar for your used designer goods…Need I say more?
Designer Long Sleeve Shirts
Three Piece Suits like we’re living in London
Lets play Dress Up!
Why the Eastside of Los Angeles for Museo’s first brick and mortar boutique door?
First and foremost, it is where I live. I believe very strongly that there are under-addressed, frequently altogether unaddressed people in the neighborhood who have a very high level of taste and sophistication, and who will support businesses that cater to them. Whether they’re seasoned, seen-it-all world travelers or people who’ve spent the better part of the past decade Tumblr-gazing and dreaming, there are people in the neighborhood who have an appreciation for interesting, well-made products.
How long have you lived in Los Angeles?
I moved to Los Angeles about four years ago by way of Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn.
What are your thoughts on how the Eastside is changing?
There are a lot of opportunities available for people who can hustle, people who can see where things are headed. I don’t really believe in the “Eastside/Westside” Los Angeles cultural dichotomy or narrative. We’ve been in business online for about a decade at this point. We’ve got clients on the beach, clients in the hills, and clients up the street. La Cienega is not an impermeable boundary. The future, as ever, belongs to people who are paying attention and who can adapt. Provide a good product or service and present it well.
Where do you live?
Los Feliz
What are your favorite local spots for dining and relaxing?
I cover a lot of ground in this city, but keeping things Eastside: the newly-opened bar/restaurant The Semi-Tropic on Glendale Blvd in Echo Park has a great vibe and is the kind of place I can really unwind. Sonny’s Hideaway in Highland Park and Everson Royce Bar in the Arts District are a couple of cocktail favorites. Yeekai Lim’s Cognoscenti Coffee at Proof Bakery in Atwater Village and Woodcat in Echo Park are regular coffee haunts.
What was your first job out of school?
I spent about a year serially job-hopping before determining that working for other people didn’t service my own goals and wasn’t something that agreed with my constitution.
How and why did you transition your career into fashion?
Teenaged rent desperation in the face of total lack of interesting work available led me to selling clothes online. At the time, the Midwestern thrift stores available to me were generally unspoiled territory, ideal for a simultaneous crash course in clothing and commerce. The stakes were low and I was able to grind out a living by using my existing knowledge and pre-smartphone intuition to select merchandise to resell.
Over time, I had established a large enough presence online and a hard-won reputation for dealing in quality goods, and people began to approach me to resell their goods. Since then, I’ve been in the business of making and maintaining relationships with people who want to sell clothing, and make a handsome return on investment.
When did you discover your passion for apparel?
I was never not interested in the way things look, in a general sense. I have early childhood memories of paying inordinate amounts of attention to what Saved By the Bell characters were wearing. As my access to information and exposure to people increased over time, it was a natural progression.
Tell me about your process of collecting styles for Museo Men’s Clothing.
We have an extensive existing consignor base that spans the globe. We establish a relationship with the consignor, do good work for them, and they come back. It’s fairly simple, really. Once we’ve established a mutual trust, it becomes very easy to take on the next consignment, because I know a person’s taste. I know what they buy, where they buy it, why they buy it.
A lot of other resale stores concern themselves very heavily with trends and arbitrary distinctions, and turn away a lot of high-quality viable merchandise as a result. The first thing we look for is that viability — is this an item that someone is going to want? Do I like this? If I don’t like this, will someone else? Does it fit our shop? Is it well made? Is it a brand that is going to draw immediate attention, or are we going to have to work a little harder to explain the benefits of the item to our audience?
We firmly believe that good things speak for themselves. We’ve sold some very, very esoteric items — bespoke goods, goods from defunct labels, really tough sales. It’s nothing to sell a grey flannel suit or a pair of indigo selvedge jeans, but selling high-end clothing requires the ability to understand and to effectively communicate what exactly you are putting out there.
Tell us about the process of starting Museo Men’s Clothing. What was your first step and how long did you think about it before it became a reality? What concerns did you have with a startup apparel retail shop?
Museo Men’s Clothing is the latest iteration of a roughly decade-old resale concept that I started in Ohio in the Wild West days of online resale. Our client and customer base grew, we relocated to LA with a stint in NYC. We received multiple e-mails a week asking us if we had a retail shop, asking to try things on, asking for a place to drop off consignments or to pick up merchandise in person. We had pushed the existing model as far as we could, and the business needed to go in a direction that would allow us to continue our forward momentum. Having a retail space allows us to bring our vision of what shopping in a store should be like to our customers, and allows us a real opportunity to differentiate ourselves from other shops beyond words and photos on a screen.
What brands do you focus on carry for Museo Men’s Clothing?
Our focus is broad. We carry items from all over the world, for all walks of life at Museo Men’s Clothing. We can help the most conservative buttoned-up guy put together a bulletproof business look, we can sell you your favorite pair of everyday jeans, we can put together the most Look At Me #ootd Instagram-ready look you want at Museo Men’s Clothing. The real focus is on quality and desirability.
Being in LA, we stock and sell a ton of denim — subtle takes from A.P.C., heritage-inspired jeans from LVC, locals like Simon Miller, tastefully-done designer denim from Saint Laurent and Dior Homme.
We deal very extensively in tailored clothing, much of it from Italy, England, and the United States. We do a brisk business in the heavyweight stuff: Tom Ford, Brunello Cucinelli, Brioni, Kiton, Ermenegildo Zegna. We’ve got styles that will suit most any budget and build, though. We can satisfy fabric and construction fanatics as well as people fiending for specific designer labels. We also deal in contemporary tasteful casual brands like Band of Outsiders, RRL, Billy Reid, and Wings + Horns.
Do you turn down brands and styles at Museo Men’s Clothing?
I try to say no as little as possible. I do this by being able to determine before meeting a potential consignor whether or not they have merchandise that we are going to be interested in. I don’t believe in wasting people’s time. The thought of having someone come down to the shop, lug in a suitcase of things that we don’t deal in, get their hopes up, and leave disappointed is not something I’m at all interested in. We provide wait-free appointment-based consignment for all potential clients and respect everyone’s time and dignity. Most people contact us by e-mail prior to showing us potential merchandise and we are able to screen to ensure that we will have a mutually beneficial relationship in advance of seeing anyone’s clothing.
Were you working in the corporate side of an apparel company before launching Museo Men’s Clothing?
No, I am entirely independent.
Tell us about your consignment process at Museo Men’s Clothing?
Typically, consignors will e-mail or call us. We’ll very briefly determine whether or not our services fit their needs and whether their merchandise fits our shop. We make arrangements for a meeting and take on the merchandise.
What’s the mission behind Museo Men’s Clothing? Do you think having a mission helps guide your brand?
To do good work and to provide a good environment for customers, clients, and ourselves. For things to make intuitive sense to people who are interested in using our services and space. To provide people with assurance that their clothes are being handled by knowledgeable, respectful professionals who understand the value of their goods and of their time. These ideas underpin everything that we do.
If we had the chance to peek at your schedule, what would an average day look like?
County-crossing Waze itineraries, too much espresso, e-mailing/texting/instagramming, helping people sort through their old clothes, helping people into new clothes. Maybe convince someone who’s been wearing 42 Regulars for their entire adult life that they’re better off in a 40 Long.
What advice do you have for others who want to try to launch an apparel boutique?
No one else can see the tiny things you’re obsessing over that are making your space imperfect to you. Just take the compliments as they’re offered.
How do you see Museo Men’s Clothing evolving?
Multiple locations, some more obvious than others. New webstore immediately forthcoming.
What has been the most valuable thing you’ve learned since launching Museo Men’s Clothing?
Enhanced commitment, and not to let “perfect” be the enemy of the “good”. A lot of what we’re just now unveiling to the public has been in the works for a very long time, and could probably have been pushed sooner. Everything you do is a trial balloon.
Many people struggle to turn their passions into careers. What advice would you give them?
You have to be willing and able to suffer and put a good face on it. Nothing comes easily. You will become unrelatable to 9-5’ers who leave their work at their desk. You will get e-mails at 2 AM that require a response. You will get phone calls from the East Coast at 6 A.M. Stay healthy and focused, because no one else is going to do it for you.
Museo
2516 Sunset Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90026
www.shopmuseo.com
Real Estate in Silver Lake for Sale
I’m a local real estate agent with Sothebys International Realty and It would be my pleasure to help you find the perfect property to call home in Silver Lake, or if you’re thinking about selling a house, condo, or multi-family building in Silver Lake, Los Feliz, Echo Park, Atwater Village, Glassell Park, Mount Washington, or Downtown Los Angeles, it would be a privilege to help you get top dollar for the sale of your property.
Lets chat sometime. 310-913-9477 or contact me.
