Summer Breather

By Laura Medina

Charles Alonzo, T. Christopher's business partner in Sagaponack Plaid Trunk

For all my New York readers, looking for a slightly cooler, sunnier, but way more glam gateway from the skycrapers. For my LA fans, want something for your surf-to-sidewalk lifestyle without a wink or doing extra loads of laundry. Perhaps, you're the jet-setter/global trekker who just wants to get the most mileage out of his clothes, all in a carry-on.

Los Angeles Sports Club on Santa Monica Avenue in West Hollywood has what you all are searching for a gateway or an escape or the luxuriously louche. They are the first, in the West Coast, to carry T. Christopher, a line of swimsuits that do double-duty. Speedos, they are not.

Designer, Thomas Christopher Alderink, and his business partner, Charles Alonzo, met many a man who can't find appropriate beachwear to socialize in and they're tired of packing extra clothes that fail to translate well from the sand to the restaurant. This is how T.Christopher was born.

The Fowler Broadshort

They offer the same consideration and respect to swimwear as they do to contemporary wear in fine but high tech fabrics that dry fast. The multi-way stretch moves with the body. The center back seams contour the seat for a better fit. For security, they replace the ties and the velcro with a brass snap button. T. Christopher mentality is this, their man lives in metropolitian areas but is a global trekker who lives in NY or LA but travels to Mykonos and who wants to be comfortable regardless wherever he goes.

The Coney Trunk

They want the fabric, the patterns, and the trims to coordinate with button-down shirts (like Charles did with his Sagaponack Trunk), tees, and polo shirts, easing the cross-over from sand to street. When the weather is steamy, they are offering a refreshing option to jeans and trousers.

Charles' ensemble was perfect for hanging at the Chateau Marmont.

He and Thomas are the living embodiment of the T.Christopher Men, busy business men or global trekker who are looking for beachwear that can do double-duty, functional in the water yet socially apt. for the occasion. In spite of where he lives, staying, or traveling, the T. Christopher man can always rely on the brand’s classic styling and tailored construction. The seams are lined to stop chafing.

There are 4 styles: Brief Cut, Square Cut, Trunk (Mid-Thigh Shorts), and the longest, Broadshorts. Different cuts for different situations. They got the more conservative cuts, such as the Broadshorts and the Trunks but they also offer the more “European” cuts like the briefs and the square cuts. Not racy. Not illict. Not sloppy. Not slobbery. T.Christopher aims for fun but elegant construction with traditional concealment with fun styling.

Watermill Square Cut

Their broadshorts and trunks do double-duty as streetwear, everyday Berumds or shorts in plaid or solid colors, you can pair with a button-down shirt, a plain tee, or a polo. The male version of resortwear.

Their broadshorts give more coverage with deeper inseam and side seams, capped above the knee, showing more of the leg. A tapered look. Really big in the surfing community. The tapered tailoring makes it more polish off the beach.

Trunks have shorter inseam and side seams. Brief has no inseam. A deeper side seam than a bikini. More exposure. Still has a center back seam. It's more form-fitting for a better fit.

The Square Cut has an inseam to give it a square shape to it. A retro-feel. A little more coverage than the brief, giving it more substance to it. Also has a center back seam to contour the seat for better shaping. Slightly more coverage than the brief.

Bedford Brief.

Their fabrics are high-quality, sourced from France and Italy. European mills. But, everything is pieced, constructed, then sewn together in New York’s Garment District. They’re very passionate about overseeing the construction process because they proud themselves on maintaining a very strict quality control. It’s up to par and what their customers expect when they pay at a premium price point.

The patterns are quasi-Roxy or quasi-Pucci or Missioni. The Missioni-zigzag pattern for the Watermill Square Cut is a knit.

Now, that you settled on a couple of shorts, where to crash? How about the Mondrian Hotel on Sunset Boulevard?

Karen Meena, on the right, celebrating the opening of Ron Robinson Pop Up Shop at Mondrian.

If you checked in, you'll find a really cool gift shop that is uniquely LA, Ron Robinson Pop Up Shop.

Better yet, the pop up shop saves you the trip from trying to locate Ron Robinson at Melrose. The shop comes to you.

Unlike most hotel gift shops crammed with tacky knickknacks, they actually have stuff that you and your friends can actually use with a distinctive LA style.

Ron's own Apothia brand of bath and hand washes in scents evoking amora of Malibu or the Hollywood Hills. Cool yet protecting Coola Sun Protection that feels matte and light on the skin for times when you want to go shopping. Curated coffee table books on LA culture to read by the poolside. Eco-friendly water pitchers and mobile clocks are souvenirs that your friends really want. Better yet, these souvenirs you want to keep for yourself.

Remember, this is West Hollywood. Can't return home without this rhinestone bra.

Ron Robinson at Mondrian wouldn't certainly offer you snowglobes.

Now, you have shorts and a place to hideaway with a shop that offers you a comfort of home.

Better take that break soon, the pop-up store will disappear by the end of December.