Ed Hardy

About a year ago I was driving down Melrose west of Fairfax and caught a glimpse of T-Shirt in a window that struck my interest. Later that weekend I walked up the street to check out the shirt through the window. The shirt had an image of what looked like a vintage tattoo. In addition, the shirt was distressed and modified in some ways cool and some ways overdone. It was something different though. Something grittier then the overly sterile concept designs that have been flooding the market.

Later I saw the price tag and didn't let my urge to purchase the shirt control me. Several months later, A shop on Melrose just east of Fairfax opened devoted to the shirt line called Ed Hardy.

Ed Hardy is a San Francisco based tattoo artist. Ed Hardy the clothing company is actually not owned by Mr. Hardy but by Christian Audigier. Unfortunately, this is the fashion designer who took the Von Dutch clothing lable from nitch market greaser apparel to gawdy super star style of the moment. It was sad to see Von Dutch's imagery applied to cheesy glam trucker hats and pink glittered clothing.

So suddenly I am torn in my thoughts about the new Ed Hardy line. I love the aesthetics of the graphics, but am already kind of dismayed as to how they are applied to fashion. The shirts are cool, but pricey. There is a new shoe line that has some pros and cons. Regardless, its probably going to catch on. Keep an eye out.

Oh, by the way, their website SUCKS!, but check it out for the whole lowdown.