Secret Service

Secret Service

The inside of Downtown's formerly appointment only menswear/motorcycle/surf shop.

By Sierra Feldner-Shaw

Picture driving down the PCH on a gleaming, custom designed, retro-inspired motorcycle: the sun on your face, perfectly worn-in but still crisp denim shielding your shins, breathing in the warm, fragrant air of the Pacific Ocean.

Or imagine cruising in a mid-‘60s Studebaker Wagonaire, surfboards jutting out the back, sand on your feet, humming along with a John Phillips tune. For the boys at Secret Service, the formerly appointment-only downtown menswear/motorcycle/surf shop, the So Cal vibe is more than just a guiding aesthetic. It’s a lifestyle.

Secret Service owners Chad Hilton, 30, and Eric Giraldi, 28, are the forces behind Crate, the successful heritage denim line, that Hilton started six years ago after a stint with watch company Nixon. Hilton, who grew up surfing in L.A. is the main designer for Crate and the new, beachier Secret Service label. Giraldi, originally from the East Coast with a background in retail, takes care of the management end. (Or as Giraldi puts it, “He’s the rapper, I’m the DJ.”)

Initially housed in an air raid shelter in Downtown’s Toy Factory building, the operation eventually outgrew its space and moved a few blocks east to a beautifully restored 1920s fire station at 7th and Santa Fe Avenue. Expansive and airy, with a warm, welcoming vibe, the new space has character to burn yet doesn’t feel contrived. “You walk into stores right now and it’s like walking onto a movie set. It’s all WWII stuff and ‘newsies’ and jeans that stand up by themselves. I don’t want to look like I was cast,” Hilton says.

Entering from the parking lot in the rear of the building, you pass the backhouse where Australian motorcycle label Deus Ex Machina runs a shop, catch a glimpse of an austerely beautiful net-covered courtyard that will soon be set up for outdoor seating and step into the store. On the left as you walk in is a giant California Republic Bear Flag stretched out like a parachute with hundreds of hand-hammered rivets. There is a small area set up to sell simple espresso drinks next to an open room full of antique knickknacks, tools, books and crates that belong to Secret Service friend Jeff Dreher of Rex and Penny. Comfortable-looking, classic menswear is stacked on rustic tables and hangs from hooks. An old brass fire pole has been affixed to one wall as a clothing rack with giant antique mounts.

If you want to get a little dressed up, there are hats by Brixton, fine Billykirk leather goods – handmade by Amish leather makers – and New Amsterdam by Mark McNairy suits and shoes on offer. For a more casual So Cal look, Cycle Zombies T-shirts, Levi’s Vintage Collection clothing, Penfield wovens and Vans shoes are for sale, in addition to the homegrown Crate and Secret Service lines, and a small, pristine collection of vintage pre-AMF Harley Davidson leathers. The store helpfully offers loaner bicycles and surfboards to friends in town from other places, or you can purchase a custom Woven surfboard, along with a few Captain Fin surfboard fins, to round out your gear.

Motorcycles play a huge part in both the aesthetic and the operation of Secret Service. Speakeasy Cycles is the workshop in the back where legendary mechanic Michael Woolaway, who rode for Ducati in the 1970s, builds custom-designed motorcycles for the likes of Orlando Bloom, Ryan Reynolds and Bruce Springsteen. But the boys of Secret Service don’t seem very interested in the Jesse James, tattoos-and-pompadours version of motorcycle culture. “Anytime we can sell something that people can kill themselves on it’s awesome,” says Hilton. "I mean, who doesn’t want to seem tough? But it’s all a bit costumey. I think we’re friendlier here.”

Friendliness is key, as is authenticity – of the two men's backgrounds (“We always ask ourselves, ‘Would my dad wear this?’” says Giraldi) as well as their Southern California lifestyle. Since quietly opening its doors three years ago, Secret Service has undergone various changes in the partners' attempt to find just the right niche. “When we opened the store, we basically bought all the same stuff that stores in New York were selling,” Hilton explains. “We created a space that was intimate and dark, and we were in front of the trend of heritage-based shops in L.A, but all we were doing was borderline copying good stores in New York. We came to a point where we were like, ‘What are we doing?’ We had a store that was interesting to look at, but it wasn't a store where I personally would want to shop. I mean, you can't really go ride a motorcycle with a $6,000 suit on. You don't wear $300 trousers to the beach. So when we were in a position to do exactly what we wanted, we wanted to have a fun hangout that sold awesome surfboards that no one else sells in L.A. – and bicycles, and motorcycles.”

Hilton looks around the store. “I mean, we'll flirt with some of the fashiony lines, but we're getting a little older and we're comfortable with what we like. I want to be surrounded by people and stuff that I like. That's all.“

Secret Service is located at 710 South Santa Fe Avenue. 213-402-1531. Open Thursday through Saturday 11-7, Sunday from 12-5. . For more details, please visit www.sslosangeles.blogspot.com.

ADVERTISEMENT