Asphalt runway: The look of Sunset Junction

Guest blogger Emili Vesilind reports from Sunset Junction with a new recurring feature on All the Rage called "Asphalt Runway." Look sharp, people. You could be appearing here next.

There's been lots of chatter around the 'hood about Sunset Junction not being what it used to be. It's true, the annual music and arts festival -- held in the hub of Silver Lake last weekend -- used to pack in a more artsy crowd of gay and Latino East Siders, and now it feels vaguely bridge-and-tunnel (Case in point: Two people asked us for directions to Hollywood Boulevard).

It also used to showcase more local-hero bands instead of global groups like Canada's Broken Social Scene. And this year it cost a "whaaat?!"-inducing $20 at the gate -- when it used to be free, free, free.

But it's not all bad news. The two-day fest is still one of the best places to spot fab street fashion in L.A. This year, we saw girlies in '80s-style short-shorts and colorful, baggy tops worn off the shoulder, Flashdance-style (flat, scrunched-down boots were big, too).

There were cute boys in sweater vests, slim T-shirts and skinny jeans, about a zillion fedoras (on both guys and gals), a trio of rocker dudes in studded denim get-ups -- affecting a cool, Swedish-metal-band vibe -- and assorted S&M types in leather harnesses and masks (a holdover from the fest's early gay days). Sunset Junction's days as the ultimate block party may be over, but its eclectic style motors on.

-- Emili Vesilind

photos: Emili Vesilind