Most Wanted: Bandit Brand Tees

If it seems like a heady mixture of Wild West sensibilities, badass biker spirit and 1970’s nostalgia sum up the aesthetic behind Watsonville-based Bandit Brand tees, it’s for good reason. Just ask the label’s designer Jen McMillan about her youth, and it all starts to make sense.

“I grew up in a super small town in the mountains of Colorado and am super nostalgic about all of the cool old Western and biker stuff I saw growing up there. I spent most of my time in an arcade that was attached to the bar where my parents hung out, and I got to grow up in the 70’s, so there was that whole Urban Cowboy look going on. Even though I thought my parents looked retarded at the time, the fashion and the music back then really bring back some awesome feelings now and help me to design the tees,” she says.

Along with the help of local artists such as San Francisco rock poster designer Alan Forbes, McMillan turns out cotton tees for men and women that beg for a perfectly worn-in pair of jeans, beat-up boots and a lazy Saturday afternoon. And for the label-averse, you’ll appreciate the fact that there’s no branding on the hand screen-printed shirts – just rock concert-chic artwork inspired by McMillan’s sketches and her ongoing obsession with small town Americana. Also part of McMillan’s collection is a selection of vintage-inspired fabric handbags and handmade jewelry featuring bison, Native American chiefs and wolves.

Available online and in San Francisco at CC Rider, Wasteland and Grant’s Tobacconists. Or stop by the McMillan’s shop, Idle Hands (805 Pacific Ave, Santa Cruz, CA), the next time you’re down her way and view them in person.

[Photography: from top, Liz Caruana, Valeri Schwartz, Liz Caruana]

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Boys, Meet Bush + Leavenworth

Sometimes where you’ve been is as important as where you’re going. Such is the case for San Francisco menswear designers Neth Nom and Guilherme Jacinto, who chose the intersection near the apartment they shared during their years at the Academy of Art as the name for their debut collection ($30-$65) of shirts and tees.

Starting with a small line consisting of eight tees, two button-downs and a vest, Bush + Leavenworth offerings reflect the designers’ work hard, play hard sensibilities. Animators at Pixar by day, Nom and Jacinto parlay their original artwork into graphic tees featuring such motifs as San Francisco-themed words, pine cones and skaters popping tricks, while button-down shirts and a cotton vest are both office-appropriate, yet hip enough to look good during post-work ventures to the bar.

Subtle details such as a strategically-placed side pocket and a three-panel shirt back make the button-downs different from all the rest hanging in your closet, but not so different that they lose versatility.

“Even though it’s different, it’s still wearable,” Nom tells us.

Currently available online at www.bushandleavenworth.com.

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Natasha Bedingfield Dons Local Jewelry Line

While we’re not ones to be starstruck, we do love a celebrity sighting every now and again. Even better? A celeb spotted donning San Francisco-made fashion. The latest to grab that distinction is blond songstress Natasha Bedingfield, shown here at the G-Star Raw fall/winter 2010 presentation during New York Fashion Week in accessories by the City’s Gold & Citrus.

We love how she’s layered the local line’s intricately-detailed pieces for a sweetened up twist on rocker chic.

Below, the pieces Bedingfield chose: the Tangelo necklace in woven 24k gold-plated bugle beads and the Nearrings, a necklace-and-earrings combo in gold-plated beads and brass chain.

Photography: top image courtesy of Getty Images; below courtesy of Gold & Citrus.

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Good Looks: We’ve Got it Made

Don’t you love it when you feel like you’ve got it made? In that spirit, we’ve got all eyes on a certain local jewelry company for the latest in our ongoing San Francisco Style Series.

For this original photo shoot (you won’t see it anywhere other than SF Indie Fashion), photographer and stylist Erin Haight dolled up model Samara in bling from designers Abigail Rivamonte and Debbie Sheen’s Made Jewelry.

We love these pieces for their ability to be versatile, yet oh-so-far from boring.

You’ll find the latest from Made Jewelry available online at Moxsie, as well as in local shops such as Acrimony and Isso. Looking for a specific piece? You can always email info (at) madejewelry (dot) com to order.

Styling and photography by Erin Haight; photo editing by David Cammack; Model, Samara.

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Triple Time: New Jewelry from 3 Local Sources

From top: Heavy Branch Necklace ($358) by Lauren Ramirez, newly arrived at The Marin Store; Customizable Mini Dog Tag Necklace ($45) in sterling silver by Peggy Li; Granada bracelet in leather and engraved sterling silver ($330) by Jeanine Payer.

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