Inside the Jacquemus Pop-Up and New Melrose Boutique
Hundreds of yellow flowers, banana ice cream, vacation-ready ensembles, and the designer himself.
If you follow me on social media or are friends with me in real life, you know that I’m head-over-heels obsessed with Jacquemus. I love the brand. Nothing else feels so collectively me: city slick yet laid-back countryside. It reminds me of growing up in a small town and then moving to a big city—something I’d longed to do since I first discovered that New York existed when I was around six.
The clothes are modern yet minimal, polished yet often provocative in an unexpected way. Perhaps a tangle of thin straps or a cheeky cutout, a twist or a knot, a peek at your sun-soaked skin. Even a basic tank top isn’t that basic. And that’s what I love about it. Classic, but definitely contemporary.
Although there was a time in my life where I simply dreamed of owning something Jacquemus, I’ve spent the last few years picking up pieces here and there. I have a (small) section in my closet dedicated to the brand. And it all started with my wedding dress. Costing next to nothing for a wedding dress but feeling like a huge splurge for my—our—finances at the time, I opted for La Robe Saudade. You know, the dress that Gigi Hadid wore on the runway to kick off Paris Fashion Week in January 2020.
I think that catwalk moment with the Hadid sisters is when I really fell in love with the brand. After all, both dresses were my true style completely and the one Bella wore is still on my thrifting wishlist.
There is even a line in my debut novel The Manhattan Mishap (chapter 9, page 102) that references the fashion designer:
I want this job more than I want a closet full of Jacquemus and I’m not going to let anyone, even my best friend, talk me out of it.
Anyway, enough backstory on my love for Jacquemus and more on the store opening and pop-up in LA.
Thursday April 24th was an overcast morning. I dressed in an outfit I’ve worn before and knew looked cute: an oversized black blazer, baggyish jeans, and black cowboy boots. I slung a crossbody bag over my shoulder and wore geometric gold earrings: one square and one round, in true Jacquemus fashion. My hair was slicked back into a ponytail and my face, shielded by transparent grey sunglasses—maybe mimicking the clouds above.
(Side note: my hand was bandaged because of an injury not because I was trying to channel Michael Jackson with a single glove.)
I took my puppy Boa (little black dog above) with me and my cowboy boots click-clacked along the sidewalk, past Drake’s and Cecconi’s and high-end furniture shops. It was around 9:30 when I arrived, a full hour and a half before the official opening time, and there was a bit of a line. Not too bad, but it was wrapping around the corner of the shop already. However, that left me with a perfect spot beside the yellow-hued market; bananas, lemons, and flowers galore. Plus, I got the last slot in line to sit on the curb before it disappeared entirely.
Sparking conversation over Boa and a perfectly ripe banana car circling the block, I ended up making friends with a group of girls attending the pop-up from their office down the street. I’d brought my AirPods to listen to the latest episode of Casefile just in case I got bored waiting so long in line, but real conversation with cool people was so much better in the moment.
Just after 11AM, the man behind the brand, Simon Porte Jacquemus, came out to cut the ribbon with ginormous silver scissors. (Read more about impossibly sharp silver scissors in my short story The Apron Strings.) The store was official open! They let people inside a few at a time, so we still had some more queuing to do.
But that meant we got to meet Simon and take photos with him outside. He was so kind and polite, taking pictures with everyone who asked and happy to mingle with customers. I was impressed with how humble and down-to-earth he was, snapping selfies, signing Le Chiquito bags, accepting handmade gifts. He, of course, was dressed in Jacquemus (except for his sunglasses, surprisingly), including the new Timberland collaboration boat shoes.
Inside, the store was sprawling; asymmetric slingbacks, statement jewelry, flouncing hemlines, plush fabrics, plump furnishings, sumptuous linens. There was even a tiny table displaying the chicest workout equipment I’ve ever seen. And I’ll truly know I’ve made it in life when I maintain my fitness using Jacquemus weights and a jump rope before entering savasana on a beige mat.
Ok, I could keep going on about how great the store is and how gorgeous everything looked and blah, blah, blah, but I think I’ll just show you instead:















After bite-sized amount of time browsing the boutique, I settled on two purchases: a pair of humungous sunflower earrings and an LA-themed t-shirt with a palm tree on the front. Quintessential, essential. As I was waiting for my things to be wrapped up, I got to chatting with a few people from the brand. One woman stopped mid sentence to give me a Manhattan once over (translation: look me up and down) and said, “You’re in full Jacquemus…” She then asked if I’d had a chance to meet Simon, and when I said yes, she exhaled in relief.
There were a couple of other things on my fashion list that I wanted to buy but a girl can’t have everything at once. (Unless she’s impossibly rich, that is.) I have my sights set on this ear jewelry, which wasn’t on display at the store, and these sandals, which were there but I wasn’t sure I’d get enough wear out of.
Have you been to the new boutique? I can’t wait to go back. You know, if and when my bank account gives me the green light.
—MMM
In case you missed it: