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“In Los Angeles, everyone is a star,” Jasmine Benjamin s new photo book, City of Angels: A Book About L.A. Style, quotes Denzel Washington as saying in its epigraph. And the book itself—which is out now from Damiani Books and features dozens and dozens of stunning photos of Angelenos ranging from “edgy Echo Park hipsters” to “K-Town cuties” to “Black musicians and artists from South Central and Inglewood” and beyond—is definitely doing its part to give so-called everyday citizens the Hollywood-royalty treatment. As City of Angels makes abundantly clear, though, there s really no such thing as an ‘ordinary’ Los Angeles resident; this city is set apart by its sharp and distinctive street style, and Benjamin skillfully captures its evolution across the various zip codes and demographics that make L.A. one of the most diverse cities in America.
This week, Vogue spoke to Benjamin about the process of coming into her identity as a photographer while putting together City of Angels, the best neighborhoods for style-spotting, the local vintage stores she loves most, and her dream L.A. day; read the full interview below.
How did the idea for this book come about?
I was talking to my really good friend and mentor Jeffrey Deitch about something that was going on in my career many years ago, and I was like, I don t know if I should still do this. Styling is so hard! He told me, You re really smart. You know so many eclectic people. You have really great taste. You should do a book about L.A. style, because you know everyone in L.A. That was in 2016, and I made different versions trying to develop the idea; I actually had a photographer I hired to take photos, and then it just didn t feel right, so one day, I thought ‘Maybe I’ll just try to take the photos. I wasn t sure if I could do it, but my friends were like ‘Yeah, you can take photos because your eye is there, it’ll just be a different medium. I started taking the photos myself, and my plan was, Okay, if the first photos are great, then I ll keep going; if they re not great, I m not going to do this. I took the photos and was like, Oh, my God, wait, I m a photographer! These photos are so good. I love these. I think I took around 50 photos and showed them to Jeffrey, and he was like, ‘Okay, are you a photographer now?’ Jeffrey will be really honest with you if something’s not good, so I just kept going, and my vision became more clear because I had control over how the images were going to look. I knew 80% of the people in the book, which made it a more comfortable situation for everyone.
How long did you spend gathering photographs?
The process of gathering the photographs took about three years.
What do you think makes L.A. such a unique city for street style?
Well, L.A. is a driving city, right? It s not a walkable city like New York or Paris or London, so you ve got to know where to go to see the style and the scenes of the people that you want to see. You have to be plugged in. You might get lucky and spot some people out of nowhere, but it s not really likely, because everyone s driving.
Do you have favorite L.A. neighborhoods for style-spotting?
I love Leimert Park. That s my number-one. Boyle Heights is also so good. The Eastside in general is really great, and South Central; a lot of the subjects in my book are from both of those places.
What are some of your favorite places to shop and/or source materials in L.A.?
My forever-favorite vintage store is Squaresville in Los Feliz. I ve been shopping at Squaresville since 2004; it s my favorite place. The lady who owns it is such a great buyer, and it s been consistent all these years. I also love Hidden Treasures, another great vintage store in Topanga Canyon, and I love Departamento for men s stuff.
What do you wish people understood better about this city?
Oh, there s so much. I always say that L.A. does not mythologize itself or its culture; Hollywood does, of course, but it s important to remember that there s this incredible, fully functioning society of locals that s going on outside of the industry, and they don t mythologize L.A. Their experiences are real, and their style and the things they re interested in are real. I feel like a lot of people who come here for a little bit never get to see that, because you have to be an insider, you know?
If you had one day to fill as you pleased in L.A., what would you be doing?
Ooh, that s a hard question. I would start my day at the Self-Realization Fellowship Lake Shrine over in the Pacific Palisades; you can make a reservation there for free, and then you can go into their beautiful garden and their lake. It s so peaceful and amazing, and you re around swans and the turtles and all of that. Then I d drive down to Pacific Palisades and go to the beach, which I was doing a lot before the fires; then after that, I d drive out to Neptune s Net and have some fried fish. That is a tranquil, peaceful day. I ve done that many times in the process of making this book, when I was scared or nervous or what have you.
