SUAY — Local services in Los Angeles

TLDR: A female-owned, ethical, sustainable sewing shop, community die-house, ultra-chic boutique featuring fun, colorful, stylish, recycled/up-cycled clothes, linens, pillows, bags, body pillows, blankets, and everything you need for a great looking and (nearly) guilt-free consumer life of style, luxury, and comfort.

They do monthly community die-baths where you can bring your old clothing and linens to be died from the rotating menu of stunning colors and have community racks of free clothes for those who need.

To recycle and create less waste, they take donations which go to the community rack, or become "new" pieces from the expert (and fairly compensated) sewing shop at the heart of the operation, who also do THE BEST repairs I've ever seen. (They saved my favorite APC jeans, and a cherished tote bag which I ripped and feared was beyond repair, even reinforcing it, so it wouldn't happen again!).

Most of all, it's a welcoming hang and far from the type of spot that makes you feel like you don't belong the moment you walk in, far from that, it's as inclusive a space as I know in LA.

Come to shop, repair, donate, die, and stay for the sewing classes, parties with local restaurants and friends selling great food & drink, and vibes.

Backstory: I've been shopping at Suay since I first discovered their remade clothing at The Echo Park Craft Fair. I struck up a conversation with Lindsay, (co-owner) and was immediately impressed by her philosophy of creating stylish clothing and textiles but doing so in the spirit of community, with fair pay, limiting waste, and promoting sustainability. I bought a vintage duster, she told me about the shop, and then I seemingly forgot.

Fast forward to one day while waiting for my sandwich at neighboring restaurant, Wax Paper (A MUST), and wandered towards the LA river. I came upon an industrial parking lot, at the back of which appeared to be a boutique and sewing shop. I walked closer, and not only did I see Lindsay, but found what would come to be my Cheers, Arnold’s, and Peach Pit.

When COVID hit, Suay began making N95 grade masks, selling them to folks who could afford so they could GIVE AWAY bags full of them to those in need. Seeing that the employees of my neighborhood grocery stores were unable to access masks with the nationwide shortage, Suay gave me a massive bag of masks to pass out to the good people who were putting their health at risk to sell us our groceries! Incredible.

Lindsay introduced me to Heather, her sister and co-owner, and I learned more about the shop and what they were about. It was impressive to see the way they put their principles into action.

Seeing that all the sewing houses in downtown LA went dark and the garment workers were struggling, Heather and Lindsay made "farm boxes" of farmer's market fresh fruits & veg packaged with loaves of fresh Gjusta bread and Suay linen napkins which they gave to the workers.

I learned about Lindsay's past work in fashion, and the sisters desire to build community, pay workers a fair wage, and change the way we consume and shop - all running so counter to the fast-fashion world we live in. An instant convert, I stocked up on linen napkins, and looked at how I could do better, from bringing in old clothes to be died, repaired, and altered, to giving clothes I no longer wear to the community racks.

When things reopened and the world began to return to, "normal", it was amazing and satisfying to see Suay grow, become more popular than ever, host parties, sewing classes, date-nights, and community-oriented events. With so many businesses closing doors in 2020, seeing one who helped so many people actually grow and thrive was amazing.

Though I'm sad they are moving out of the original Frogtown location to a larger space in DTLA's Arts District, I will for sure follow them and make the new space my clubhouse. I'm super excited to see what the larger space affords them in the way of continuing to grow, create, build, help, and doing so in the most elegant, and chic style imaginable.

Suay...

Suay is the best!

Great Suay it forward experience! I love knowing that my former garments aren’t going to waste and that I get to put the credit towards my dye bath!

Love the dye bath. I think it’s a very affordable way to refresh your closet. I get compliments all the time on all my Suay dyed items. The team is very thoughtful and will let me know if something will work or if there is a risk of damage or weird color issues. I always take the risk personally! I still think it’s worth it to try to save the garment through the dye bath. One time one of my sweaters was damaged and Isaac gave me a call to let me know about the damage before I picked it up which was so considerate. Most items aren’t damaged :)! Getting the items back is the best feeling and I can make so many more outfits with things that didn’t used to go together! It’s really cool!

I haven’t tried their garment repair program yet but look forward to saving up to get some items repaired :)!

I've purchased a pair of Suay remade shorts that are so durable and feel like they are going to last forever. They're also very cute! I love that they are remade from old workwear shirts.

The Suay team is always so helpful and kind and the welcoming environment they create is a plus —on top of all the other cool stuff they ready do. It’s fun to hear about what dreams Suay has for the future and I can’t wait to be there to see it.

Love you, Suay!

PS...

Photos: Here are almost all of the items I've dyed at Suay in 2024... including several blankets and duvet covers (dyed shades of blue) underneath the pile of clothes. Out of all these clothes, which is almost a quarter of my closet, about four or five items have come back damaged after a risk of damage warning. (I work at a non-profit with very little disposable income and I think the dye bath is worth it!!)

The quilt that is shown here -- I dyed it after a risk of damage warning and it did come back with shreds. It is a really old and warn out fabric. I knew I would just plan on repairing the damages because I loved the blue color so much. I dyed a couple of pillow cases the same color and used them as patches :-). It's a quilt so I think the...

Love love love. There's nothing I love more than reuse and cool redefinition in the reuse. I started following Suay on IG a while back and when I realized I'd be in LA for their sample sale, it was a no-brainer. We arrived Saturday morning, 3-29-25 and walked into their ground floor shop. Immediately fell in love with lots of items, but decided to first go upstairs to the sample sale. I'm so glad I happened to wear form fitting track pants because it truly was simplest to just stand in place and try things on rather than wait for the 1 dressing room. Shirts, dresses, pants, jackets, all kinds of great stuff re-stitched, re-imagined, newly dyed, etc. The employees were helpful and the whole vibe was great. The Club Mend idea is also great - help to mend your own items and then of course the community dye program where you can choose colors from that month's palate and very affordably refresh your clothing item in a new color. I've really got to research if there's something like that here in the bay area...there must be, right? Anyway, I'll be back when I'm in the...