Mobile boutiques are all the rage in southern California—and theyre spreading across the U.S..

Take a clapped out， almost fit-for-scrap van. Scrub the insides well. Add some shelves， good lighting， hardwood floors and a brightly colored exterior. Now you have the makings of one of the hottest new trends in Los Angeles： the fashion truck.

The concept is simple—a mobile boutique that delivers style to the masses wherever they congregate： on the roadside， at craft fairs， art walks and farmers markets. Their unofficial motto？Have truck， will travel. For the sartorially conscious Angeleno， anything that increases the opportunity to enjoy a spot of retail therapy without sitting in nose-to-bumper traffic is most welcome.

Recycling old vehicles for mobile business use is nothing new in southern California. Food trucks have graced the streets of the City of Angels for over five years， serving fusion dishes such as Korean BBQ tacos， Japanese fried chicken and bacon infused waffles served with ice cream.

Not surprisingly， food trucks have provided the inspiration for many store-on-wheels owners， including Stace Steffe， co-founder of LAs first mobile boutique， Le Fashion Truck. For a number of years， Steffe sold vintage bags at crafts fairs and investigated the possibility of opening her own store when she spotted a food truck at an event. “It arrived and people just lined up， really excited about being part of this new movement. I was looking for an easier， fun， more creative way of doing business and could see how going mobile could work just as well for fashion.”

Steffe and her business partner， Jeanine Romo opened the door to their mobile business in January 2011. Now， almost thirty fashion trucks operate in Los Angeles. It is， says Steffe， a very female oriented affair. “Around 95% of mobile boutiques in southern California are run by women， selling womens clothes.”

LA is not alone in the expansion of the fashion truck movement. There are now over 300 mobile stores across the United States. This led Steffe to create the American Mobile Retailers Association； a trade body that offers training and advice to would-be truck entrepreneurs.

This growth has also caught the attention of veterans in the style trade. “Fashion trucks are changing the way retailers think about their business，” says Ilse Metchek， president of the California Fashion Association. “Trucks wont replace brick and mortar stores but they have a strong following in the fast fashion crowd. If youre looking for high-end designers， you wont find them in trucks， but anything that encourages people to try new trends is a good thing.”

But getting into the fashion truck business isnt cheap. Updating a commercial truck and launching a mobile venture can cost between$20，000 and $30，000. This includes the cost of inventory， truck and liability insurance， refurbishment and licensing. Even with an initial budget running into the thousands， opening a mobile store is still cheaper than renting space in a shopping mall， which could cost as much as $10，000 per month.

Some new truck owners have successfully cut costs， like Monique Cruz， owner of Selvedge Dry Goods， an eco-friendly fashion truck based in Los Angeles. “I bought my truck from a man in the desert， so it was full of oil and sand. Once it was clean， friends helped to install shelves， flooring， lights and a fitting area. The total start-up cost was $10，000. Little girls love it. They want to live in my truck！”

With a background in childrens clothing design and merchandising， Cruz has been able to tackle one of the biggest obstacles to running a successful truck retail business—marketing. With no fixed abode， mobile retailers rely on social media， blog posts and word of mouth to let customers know where theyll be on a given day， a challenge in a city where finding a parking spot is the equivalent of winning the lottery.

“Facebook and Twitter are integral to our business， but weve also made it inviting for walk-in customers. I set out a “Welcome”sign， along with a few items to let passersby know its safe to come in， especially men with their wives or girlfriends. But our brightly colored exterior is one of the best marketing tools we have.” says Cruz.

Bright， over the top and so eye-catching， the truck designs are so distinctive you may find yourself admiring the outside of the vehicle rather than stepping inside to peruse the merchandise.

“Wherever you are， you have to be seen. Your truck is your brand， and you have to stand out from the crowd，” says Jordana Fortaleza， co-founder of JD Luxe. Created in 2011， the JD Luxe team started with a bright yellow 1976 electric truck， then upgraded to a tomato-red wrapper before settling on a crisp white design complete with a palm tree decal and neon pink writing. Theres no way you can miss the 20ft truck.

Like any new trend， the fashion truck has its downfalls. Older vehicles can be temperamental and often break down. “I worry every time we head to an event thats a long way from home，” says Monique Cruz.“If you break down in an unknown area， it can be really hard to get out. And expensive.”

Theres also the issue of permits， parking and staying on the right side of the law. In some parts of southern California， there are no regulations in place for fashion trucks. “Its all so new，” says Stace Steffe from Le Fashion Truck. “Officials at City Hall in Los Angeles recently admitted theyd never heard of fashion trucks， nor did they know so many were on LAs streets. So for now， in some parts of Los Angeles， trucks are restricted to private events and parking lots. This really changes how we do business.”

In other areas such as Santa Monica fashion truckers are welcome to trade from the street， but they have to abide by parking regulations， feed the voracious meter and make sure they get a peddlers permit.

“I love the quirkiness of the fashion trucks and it feels a lot more personal than going to a traditional store，” says shopper Pamela Dickson. “I thought the trucks would be cramped inside， but there were around four of us in there， and it was fine—even a space to try stuff on.”

So， fashion trucks are a hit. With customers， they provide flexibility for owners and even celebrities are intrigued by their existence. But is the fashion truck a movement？ Or a moment？

“Fashion trucks are here to stay，” says Ilse Metchek from the California Fashion Association. “I see it more as a stepping stone to a brick and mortar store for many entrepreneurs， but there are some who are making a viable business out of being strictly mobile. It will be interesting to see how the movement evolves.”

The appeal of the fashion truck is evident among three groups of entrepreneurs： first-time business owners； traders who lost their stores due to the economic downturn and are now reinventing their brand； and traditional brick and mortar operations who now use fashion trucks for promotional purposes.

“Every day I get calls and emails from around the world asking， ‘How do I start a fashion truck business？” says Stace Steffe. “If the number of enquiries we receive everyday is an indicator of interest in this form of running a business， then the fashion truck movement will only continue to grow.”

So， if youre thinking of going mobile with your business， just remember its not for the faint of heart. “Do it！” says Monique Cruz. “Just find a good truck. And a great mechanic！”

移動(dòng)時(shí)裝店在南加州十分盛行， 而且正在全美流行起來。

找一輛破舊的，幾乎可以拿去廢品回收站的小貨車，把車的內(nèi)部粉刷好，放上幾個(gè)貨架，裝幾盞燈，鋪上硬木地板，把車身外層涂上鮮艷的顏色，你就擁有了洛杉磯此時(shí)最流行的潮流新品之一：時(shí)裝卡車。

其中的概念很簡(jiǎn)單——一個(gè)移動(dòng)時(shí)裝店把服飾帶到人群聚集的地方：路邊、工藝品市集、農(nóng)產(chǎn)品市場(chǎng)。他們的非官方格言——有卡車便能上路。對(duì)服裝觸覺敏銳的洛杉磯人，只要能不受塞車之苦，任何能夠使零售業(yè)回暖的方式都無限歡迎。

在南加州，回收舊車來進(jìn)行移動(dòng)商業(yè)已不是什么新鮮事了。流動(dòng)餐車在過去五年已為這個(gè)天使之城的街道增色不少，流動(dòng)餐車出售的食品種類繁多，如韓國烤肉卷、日式炸雞和培根華夫餅加雪糕。

當(dāng)然了，流動(dòng)餐車給很多流動(dòng)商鋪的店主提供了靈感，斯泰斯·斯特弗就是其中一位，她是洛杉磯第一間移動(dòng)時(shí)裝店——時(shí)裝卡車——的合伙人之一。斯特弗曾在工藝品市場(chǎng)賣了好幾年的復(fù)古包，她看到流動(dòng)餐車后就開始著手調(diào)研，看能否開一家自己的店?！败囬_來后，人們就在外面排隊(duì)，非常興奮地參與這個(gè)新的潮流。我那時(shí)想找到一個(gè)輕松點(diǎn)、有趣、更加創(chuàng)新的做生意方式，我知道流動(dòng)性對(duì)于時(shí)裝行業(yè)來說也是適用的?！?/p>

斯特弗和她的生意合作伙伴簡(jiǎn)寧·羅莫在2011年1月開始他們的移動(dòng)生意。現(xiàn)在，在洛杉磯差不多有30輛時(shí)裝卡車在營業(yè)。斯特弗說這是一個(gè)高度女性化的行業(yè)?！霸谀霞又荩蟾?5%的移動(dòng)時(shí)裝店店主都是女性，賣的也都是女性服裝。”

這股時(shí)裝卡車潮流不僅僅是在洛杉磯盛行?，F(xiàn)在全美國已有300多個(gè)移動(dòng)商鋪。斯特弗因此成立了美國移動(dòng)零售業(yè)協(xié)會(huì)——這個(gè)貿(mào)易組織為即將成為卡車?yán)习宓娜颂峁┡嘤?xùn)和建議。

一些在服飾行業(yè)頗有經(jīng)驗(yàn)的人也正在關(guān)注這股風(fēng)潮?！皶r(shí)裝卡車正在改變零售業(yè)商人對(duì)這個(gè)行業(yè)的看法，”伊爾斯·梅特切克說道，伊爾斯是加州時(shí)裝協(xié)會(huì)的主席。“卡車商鋪不會(huì)取代實(shí)體商店，但卡車商鋪在喜歡快時(shí)尚的群體中有很多支持者。你要是想買高級(jí)設(shè)計(jì)師的服裝肯定不會(huì)去卡車商鋪，但人們?nèi)L試新事物總是一件好事?！?/p>

然而，開始這門生意的成本并不低。翻新一輛商用貨車和開始一門移動(dòng)生意的成本大概要兩萬到三萬美元。這包括了進(jìn)貨、購買卡車和責(zé)任保險(xiǎn)、翻新和申請(qǐng)營業(yè)證照的費(fèi)用。雖然啟動(dòng)資金的預(yù)算要幾萬美元，經(jīng)營一個(gè)移動(dòng)商鋪的成本還是比在商場(chǎng)租一個(gè)攤位要低，商場(chǎng)的租金可能高達(dá)一萬美元一個(gè)月。

一些新的卡車商鋪店主成功地縮減了成本，比如莫尼克·克魯茲，他是洛杉磯的一家環(huán)保型移動(dòng)時(shí)裝店“Selvedge Dry Goods”的老板。他說：“我在沙漠中買了這輛車，剛買來時(shí)到處都是沙子和油污。清洗干凈后，我的朋友幫忙安裝貨架、鋪地板、安裝燈具、搭建試衣間。初始成本一共是一萬美元。小女孩都很喜歡我的車，她們還想住在里面！”

憑借著童裝設(shè)計(jì)和銷售的經(jīng)驗(yàn)，克魯茲解決了成功經(jīng)營卡車零售業(yè)一個(gè)最大的難題——營銷。由于沒有固定的場(chǎng)地，移動(dòng)零售商依靠社交媒體、博客和口頭宣傳來讓顧客們知道他們當(dāng)天會(huì)在哪里，在找到停車位就跟中了彩票似的這么個(gè)城市里，這也是個(gè)挑戰(zhàn)。

“臉書和推特幫助我們推廣生意，但我們也會(huì)設(shè)法吸引路過的顧客進(jìn)店選購。我們會(huì)放置一個(gè)“歡迎”的標(biāo)志和一些商品在車外，好讓路過的人知道他們可以放心進(jìn)來，尤其是那些和妻子、女友在一起的男性。但我們顏色鮮艷的車身是其中一個(gè)最好的營銷工具?！笨唆斊澱f。

鮮艷、出眾又吸引眼球，這些卡車的設(shè)計(jì)如此特別，你或許更樂意欣賞貨車的外部設(shè)計(jì)，而不想進(jìn)去細(xì)看商品。

“不管在哪里，你都要讓別人看到你。你的卡車就是你的品牌，你必須要鶴立雞群，”喬丹娜·福塔雷薩說，她是JD Luxe的一位合伙人。JD Luxe團(tuán)隊(duì)在2011年組成，開始時(shí)是一輛涂了鮮黃色的1976年電動(dòng)卡車，后來改良為西紅柿般的紅色，而現(xiàn)在車身底色是純白色的，上面有棕櫚樹圖案貼紙和粉色霓虹燈拼寫的字。這輛20英尺長(zhǎng)的車絕對(duì)吸引眼球。

正如所有的新興潮流一樣，時(shí)裝卡車也會(huì)有其不足之處。舊貨車用起來時(shí)好時(shí)壞，車壞了也是常有的事?！懊看稳ルx家很遠(yuǎn)的地方做生意我都會(huì)很擔(dān)心，”莫尼克·克魯茲說。“要是車在一個(gè)不熟悉的地方壞掉會(huì)很麻煩的，還要花很多錢?！?/p>

還有許可證、停車和合法性方面的問題要解決。南加州的一些地方?jīng)]有給時(shí)裝車固定的停車點(diǎn)?！斑@太新鮮了，”“時(shí)裝卡車”的店主斯泰斯·斯特弗說?！奥迳即壥姓d的官員最近稱他們沒聽說過時(shí)裝車，他們也不知道在洛杉磯大街上有這么多這樣的車。因此，到目前為止，在洛杉磯一些地方，這些車只能停在私人場(chǎng)所和露天停車場(chǎng)中。這些因素確實(shí)改變了我們做生意的方式。”

其他地方如圣塔莫尼卡則歡迎時(shí)裝卡車在街道做生意，但店主必須要遵守停車規(guī)則，給貪婪的計(jì)時(shí)器付費(fèi)，還要確保得到了商販經(jīng)營許可證。

“我喜歡時(shí)裝車的不同尋常，比起去傳統(tǒng)的商店，這感覺更私人化，”消費(fèi)者帕梅拉·迪克森說道?！拔乙詾槔锩鏁?huì)很窄，但我們四個(gè)人在這里也不會(huì)覺得擁擠——這里甚至還有試衣間?！?/p>

因此，時(shí)裝車很受歡迎。它們?yōu)榈曛骱皖櫩吞峁┝遂`活性，甚至有名人對(duì)此頗感興趣?？墒?，這時(shí)裝車是一場(chǎng)運(yùn)動(dòng)還是一個(gè)現(xiàn)象呢？

“時(shí)裝車會(huì)繼續(xù)存在，”加州時(shí)裝協(xié)會(huì)的伊爾斯·梅特切克說?！拔腋X得這是許多商人邁向建立實(shí)體商店的一塊踏腳石，但也有人就單做移動(dòng)商鋪也做得紅紅火火的?？纯催@場(chǎng)運(yùn)動(dòng)如何發(fā)展將會(huì)是很有趣的?！?/p>

時(shí)裝車對(duì)三類商人最有吸引力：第一次做生意的店主；因經(jīng)濟(jì)低迷而倒閉的商人，他們正重新恢復(fù)自己的品牌；傳統(tǒng)商家，他們現(xiàn)在利用時(shí)裝車來進(jìn)行宣傳。

“每天我都會(huì)接到或收到來自全世界各地的電話和郵件，問我‘我該如何開始時(shí)裝車生意？”斯泰斯·斯特弗說?！叭绻覀兠刻焓盏降淖稍兇砹巳藗儗?duì)這種商業(yè)形式的興趣，那么時(shí)裝車運(yùn)動(dòng)只會(huì)繼續(xù)發(fā)展?！?/p>

因此，如果你在考慮開始進(jìn)行移動(dòng)生意，你要記住要有堅(jiān)強(qiáng)的意志?！靶袆?dòng)起來吧！”莫尼克·克魯茲說?！罢逸v好點(diǎn)的卡車，和一個(gè)汽車修理工就行了！”