{"id":5911,"date":"2013-12-13T20:05:24","date_gmt":"2013-12-14T04:05:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lesliedinaberg.com\/wordpress\/?p=5911"},"modified":"2013-12-13T09:09:14","modified_gmt":"2013-12-13T17:09:14","slug":"best-dressed-monk-brings-a-fresh-new-style-to-coast-village-road","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lesliedinaberg.com\/wordpress\/?p=5911","title":{"rendered":"Best Dressed Monk Brings a Fresh New Style to Coast Village Road"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Owners

Owners Kira and Allen Gold, courtesy Best Dressed Monk<\/p><\/div>\n

Fashion-forward men have a new place to shop in Montecito with the opening of Best Dressed Monk <\/a>last week (1275 Coast Village Rd., 805\/324-4600,\u00a0bestdressedmonk.com<\/a>).<\/p>\n

Santa Barbarans turned out in full force to welcome this dapper new addition to the chic Coast Village strip. Founded by\u00a0owners Allen and Kira Gold,\u00a0Best Dressed Monk is a premium men\u2019s clothing line featuring organic fabrics, tailored tunic shirts not meant to be tucked in, luxurious textured scarves, and polished safari-style jackets.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Allen conceived of the collection following a seven-month retreat at a Buddhist hermitage in the company of 15 monks and nuns. Upon returning stateside, he noticed that men like him, who don\u2019t wear suits but still want to appear elegantly casual in their dress, were “majorly lacking” in options. After ten years of development with his partner Kira, a former costume designer, Gold launched Best Dressed Monk, which\u00a0uses earth-friendly textiles and manufacturing processes, wherever possible. All manufacturing takes place \u00a0in Los Angeles. \u00a0The 850 sq. ft. retail space was designed by architect John Mike Cohen.<\/span><\/p>\n

In a generous nod to the spirit of the season, the Golds donated 20% of the opening-night sales proceeds to the\u00a0<\/span>Dream Foundation<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Plans are underway for the line to launch an e-commerce site in January and add additional stores in other markets later in 2014.<\/p>\n

\u2014Leslie Dinaberg<\/p>\n

\"Actor\/local

Actor\/local resident Billy Baldwin, courtesy Best Dressed Monk<\/p><\/div>\n

Originally published in\u00a0Santa Barbara SEASONS<\/a>\u00a0on December 10, 2103.<\/p>\n

Share this:<\/h3>