Just a friendly reminder that most things become obsolete and turn into waste. Think before you build malls, people!

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Some of LA’s trendiest high fashion entrepreneurs are catering to a new breed of fashionistas: those who would buy their couture fresh off a truck. 

First there were the urban food and juice truck crazes. The original image of a simple food truck evolved into an onslaught of delicacies and specialties. Food trucks gathered in neighborhoods across the nation, creating a new foodie culture. The same could happen with the budding trend in mobile boutiques. High fashion trucks are rolling out across the nation, from D.C. to Honolulu and in between. The vehicles are filled-to-the-brim with hand-picked fashions, often with a theme.

High Couture Cargo

To find fashion trucks, you need only look as far as downtown in any American city. The trucks’ retail cargo can range from retro swimwear to vintage dresses, yoga gear or lingerie. Fashion truck entrepreneurs often showcase handmade clothing by local designers alongside curated items fresh from local flea markets.

Fleets of fashion trucks might soon be spotted all over Los Angeles, a city whose glamor and grit match well with the prospect of buying high fashion clothes from the bed of a tricked-out truck.

Monique Cruz owns Selvidge, a successful Los Angeles area fashion truck. “We’re promoting being mobile, a new way of shopping and a creative way of bringing the product to the customer,” Cruz told ABCNews. Selvidge focuses on one-of-a-kind vintage clothing, and the truck drives out to annual festivals like Coachella to sell its wares.

Driving Fashion Forward

The mobile trucks have an added level of excitement. Following the trucks on social media, fans of specific trucks can become fashion chasers. A truck’s fans will drive to meet it at different locations throughout the year, creating a unique relationship with the most atypical “truck drivers” you can imagine. These truck drivers will likely never be caught in a flannel shirt and suspenders; they’re more likely to sport chic gear and act as your personal stylist as you browse their selections. Successful fashion truck retailers tend to follow similar marketing models to those of successful food truck owners. They create a strong social media base, generate buzz and maintain close relationships with their shoppers.

Sustainable Upcycling

These road-ready fashion racks could become the anti-mall version of convenient shopping. Their vintage cargo represents a sustainable alternative to fresh-from-the-factory mall purchases. When fleets of fashion trucks unite at events, they form a kind of mobile market; you’ll have options and convenience without the high environmental impact.

As fashion trucks proliferate, perhaps they will follow the example of their sisters, the food trucks. It is estimated that approximately 60 percent of food trucks in operation are biodiesel powered. This cuts down on the overhead as well as the carbon footprint. The stylish cruisers that carry your future outfits might become even more fashion forward without a footprint.

Rules of the Retail Road

Fashion trucks are subject to the rules and regulations of the American Mobile Retail Association, and with their skyrocketing popularity, the association is rapidly modifying its rules.  Nomadic boutiques are much different than other types of retail outlets. More than 300 fashion trucks have joined the association, which aims to offer consulting services and create community among truck owners. Because most cities have strict rules about where retail trucks can and cannot park, there are many legal considerations for these mobile shop owners. Despite the occasional red tape, it looks like fashion trucks are here to stay.

Ilse Metchek, president of the California Fashion Association spoke recently about her perspective on the truck trend, drawing attention to their similarities with food trucks. “They appeal to the impulse buyer, the same people that like to eat standing up, it’s the ultimate fast fashion,” she said to the Press Telegram.

In the case of high fashion trucks, it’s “fast fashion” that has to follow the speed limit.

To get on board and start riding virtually alongside these chic vehicles, you can follow @LeFashionTruck on Twitter. They’re LA area fashion truck pioneers and they’re constantly on-the-go. On the other coast, check out @GypsyDeLaLune, the “vintage vagabond.” Chances are, your own favorite local fashion truck will also be twitter-pated when you “follow” it.

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The 1980s are long gone, and the decade’s most iconic hangouts are disappearing now too: shopping malls.

Turn on practically any teen-infused movie from the 1980s and at least one scene is likely to take place at a bustling shopping mall. The shopping mall was the Facebook of its day: after school or on the weekends, suburban teens flocked to malls to connect with each other. They would play arcade games, eat greasy mall food and browse sale racks, too. Adults flocked to malls too, for shopping, movies and to sit in those vibrating Brookstone chairs they would never buy.

But now, shopping malls are disappearing at such a rapid rate that there’s a Web site that lists “dead” shopping malls around the country. According to Amy Merrick for the New Yorker, some of the abandoned shopping malls have been converted into “community colleges, corporate headquarters, or churches.”

Some malls are being shut down because they’re health hazards, with water damage, mold, even asbestos. One thing though is increasingly clear: Shopping malls aren’t what they used to be. “In January, Rick Caruso, the C.E.O. of Caruso Affiliated, one of the largest privately held American real-estate companies, stood on a stage at the Javits Center, in New York, and forecast the demise of the traditional mall,” reports Merrick. Caruso said: “Within ten to fifteen years, the typical U.S. mall, unless it is completely reinvented, will be a historical anachronism—a sixty-year aberration that no longer meets the public’s needs, the retailers’ needs, or the community’s needs.”

Internet sales have taken a chunk out of mall sales, but not as much as you might think. Online sales hit six percent of total retail spending in the 4^th quarter of 2013—a number that’s nearly doubled since 2006, explains Merrick. “Some retailers, understandably, are responding by focusing more on the online end of the retail business. Gap, which became synonymous with the American mall, is no longer counting on malls for growth.” Glenn Murphy, Gap’s C.E.O., told Merrick that its business is moving towards digital sales. “Mall traffic, for a number of years, has been slowing down. Whether it continues to decline somewhat over time, I think that’s realistic to assume.”

Even the iconic food court brands are struggling, reports Merrick. “Sbarro, which represents one of the four food groups of mall cuisine, along with Jamba Juice, Panda Express, and Cinnabon, filed for bankruptcy protection for the second time in three years. Court papers cited an “unprecedented decline in mall traffic,” meaning fewer hungry shoppers settling for foldable pizza slices.”

The suburban town square—shopping malls were the heart of many American communities. And all malls aren’t disappearing. The outdoor mall concept is thriving in some cities—making shoppers feel more like they’re doing something by being outdoors, rather than contained inside a stuffy building. But they only represent a small fraction of malls, the rest of which, it seems, have seen their prime—all while Amazon Prime gains momentum.

Find Jill on Twitter @jillettinger

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We know most mall food is bad, we just know it-so why are we eating it?

After a long day of slogging through slow-moving crowds and sighing in disgust at the way fitting room lighting inexplicably adds 10 years and 20 pounds to your body, it’s no wonder you’re tired and irritable enough to console yourself with some mall food. But don’t just shuffle up to the nearest counter and blindly point. Not only are mall food courts rife with disturbing health violations, including trays that are dirtier than public toilets, they’re also packed with unhealthy, artery-clogging meals, snacks and beverages, often made with low-quality ingredients.

Cinnabon

Found in nearly every mall across America, Cinnabon draws in drooling patrons with intoxicating, far-reaching aromas of cinnamon and sugar that activate our must-eat-junk-food-now impulses. Give in, and you’d better be prepared for what will come after, which is at best a diet-busting calorie explosion and at worst, a potential diabetic coma. There’s absolutely nothing low in calories and fat on the menu. The signature roll weighs half a pound and contains 670 calories and 34 grams of fat, but by far the worst item you could choose is the Caramel Pecanbon, a snack that will annihilate your daily calorie allowance with 900 calories and 41 grams of fat.

Smoothie King

The word smoothie conjures visions of fresh fruit, yogurt, juice and nutritious add-ins like wheatgrass and hemp powder. But not all smoothies are created equal, especially at Smoothie King. This beverage chain proclaims itself to be the “healthy alternative to unhealthy food choices” – but be careful what you order. While they do have 38 smoothie options under 300 calories (in the 20 ounce size, as long as you say the words “make it under 300” when you order, eliminating added sugar and juices), you might want to avoid the options they classify under “Indulge.” In the largest size they offer, 40 ounces, the Peanut Power Plus Grape smoothie has 1,460 calories and 42 grams of fat. Even worse is the Hulk Plus Strawberry, ironically listed under Shape Up, which packs 1,928 calories and 64 grams of fat. You’d have to be a bodybuilder or an Olympic athlete to burn that off.

Olive Garden

Remember the days when Olive Garden made their own pasta, and many of their menu offerings were actually prepared in-house from relatively fresh ingredients? Probably not, because those days are long gone. Step into an Olive Garden kitchen and you’ll find cooks reheating frozen pre-breaded chicken patties, manicotti, ravioli, breadsticks, sauces and virtually everything else they serve. While it’s possible to eat relatively healthy here with options like minestrone soup and Venetian Apricot Chicken, most of this restaurant chain’s meals are packed with fat, calories and sodium. The Create Your Own Pizza appetizer has 930 calories, 28 grams of fat and 2,970 milligrams of sodium, for starters, and the Pork Milanese tops that with 1,510 calories, 87 grams of fat and 3,100 milligrams of sodium.

Olive Gardens will start popping up in even more malls in the coming months, as chain restaurants start taking advantage of empty retail space left behind by flailing department stores and other businesses. Depending on where you live, it’s likely that you’ve got a much more authentic Italian place nearby. FYI, Olive Garden doesn’t really have a cooking school in Tuscany where their “chefs” master Italian cooking techniques; they rent out a hotel for a couple weeks out of the year and generate fake quotes on behalf of their restaurant managers to garner local publicity. Olive Garden is to authentic Italian food as Cheez Whiz is to fine, aged Parmigiana Reggiano.

Sbarro

This is the place to get floppy, bland, oily triangles of dough, cheese and sauce bigger than your head, if that’s what you’re into. Sbarro has arguably some of the worst-quality pizza of any chain in America, especially when you factor in the likelihood of being handed a dried-out slice that’s been sitting under a heat lamp for a few hours. It’s just not worth it. While these quick food court bites won’t necessarily break your diet at about 300 calories a slice, avoid the stuffed sausage and pepperoni abomination: it’s got nearly 1,000, plus 47 grams of fat and 2,516 milligrams of sodium.

Panda Express

This Americanized, fast-food Chinese mall staple might seem like one of the best options at the food court, health-wise, and most of its offerings are definitely lower in calories than the fried chicken, pasta and pastries found elsewhere. But like most of the Chinese food found in America, Panda Express is laden with sugar and sodium, not to mention preservatives and artificial flavorings. It’s re-heated meat and veggies in thick corn syrup sauce. One of the most popular menu items, Orange Chicken, contains 500 calories, 810 milligrams of sodium and as much fat as 9 strips of Oscar Mayer bacon. The Broccoli Beef is a much better choice at 150 calories and 7 grams of fat.

We also wonder where all that chicken comes from?

T.G.I. Friday’s

The Olive Garden of ‘American-style’ food, T.G.I. Friday’s offers massive portions of overly salted, calorie-laden, generic food-like substances that came straight out of a walk-in freezer. This nationwide chain is often one of the only sit-down restaurant options in malls and can be a tempting retreat from all of the noise, activity and bright lights of the food court. But a Fitness Magazine perusal of the menu found just two meals under 500 calories, with most clocking in at over 1,000. Alongside Applebees, IHOP and Outback Steakhouse, T.G.I. Friday’s earned an F in Men’s Health‘s annual survey of America’s Unhealthiest Restaurants.

Auntie Anne’s

If you’re going to indulge in a carb-heavy snack, a soft pretzel is one of the most satisfying ways to do so. Just be aware that like the unreasonably enormous treats at Cinnabon, what you’re eating is more like a meal than a snack, and it’s probably going to make you feel sluggish afterward. The Glazin’ Raisin pretzel has over 500 calories and over 100 grams of carbohydrates.  One Jumbo Pretzel Dog contains 610 calories, 29 grams of fat and 1,150 grams of sodium. Add salt and dipping sauces, and you’ll be well on your way to a battle with bad blood pressure.

Quizno’s

Men’s Health named the Large Tuna Melt at Quizno’s the worst mall food in America, and it’s not hard to see why. When you get it with cheese and dressing, it packs in 1,820 calories, 147 grams of fat, 2,020 milligrams of sodium and 85 grams of carbs. Continuing the bacon comparison to give you an idea of just how much fat that is, you might as well sit down to 49 strips of greasy strips. So that’s why Quizno’s declined to reveal its nutritional information for so many years. If you’ve got the option of a Subway in the same mall, you’ll have access to much healthier choices.

Taco Bell

Freestanding Taco Bells aren’t exactly known for offering high-quality or even mediocre food, and the ones located in mall food courts are no better. The “Mexican” food chain is notorious for numerous health violations in its restaurants all over the country, and food poisoning incidents like the one in 2006 that sickened over 70 people in 5 states. Taco Bell has attempted to improve its reputation lately with fresher “Cantina-style” offerings, but it’s still Taco Bell.

Chick-fil-A

By now, even people who had never heard of Chick-fil-A in their lives are well aware of the restaurant’s controversial donations to anti-gay-marriage causes thanks to the recent hoopla that made fried chicken sandwiches into a symbol of intolerance. The chain also sued a kale farmer for producing t-shirts and other merchandise reading “Eat More Kale,” alleging that he was ripping off their “Eat More Chik’n” slogan. And on top of that, Chick-fil-A just really isn’t all that great. The Spicy Chicken Deluxe sandwich has 570 calories and enough sodium to take up your entire daily intake. Chick-fil-A’s grilled nuggets meal might sound like a good choice for kids, but it has the same amount of cholesterol as a Big Mac.

Photo: The Pizza Review

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