Lifestyle

The 4 best freshwater lakes in L.A. for floating, fishing and everything in between

Published

2 years ago

August 22, 2024

The 4 best freshwater lakes in L.A. for floating, fishing and everything in between

Nothing screams “summer” more than a day spent by the water. And Angelenos have many ways to access it, including a long coastline hugged by the Pacific, plenty of pools and refreshing swimming holes galore. But consider the local lake, an underrated option.

Unlike the ocean, the lake is a calm body of water. The only waves that exist there are created by passing boats. You can float in essentially one place without having to be worried about being carried out to sea. And if, like me, you have an irrational fear of sharks, lakes offer a swimming environment with few natural threats. A lake is one of the chillest bodies of water you can find outside your bathtub.

Growing up in Oklahoma, some of my fondest summer memories are of me and my cousins clutching an inner tube connected to the back of a boat as my uncle tugged us across a glistening lake, a pastime known as tubing. Perhaps it was sentimentality that led me to wonder: Where can I swim in a lake in L.A. County? Lucky for you, the answer lies below.

Here you’ll find a guide on how to have a great day at the best lakes in L.A. County, whether you’d like to swim, kayak, fish or otherwise adventure. Have a great time!

What to bring| Water quality | A guide to L.A. county lakes

What to bring to the lake in L.A. County

Before we dive into the best L.A. County lakes to visit, let’s first talk about how to have a great day at the lake.

For a swim day, it’s a lot like visiting the beach — you’ll want to bring sunscreen, shade, chairs, towels and floaties. Like most L.A. County beaches, grilling is not allowed on lake beaches. That said, some park picnic areas — including those a short walk from the lake — have barbecues, so grilling is still a possibility if you don’t mind traveling between the two spots.

It is essential to bring all the food, drinks and ice you’ll want for the day, as vendors have limited menus and aren’t always open. However, all the lakes on this list are a short drive from local restaurants. So you can either pack a picnic or grab food nearby.

Remember to leave the booze and bud at home. Alcohol and smoking are not allowed at any lake on this list.

Water quality at L.A. County lakes

In recent years, lakes in L.A. County have been plagued by harmful algal blooms that make their waters unsafe to swim in for both humans and dogs.

These blooms are often the worst in the summer when plentiful sunshine and warmer waters allow them to thrive, according to the State Water Resources Control Board. Sometimes, lake waters clear up in the winter, although Lake Elsinore in Riverside County and Lake Henshaw in San Diego County have historically had blooms all year, regulators said. L.A. County uses chlorinators at its three swimmable lakes (each of which is included below), which health officials say helps reduce the risk of harmful bacteria and blooms.

Before visiting a lake, you can check the state’s map where harmful algal blooms are tracked. State regulators use a three-tiered measurement system to gauge the presence of blooms in lakes.

The first is a “caution” advisory, which indicates visitors can swim but should stay away from algae and scum in the water. The next level is “warning,” where swimming is not allowed, and all fish caught from the lake must go through special preparation before being consumed to prevent illness. The third level is “danger,” which, means not only should you and your dog not swim at the lake in question, but you should also not eat anything that comes out of it, or use its water in any way. Even boiling it won’t make the water clean enough to use.

Lakes in L.A. County

L.A. County is home to many lakes. But this list prioritizes bodies of freshwater where you can swim, boat and fish, among many other activities. (That being said, I allowed for one honorable mention of a lake where you can’t swim but can appreciate its beauty.)

This list, unfortunately, doesn’t include Pyramid Lake because its waters have been persistently plagued by dangerous algal blooms season after season, year after year. State regulators advised not swimming there this summer.

That includes canines. Dogs are allowed to swim at Pyramid Lake. But you shouldn’t allow them near its waters until the toxic algal blooms are cleared up, since dogs can become ill and die from drinking tainted water.

Armed with that safety information, I enjoyed swimming in these lakes’ cool waters and relaxing on their sandy beaches. It was also nice that, unlike the lakes from my childhood, the bottom of each lake’s swim area was clean — no grimy, slimy stuff lingering here! I hope you make great memories at the locations below.

Puddingstone Lake

Puddingstone Lake is a 250-acre man-made lake in San Dimas’ Frank G. Bonelli Regional Park, an 1,800-acre expanse where you can swim, bike, camp, fish, sail and more.

(Jaclyn Cosgrove / Los Angeles Times)

Puddingstone Lake is a 250-acre man-made lake in San Dimas’ Frank G. Bonelli Regional Park, an 1,800-acre expanse where you can swim, bike, camp, fish, sail and more.

The beach area where you can swim is roped off from the rest of the lake island. Floating there in the lake’s cool waters, you can listen to the sounds of children playing and the light splashes of dedicated lap swimmers, and appreciate the uniquely Southern California view of the San Gabriel Mountains to the north.

While swimming, you might also notice planes coming to and from Brackett Field Airport, which sits on the northeast corner of the lake. (Because of its proximity to the airport, you aren’t allowed to fly kites, drones or model airplanes there.)

Near the swim beach sits the park’s Picnic Valley, where you can enjoy a leisurely meal with friends and family on the manicured grass, at a table or beneath a pavilion.

The privately operated Bonelli Bluffs RV Resort and Campground offers camping nearby. For a fun family weekend excursion, you could spend a day at the lake, camp and then head over the next day to Raging Waters Los Angeles, which sits northwest of the lake and bills itself as California’s largest water park. Mountain Meadows Golf Course is also nearby, if you want to get a few holes in.

Fishing is allowed with a valid California fishing license for all anglers 16 and older. You just have to do it around the lake, outside of its sand beaches, boat docks or within 100 feet of any boat launch ramp. Catch limits include five trout and 10 catfish.

Unlike some bodies of water on this list, the park surrounding Puddingstone Lake has many excellent hiking opportunities within its 14 miles of multiuse trails for hikers, bikers and horseback riders. Nearby Antonovich Trail, a popular trek for locals, meanders along a babbling Walnut Creek, shaded by fig, coast live oak and eucalyptus trees. It takes about four minutes to drive from the trailhead to the entrance of Bonelli park, where you can quickly reach the swim beach.

You can also explore the lake by kayak or paddleboard. You can rent kayaks, pedal boats, stand-up paddleboards and bikes by the hour from Wheel Fun Rentals. (Just make sure you do your research on pricing, hours and rules before you go.)

Santa Fe Dam reservoir

Completed in 1949, the Santa Fe dam and reservoir is a 2,600-acre property created to manage the flood risk to cities along the San Gabriel River.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers oversees about 1,300 acres of it for, I don’t know, dam stuff? But the part relevant to this guide, dear reader, is the Santa Fe Dam Recreational Area. Its 836 acres include a 70-acre man-made lake that’s open year-round for fishing and non-motorized watercraft such as kayaks. Boats with small electric motors are allowed as long as they don’t exceed 5 mph.

Santa Fe Dam Recreation Area

It’s easiest to reach the swim beach by parking in lot No. 3. Upon arrival, you might notice families lounging in hammocks, or picnicking at nearby tables. From the swim area’s sandy beach, you can dip into its cool waters while gazing north at the clear views of several peaks in the San Gabriel Mountains, including Mt. Baldy. The park has a short nature walk, but no lengthy hiking trails. The San Gabriel River Trail, a 35.4-mile path, runs past the dam.

If you want to travel around the lake in style, rent a surrey bike, which Wheel Fun Rentals calls a “modern day carriage.” The company rents a single, double and, yes, triple surrey bike (described by Wheel Fun as the “undisputed limousine of bikes,” a label I cannot argue against). The mode of transportation is an especially good opportunity for parents to horrify their teenagers. But, don’t worry, the company also rents recumbent trikes, pedal boats and kayaks.

Fishing is allowed with a valid license. The lake is seasonally stocked with bass, rainbow trout and catfish.

The park is sometimes closed for special events, so it can be helpful to call ahead. Also, take note that the annual Renaissance Pleasure Faire is held at the park in April and May, making parking potentially challenging.

Castaic Lake

The Castaic Lake State Recreation Area is a 12,658-acre wonderland about 45 miles north of downtown Los Angeles. Built like an infinity pool for giants, Castaic Lake is separated into two bodies of water by a 425-foot high dam. The main, or upper, lake has almost 30 miles of shoreline and is where gas-powered boats zip along.

The lower lake, which has about two miles of shoreline, is where you can swim. Kayaks are allowed as well as boats with small electric motors as long as they don’t exceed 5 mph.

Near the swim beach, there’s also a large inflatable water park with more than 35 obstacles, otherwise known as Cali Splash Park. The park is open Thursdays through Sundays until Sept. 15.

Record-setting fish have been reeled in on Castaic Lake, including a 21-pound, 12-ounce, largemouth bass caught in 1991. The upper lake is stocked seasonally with rainbow trout. Other fish in the lake include channel catfish and smallmouth bass.

To catch your piscine prize, consider an opportunity not offered at any other lake on this list: renting a 14-foot fishing boat either hourly or for the day. For bait, you can visit Castaic Landing on 32839 Lake Hughes Road. You can also rent kayaks or stand-up paddleboards from Cruise Castaic through Oct. 1.

Machado Lake

Although you cannot swim in it, Machado Lake in Harbor City deserves an honorable mention.

The 45-acre Machado Lake is located inside Ken Malloy Harbor Regional Park, a 231-acre oasis northwest of Long Beach.

Machado Lake is probably best known for being the previous home of Reggie, an alligator who was (illegally) relocated there when he outgrew his owners’ enclosures. Once spotted, Reggie rose to such a level of celebrity that Steve Irwin (RIP) once said he’d fly to L.A. to wrangle him. The elusive alligator lived in the lake for almost two years, until his capture in May 2007, when he was taken to the L.A. Zoo, where you can visit him and Tina, his female co-habitator, today.

At the time of Reggie’s residence, Machado Lake was known for its rankness. It was polluted and full of litter. But, in 2004, L.A. voters passed Proposition O, the city’s clean water bond, and approved $500 million for projects, including to clean up Machado Lake.

The lake was restored in recent years through dredging and adding infrastructure that can better support fish and wildlife. Officials said the dredging removed all of the invasive black snakes, sometimes spotted on heaps of trash at the lake, that were believed to be abandoned pets.

Today, the park and lake are a birder’s paradise, as it is home to more than 300 species of migratory birds. You might spot a peregrine falcon or other raptor, including kestrels, which nest there. You might also see a green or great blue heron, or a black-crowned night heron.

Machado Lake and its surrounding park is a melting pot for every type of L.A. resident, whether it’s grandparents arm-in-arm on a stroll, unhoused residents napping in peace, 20-somethings pretending not to smoke weed, parents taking their children fishing, or kids tossing around a football. Families and friends fish together on the lake’s banks and its fishing piers, casting poles through the California bulrush. Along with nice shade from pine and other trees, the park features multiple playgrounds, including one with rope obstacles, and several picnic tables and grills.

There are parts of the walk around Machado Lake that aren’t spectacular — including a fence sporting razor wire and the refinery in the distance — but the park thrives in spite of that.

Lifestyle

Make Way for the Investment Bank Influencers

Published

2 hours ago

April 25, 2026

Press Room

Make Way for the Investment Bank Influencers

It’s 5:30 a.m. Allison Sheehan switches on the light in the bathroom of her New York City apartment and stretches in front of the mirror. “Welcome back to another morning in the life of an ‘investment baker,’ which means someone who works at an investment bank but also makes cakes,” she says at the beginning of the video, which she uploaded to TikTok in early 2025.

Tying an apron over her pajamas, Ms. Sheehan, now 26, proceeds to pipe lilac buttercream ruffles on a heart-shaped funfetti cake she had baked the night before.

At 6:50, she heads to the gym, filming herself doing crunches before heading home to shower, put on makeup and pick out an outfit. By 8:20, Ms. Sheehan heads to her wealth management job, at Goldman Sachs (she didn’t reveal the name of the bank in her videos while employed there).

In 2023, Ms. Sheehan, who has since made cakes for brands including Goop and LoveShackFancy as well as the model Gigi Hadid, was posting on social media as “The Investment Baker,” a persona she created for her custom-cake business, Alleycat.

On her Investment Baker Instagram and TikTok pages, Ms. Sheehan posted familiar influencer content like “What I eat in a week” and day-in-the-life videos, along with breakdowns of her corporate wardrobe. At the time, her DMs were inundated both with cake orders and with young women seeking advice on how to break into finance.

The finance industry remains one of the most sought-after sectors for college graduates. In 2025, Goldman Sachs saw 360,000 students competing for just 2,600 internships — up 15 percent from the previous year. It has also historically insisted that employees maintain a low profile on the internet. Ms. Sheehan was careful never to disclose the bank at which she worked in her videos, and she never filmed herself in the office, per her employer’s rules. In fact, she never discussed finance much at all. Still, the tension between the “two worlds of baking and being a financier was the whole allure,” Ms. Sheehan said.

Yet Ms. Sheehan was informed that her baking content was seen as a “reputational risk” for the firm. She was instructed to delete every post on her TikTok and Instagram and to change her handle so that it made no reference to the word “investment.” When Ms. Sheehan drew comparisons to the firm’s chief executive, David Solomon, who moonlights as a D.J., she was told she could not compare herself to him. She pushed back, saying that the firm’s policy should apply to everyone. “It doesn’t work like that,” she said she was told.

Like Ms. Sheehan, Sahilee Waitman, 28, used the fact of her employment at an investment bank as a hook for her TikTok videos. Ms. Waitman moved to New York City from Amsterdam to work in compliance at an investment bank in 2023. She soon started posting day-in-the-life content, detailing everything from her workouts to what she ate for lunch, with the goal of building financial autonomy outside her corporate role. Both women were clear that while they worked at investment banks, they were not investment bankers, often a point of contention or confusion in the comments section.

The New York Times reached out to many of the investment bank employees on TikTok, but they declined to comment for this article, fearing the risk to their reputation. The New York Times also reached out to 14 different banks, among them Goldman Sachs, but none responded to requests for comment regarding the matter of social media use among employees.

Despite these fears, investment banking content is going viral across social media. Nearly 60,400 videos tagged #investmentbanking have appeared on TikTok in recent years. Time-stamped 100-hour work weeks and late-night keyboard A.S.M.R. regularly draw hundreds of thousands of views on TikTok. Part of the appeal is that influencers offer a more realistic depiction of the world of work than can be gleaned from shows like “Industry” on HBO or from actual recruitment events.

Ms. Sheehan was determined to show that even bankers could have a life outside work. In October 2024, a year after posting her first video, a meeting with her manager appeared unexpectedly on Ms. Sheehan’s calendar. At first, she thought it might be good news. But the excitement was short-lived when she was greeted by three compliance officers. “We see you have an online persona called ‘The Investment Baker,’” she recalled them saying.

At present, there is no widely agreed-upon policy regarding employees’ personal social media use. The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, the largest independent regulator for brokerage firms in the United States, and the Securities and Exchange Commission, a government agency that regulates the entire U.S. securities industry, have rules and guidance dictating that employees cannot share any information that is deemed confidential or in any way sensitive. But how firms apply their own internal policy is at their discretion.

Hannah Awonuga, the former head of colleague engagement at Barclays U.K. and a cultural transformation and inclusion consultant, sees both parties as at risk. Employees might find themselves on the wrong side of human resources. For employers, “once you allow staff to post freely,” she said, “you run the risk that they might express an opinion on a Saturday that goes against your values.”

For decades, “workism” — the belief that work is central to one’s identity — has infiltrated the American ethos, particularly for many city dwellers, whose hobbies and leisure activities can fall by the wayside. Increasingly, younger workers are pushing back, demanding a healthier work-life balance and actively working to decouple their identity from their careers.

The world of high finance is one of the last sectors to catch up. “Once you work in these industries,” Ms. Waitman said, “you’re essentially taught to choose one lane.” You are either a “serious professional,” she said, or a “creative.” “I just don’t believe those things are mutually exclusive,” she added.

Ms. Waitman, who is Black, hoped that by posting on TikTok, she would be promoting diversity in the industry. She received the occasional negative comment, insisting she must be a “secretary,” but a majority of her messages were positive, she said, and came from other women seeking her advice about pursuing careers in finance.

At the time, Ms. Waitman did not receive pushback from her employer on her videos, though she made sure to declare any outside business activity to compliance and her director. “I think firms are just now catching on to this,” Ms. Waitman said. “Once they find out, you have compliance on your neck.”

A recent glossy fashion spread in Interview Magazine entitled “Meet the Finest Boys in Finance” highlighted what can happen when young finance professionals attract the wrong kind of publicity. The designer-heavy photo shoot was mocked and meme-ified online for violating Wall Street’s sacrosanct rule against flashiness.

Across social media, some women were quick to point out the double standard at play. “But women get fired from Goldman for being influencers …” read one comment left on a TikTok video about the spread.

In fact, many of the people posting influencer-like content are young women, which is at odds with the traditionally male-dominated world of high finance.

A spokesperson for Goldman Sachs told Bloomberg that the interviews in Interview Magazine were not approved by the firm.

After the compliance meeting, Ms. Sheehan did as she was instructed and archived all her social media posts. Three months later, though, she put them back up. “I didn’t see my posts as a violation of the bylaws,” she said. Immediately, another meeting with compliance landed on her calendar. This time, her cake business was taking off, and Ms. Sheehan decided to hand in her resignation. (Goldman Sachs did not respond to requests for comment.)

As banks are forced to iron out their policies in an ever more online world, workers sharing the minutiae of their days is likely to become an increasing headache for compliance. “If you have five followers, there’s no need to make anyone aware,” Ms. Awonuga said. But, she added, “as more Gen Z’s come into the workplace and grow in their roles, I just don’t know how feasible it becomes to say you’re not allowed a social media presence.”

Ms. Sheehan, meanwhile, has no regrets. “I cannot believe,” she said, “that they were concerned about me making pink cakes when people are insider trading.”

Lifestyle

She’s the so-called Womb Witch of L.A. Here’s why her clients keep returning

Published

3 hours ago

April 25, 2026

Press Room

She’s the so-called Womb Witch of L.A. Here’s why her clients keep returning

Leigh McDaniel always knew she was destined to become a witch. Growing up in Hawaii, she came from a long line of “kitchen witches,” she explains — women who intuited measurements, spices and when a cake was done from the next room. “There was always a part of me that was like: Yeah, I’m a witch,” says McDaniel from her California sun-soaked studio.

Today, McDaniel — who calls herself a “womb witch”— practices a different kind of magic: pelvic care bodywork. Based in a bright studio in Glendale, McDaniel serves clients of all genders. Before each session, McDaniel invites clients to share their personal histories, and then McDaniel performs bodywork through touch as sage smoke curls in the air.

“A person who left today had their first session and was like, ‘I’m so much lighter in my body,’” McDaniel says.

McDaniel’s work is rooted in holistic pelvic health and touch therapy, which she discovered after giving birth to her second child at age 46. Before her daughter was born, McDaniel says she met her in a dream. The child introduced herself as “Luna.” The name stuck. After her birth, McDaniel theorized that her daughter had “reorganized her pelvic bowl.” When she sought out answers from her midwife and OB-GYN, they were dismissive; the experience prompted her to explore alternative care.

“It sent me down a few rabbit holes,” McDaniel says. “Previously, I had studied naturopathy with the intention of going to a naturopathic school — herbalism, Reiki and light touch therapy.”

Leigh McDaniel says that after one session her clients often feel an immediate shift in their bodies.

(Dania Maxwell / For The Times)

While body wisdom and alternative healing are framed as part of the Goop-conscious modern wellness movement, McDaniel explains that these practices are not new. She cites Ubuntu, a South African philosophy that informs her healing approach. “Indigenous practices knew how to hold people in trauma,” she says. “We’re only just beginning to figure it out.”

After an explanation of the nervous system, consent and the pelvic floor, her sessions begin with McDaniel burning sage or mugwort while the client is on the table. She asks for consent before touching the client and offers a prayer or blessing. McDaniel explains she’s feeling for energy before moving on to the abdomen, where she applies various levels of pressure. She compares it to a guided meditation as she incorporates breathwork while asking clients to breathe into her fingers. She emphasizes that the client controls the pace and asks for consent at each step.

“I think consent and boundaries are so critical to taking care of your body,” she says.

The intimate nature of McDaniel’s practice has garnered attention — and occasional skepticism. Comedian Ali Macofsky, for example, says with a smile, “I go in person to this womb witch,” on “The Endless Honeymoon” podcast. The hosts are baffled and intrigued. Macofsky adds, “It feels very old school the way women have to go through things.”

Macofsky discovered Leigh through actor and comedian Syd Steinberg who highly recommended her work. “I went to help with some CPTSD [complex post-traumatic stress disorder] and TMJ [temporomandibular joint] pain and she helped,” says Steinberg. “She really is a miracle worker.”

Macofsky was intrigued by the whimsical title of “Womb Witch.” “I was like, I’ll make an appointment and see what happens.” After a phone call, McDaniel explained that she helped clients with physical intimacy and sexual trauma through bodywork. The comedian was hooked.

Macofsky notes that in a culture where female pleasure is not prioritized, it’s hard to know where to seek advice. After a session with Leigh where she discussed advocating for oneself sexually, Macofsky began to see the results take hold in surprising ways. “It’s helping me in other areas where normally I’d be uncomfortable to advocate for myself or speak up about what I want.”

Clients seek out the womb witch for a variety of reasons. Some report physical discomfort during sexual encounters, while others come after experiencing sexual assault, abuse or consent violation. At other times, clients may experience stiffness or pain that McDaniel believes may be a reaction to trauma.

Her session also focuses on sexual health. McDaniel gives her clients a tutorial on pleasure anatomy and consent, most recently teaching sexual health lessons to a gathering in Silver Lake. “I like to show a lot about the pleasure anatomy, the mobility of the uterus, and where the cervix is at different times of the month,” she explains.

McDaniel argues that pleasure is an important part of daily life. “Female pleasure is finally being noticed,” she says. “Pleasure is a birthright. There’s pleasure and there’s grief. To be full-spectrum humans, we need to be feeling pleasure.” McDaniel cites that recent studies claim the clitoris has 10,000 nerve endings.

Leigh McDaniel holds a bowl of coconut and castor oil that she often uses with clients.

McDaniel says that everyday stress — including sexual harassment and misogyny — manifests in the body, often leading to chronic pain. “In patriarchy, the comments land in your body, and you find yourself bracing every time you pass them,” she says. “They can seem so small and harmless, but even those little things add up. They’re felt. It’s part of feeling unsafe in the world.”

Though many people struggle to navigate the American healthcare system, more Americans are turning to a spiritual wellness approach. The National Institutes of Health reports that holistic care methods such as meditation, acupuncture and yoga have grown significantly in recent years. Ancient Chinese medicine techniques have gone viral on TikTok, capturing the attention of Gen Z. “People are more willing to look outside the Western medicine model,” McDaniel explains. “I have people that come here to see me because of medical trauma too.”

Dr. Tanaz R. Ferzandi, director of urogynecology and reconstructive pelvic surgery at Keck Medicine of USC, believes that holistic medicine can be a potent adjunct to more traditional remedies. She has recommended acupuncture to her patients who have experienced sexual trauma. “The whole idea of acupuncture is you’re lying there, and coming to peace with yourself and your body,” she explains. “It’s a forced therapy where you can be alone with yourself and shut out the rest of the world.”

Simultaneously, Ferzandi believes a healthy amount of skepticism is good. “We have to stay scientific — what’s the evidence behind it? As long as women understand that we don’t know if there’s data to support some of the things they’re doing,” she says. “I’m very cautious about touting certain things that are somehow going to be a panacea.”

McDaniel’s explains its rare she encounters skeptics at her practice. “I never try to convince anyone to come in for a session,” she says. “There are scientific studies on the efficacy of different types of work that are adjacent to, or similar to what I do, but nothing exact.”

She acknowledges elements of her work are difficult to quantify. “There is also a mysterious space between bodies, the client and myself, where something happens that I cannot really explain, but it feels magical,” she says. “I don’t think any of this would convince anyone who is inherently skeptical though.”

McDaniel views her daughter Luna’s birth as the inciting incident into her true calling — becoming the “Womb Witch.” “Everything that happened to my own body after her birth, it was a calling to do this,” she says. “I’ve done so many things, and this is the first time I really feel settled in what I do.”

Lifestyle

N.F.L. Style Will Never Beat N.B.A. Style

Published

14 hours ago

April 24, 2026

Press Room

N.F.L. Style Will Never Beat N.B.A. Style

You want to see some real fashion ingenuity? Watch the N.F.L. draft.

I’m not saying it’s all good, but where else are you going to see someone in a double-breasted suit made by a company better known for making yoga pants? Or an Abercrombie & Fitch suit jacket so short that it exposes the belt loops on the pants beneath?

On the whole, the style on display at the N.F.L. draft last night was very overeager senior formal: a lot of suits in colors beyond basic blue. The quarterback Ty Simpson wore a custom suit by the athleisure label Alo, which, I have to say, looked better than I would have envisioned had you said the words “Alo Yoga suit” to me.

I thought it might have been from Suitsupply, but the conspicuous “Alo” pin on his right lapel put that idea to rest. Simpson, smartly, unfastened that beacon before appearing onstage as the 13th pick to the Los Angeles Rams. He had, perhaps, satisfied his contractual obligations by that point.

Earlier in the evening, as the wide receiver Carnell Tate threw up his arms in exaltation after being picked fourth by the Tennessee Titans, his cropped Abercrombie & Fitch jacket revealed a swatch of rib cage. He looked like a mâitre d’ who had just hit the Mega Millions.

During the N.B.A.’s extended fashion awakening, its draft has become a sandbox for luxury brands to cozy up to would-be endorsers. The Frenchman Victor Wembanyama broke a kind of cashmere ceiling when he wore Louis Vuitton to go first overall in the 2023 N.B.A. draft.

The N.F.L. draft has none of that. The brands you see are often not brands at all, but custom tailors that reach the league’s neophytes through a whisper network among players. The draft is also a platform to raise the curtain on longer-term brand deals that better suit these rookies. We may, for instance, never see Simpson in a suit again. Nearly every photo from his time at Alabama shows him in a T-shirt or hoodie. It makes sense for him to sign with Alo.

Football is the most mainstream of American cultural entities. And it’s one that still hasn’t, in spite of the league’s best efforts, taken off overseas. Few players, save some quarterbacks and a tight end who happens to be engaged to a pop star, feel bigger than the game itself. If you’re a new-to-the-league linebacker, you’ll most likely never harness the star power to grab the attention of Armani, but you might have just the right pull for Abercrombie.

The N.F.L. draft is therefore one of the few red carpets where the brands worn by the athletes may also be worn by those watching at home. How many people watching the Oscars will ever own clothes from Louis Vuitton or Chanel? People may comment online about Lady Gaga wearing Matières Fécales to the Grammys, but how many of those fans and viewers could afford to buy clothes from it?

The Japanese designers changing fashion

Yesterday, I published a deep dive into how a newish crop of Japanese designers are soaking up all the attention in men’s fashion right now. This was a piece I was writing in my head long before I sat down and finally started typing. I remember sitting at a fashion show in Paris over a year ago — I believe it was Dior — and being asked by my seatmate if I’d made it over to a showroom in the Marais to check out A.Presse. That Tokyo-based brand is now part of a vanguard of Japanese labels that, on many days, seems to be all anyone in fashion wants to talk about. I spent months talking with designers, store owners and big-time shoppers to make sense of why these brands have kicked up so much buzz and, more than that, what makes their clothes so great. You can read the story here.