Lifestyle
The 'Met Gala of L.A.:' What attendees wore to Born X Raised's 10th annual Sadie Hawkins dance
By 9:30 p.m. Tuesday, hundreds of people were crowded outside the Hollywood Roosevelt hotel, waiting to get inside one of Los Angeles’ most anticipated events of the year: Born X Raised‘s annual Sadie Hawkins Winter Formal.
Since 2014, the beloved L.A. streetwear brand has hosted a holiday season affair where attendees come fitted in their freshest formal looks — some of which they plan months in advance — along with a date (or a group of friends) who matches their fly. Born X Raised co-founders Chris “Spanto” Printup and Alex “2Tone” Erdmann held the first Sadie Hawkins dance at a small wood-paneled hall in Highland Park with simple balloons and streamers. It’s since evolved into a F.O.M.O-inducing, invite-only function where both supporters and A-list celebrities cross their fingers to slip inside before the venue reaches capacity.
“It’s like L.A.’s unofficial New Year’s Eve,” says Erdmann, who wore a champagne-colored suit to this year’s event. “This is the party that you drive around trying to find. Everyone comes here.”
With a surprise performance from rapper YG and another from a mariachi artist, last year’s event was dedicated to Printup, who died in a car accident in June 2023. Erdmann says he considered canceling the event following his business partner’s death — the party was Printup’s “baby” — but he decided to push forward because it’s become a festive tradition for so many Angelenos every November.
This year’s gathering marked the 10-year anniversary . To celebrate the milestone, Erdmann and organizers constructed a wedding chapel where guests could tie the knot under the tagline “Born X Raised Marriages Last Forever, This Is Legally Binding.” There was also a photo booth decorated with a nostalgic balloon arch and dozens of red roses, which guests filtered through as DJs including Kitty Cash and Giselle Peppers played sets in the background. The soundtrack for the evening was Kendrick Lamar’s latest album, “GNX,” West Coast classics and other party bangers.
We caught up with attendees at the high-energy party, which one person called “the Met Gala of L.A.,” to ask them about their outfit inspiration. These interviews have been edited for length and clarity.
Nyles Washington
Nyles Washington
(Michael Blackshire / Los Angeles Times)
Age: 28
Neighborhood: Mid-City
Have you been to this party before?
This is my first time, but I’m familiar with Born X Raised.
Tell us about your outfit. I went to Goodwill. I knew that whatever I found I was going to look good in it. I got everything but the hat and the shoes from there.
I’m from Houston. My girlfriend got me these Harley-Davidson cowboy boots. My hat is from Texas and it says my name inside of it.
Why do you think this event is so special?
My good friend is helping out with everything. I’ve heard that it’s really insane, but once you get in, it’s super worth it.
Queenie Sateen and Anatole Heger
Queenie Sateen, left, and Anatole Heger.
(Michael Blackshire/Los Angeles Times)
Age:
Sateen: [Declined to answer]
Neighborhood:
Sateen: Hollywood
Have you been to this party before?
Sateen: No, but my friend comes every year and said it’s fun.
Tell me about your outfit.
Sateen: I was just trying to match my boyfriend. It’s giving funeral. I wanted to be [rudest] at the funeral.
Lorenz Christopher
Lorenz Christopher.
(Michael Blackshire / Los Angeles Times)
Age: 26
Neighborhood: Downtown L.A.
Have you been to this party before? I’ve been here like four times.
Tell us about your outfit. I just came back from Japan, so I had to cop Kapital out there. I have Ed Hardy on, a one-of-one with a rhinestone embellishment on the back, and I have a gold chain with Jesus on it. Shout out to God.
Why do you think this event is so special? The people. The vibes. The brand itself. Shout out to Spanto and shout out to all of the homies who work for them as well.
Kacey Littleton
Kacey Littleton.
(Michael Blackshire / Los Angeles Times)
Age: 25
Neighborhood: Echo Park
Have you been to this party before? I had a couple of friends say I should come, so I came.
Tell us about your outfit. This was kind of loosely inspired by English horse riding. I got the chaps on and the riding boots. I was just feeling like royalty. The mask brings a little twist like I’m at some secret party. It’s like the movie “Eyes Wide Shut.” I already owned this. I like to keep it pretty crazy and have a bit of spice every day. It keeps me going.
Why do you think this event is so special? It just brings a great group of people together. I recognize a lot of people here and I ran into a lot of friends, so it was really cool seeing that crossover from my own life, but also this event.
Blair Quinones
Blair Quinones.
(Michael Blackshire / Los Angeles Times)
Age: 27
Neighborhood: Altadena
Have you been to this party before? I’ve been once like three years ago. I wore Moschino last year.
Tell us about your outfit. I wanted to wear gold jewelry, so I planned to wear an all lace dress, but I found this gold one in my closest and thought it was a little more classy. My sister gave it to me years ago.
Why do you think this event is so special? I feel like the people who are from L.A. are embracing it more than ever because there is a lot to be prideful about. And then of course, the people who knew Spanto are celebrating him. I didn’t know him personally, but my friends did and so there’s just so much appreciation for him.
Zackariah Arceyut
Zackariah Arceyut.
(Michael Blackshire/Los Angeles Times)
Age: 25
Neighborhood: Boyle Heights
Have you been to this party before? I’ve been at least five times.
Tell us about your outfit. It’s basically a mariachi-inspired outfit. My jacket is from a Mexican-owned L.A. brand called Vertical Authority. The studs on it remind me of my best friend’s [heritage]. He’s from Southeast Asia. So my outfit is like intertwining my culture — I’m half Mexican, half Nicaraguan — with my best friend’s culture.
Why do you think this event is so special? I love that it brings multiple cultures together and everybody’s having a good time. There’s never any issues. And I love how they are honoring Spanto. I think it’s beautiful that we can continue this in his name. It’s one of the ways we can continue to honor him and have so much love under one roof.
Dime Jones
Dime Jones.
(Michael Blackshire / Los Angeles Times)
Age: 32
Neighborhood: Leimert Park
Have you been to this party before? I’ve been three times.
Tell us about your outfit. My outfit inspo was Fran Lebowitz. Strong woman making moves.
Why do you think this event is so special? I think it gives L.A. a form of culture. L.A. is so spread out, so you don’t get to see people, their style and how they’re dressing, so this is a great way to bring people together at the end of the year.
Copelan Cash and Kennady Schneider
Copelan Cash, left, and Kennady Schneider.
(Michael Blackshire / Los Angeles Times)
Age:
Cash: 30
Schneider: 27
Neighborhood:
Cash: Fillipinotown
Schneider: Crenshaw
Have you been to this party before?
Cash: I’ve been here six times.
Schneider: This is my first one.
Tell us about your outfit.
Cash: I have on pinstripe with the white loafers.
Schneider: I wanted to wear something elegant and timeless.
Why do you think this event is so special?
Cash: Born X Raised is family. Spanto and all the homies. It’s my community. It’s my culture.
Jermaine Mitchell
Jermaine Mitchell.
(Michael Blackshire / Los Angeles Times)
Age: 32
Neighborhood: Downtown L.A.
Have you been to this party before? This is my third year in a row.
Tell us about your outfit. I’m wearing Theo Official. They dress me a lot. I wanted something festive to wear.
Why do you think this event is so special? I love the community. I love coming together as a group and looking fabulous.
Brisedia Leon
Brisedia Leon.
(Michael Blackshire / Los Angeles Times)
Age: 27
Neighborhood: Long Beach
Have you been to this party before? This is my first time. I learned about the Born X Raised brand a year ago from my friends.
Tell us about your outfit. I got my look from small L.A. businesses. I want to stand out. I got this necklace … from a brand called Jiggly Junk.
Dame
Dame.
(Michael Blackshire / Los Angeles Times)
Age: 47
Neighborhood: Los Angeles
Have you been to this party before? I’ve been before. I’m friends with the owners.
Tell us about your outfit. You’ve got to get dressed up, so I wore a suit.
Why do you think this event is so special? I just think people need to be cultured and come together.
Freddie Gibbs, Grammy-nominated rapper
Freddie Gibbs
(Michael Blackshire / Los Angeles Times)
Have you been to this party before? I’ve been at least 5 or 6 times. Spanto was one of my best friends.
Tell us about your outfit. I knew everybody was going to dress in dark colors, so I wanted to stand out.
Why do you think this event is so special? Because of Spanto. He was the nuts and bolts of all of this [stuff]. He brought all these people together. He [was] a real star. I was at his memorial last year. We’re doing it for him every year.
Zolee Griggs, actor
Zolee Griggs.
(Michael Blackshire / Los Angeles Times)
Have you been to this party before? I’ve been four or five times.
Tell us about your outfit. I wanted to go old-school Hollywood, dramatic sequins.
Why do you think this event is so special? I think what makes it special are all the L.A. natives who are still able to make it out, and I love that it’s the one time of the year for L.A. people to actually dress up.
Guapdad 4000, rapper
Guapdad 4000.
(Michael Blackshire / Los Angeles Times)
Have you been to this party before? I’ve been going since I moved to L.A. eight years ago.
Tell us about your outfit. I didn’t even want to go outside because something weird happened to me after this event last year, so my energy was [messed] up. I put this [stuff] together last minute because the universe is always going to find a way to remind me that I’m a great [person].
Why do you think this event is so special? I was introduced to it as something my musician, creative and fashion friends just went to. It was already established. The culture was already there, so I had to catch up.
Students walk on the Stanford University campus on March 14, 2019, in Stanford, Calif.
Ben Margot/AP
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Ben Margot/AP
When Theo Baker arrived at Stanford University a few years ago, he joined the student newspaper, following the path of his journalist parents, Peter Baker, a White House correspondent for The New York Times, and Susan Glasser, a writer for The New Yorker.
Through his reporting as a student journalist, he eventually broke a story about manipulated data in Stanford President Marc Tessier-Lavigne’s neuroscience research that helped lead to the university president’s resignation.
Theo Baker’s book, How to Rule the World: An Education in Power at Stanford University was released May 19. In it, Baker describes Stanford as a place where proximity to Silicon Valley gives rise to a parallel system of influence, recruitment and money, with investors looking to identify promising students almost as soon as they arrive on campus.
He told Morning Edition host Steve Inskeep there was “a sort of Stanford inside Stanford,” where elite students are drawn into an “alternate reality” of excess and access to cut corners.
In the interview, he discusses how Stanford is not just a university but also a pipeline where status and power can matter as much as ideas.
We reached out to Stanford University for comment and have not heard back.
Listen to the interview by clicking play on the blue box above.
The scoreboard shows the results of the women’s singles final match between Iga Swiatek of Poland and Amanda Anisimova of the U.S. at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, Saturday, July 12, 2025.
Kirsty Wigglesworth/AP
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Kirsty Wigglesworth/AP
Fifteen points in tennis? Nice. Thirty, 40 — even better. Advantage — that sounds good. “Love” — that also must be great, right? Well, not quite.
As the French Open rolls on and Serena Williams has announced her return to the sport, maybe you’ve been paying a little more attention to tennis. The sport’s scoring system is notably distinct, and can sometimes be hard to grasp for newcomers. But even tennis aficionados might not know why, or how, “love” became the unmistakable callout for zero points. For this installment of NPR’s Word of the Week, we’re exploring how a word that signifies trailing behind got such a sweet name.
“Love” comes from the heart — or an egg?
It’s hard to pinpoint when the first tennis ball went over the net. Tennis is a derivative of lots of other sports, such as “jeu de paume,” a handball game played in France, said JT Buzanga, the collections manager at the International Tennis Hall of Fame museum.
But tennis became a patented, official sport in 1874, said Steve Flink, a journalist whose tennis coverage got him inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame. It has retained its unique, mysterious scoring system ever since.
“By and large, the original system has held up almost entirely,” Flink said.
The use of “love” goes back to the late 18th century, said Jesse Sheidlower, a lexicographer. But it was used earlier than that in card games such as whist and bridge. Before the term made its way to tennis, the sport favored plain old “nothing,” or “nil,” he said.
Why love in the first place, though? Historians don’t really know for sure, but there are a few theories.
The French could have something to do with it. Some historians believe “love” derives from “l’oeuf,” which means “the egg” in French. Because eggs are shaped like zeros, terms such as “goose egg” and “duck’s egg” have been used in other contexts to mean zero, Sheidlower said.
It’s also possible English speakers mispronounced l’oeuf as “love.” But Sheidlower isn’t convinced that’s the answer.
“It’s the French equivalent of an English expression. But since that expression doesn’t appear in French, the French word wouldn’t have been used,” he said.
To be sure, France has had a lot of influence on tennis culture, Buzanga said. For example, “deuce” or a game tied at 40 points, comes from the French word for “two”: “deux.” But he prefers another prominent theory: that “love” comes from the idiom “for the love of the game.” Even if a player hasn’t scored, it doesn’t matter, because their heart is in it. It’s the theory Sheidlower said is the most plausible, because the idiom was used by the English before tennis was popularized.
Another variation of the “love of the game” theory is that the word could have come from the Dutch “lof,” or “honor” — or the Latin “amare,” meaning “to love,” Flink said.
But if tennis’ “love” doesn’t come from a French word, the theory at least has a French sensibility.
“I think the ‘for the love of the game’ is kind of romantic,” Buzanga said.
“Love” probably isn’t going anywhere
Tennis used to be a sport of leisure. The style of play has changed a lot over the years; players are more athletic and competitive, for instance, Flink said. But the rules of the sport are more steadfast, he said.
“There’s this incredible, enduring respect for tradition in tennis,” he said. “Changes are not made easily.”
There has been one major change in modern history: the tie-break. Matches can go on and on because players have to score two consecutive points to break a deuce, or by two games to break a tied set. But the onset of television meant matches would have to get shorter if the sport wanted to capture a larger audience, Flink said.
Change even came for “love.” An alternative sprouted up in the 1970s, and is still used today: “bagel,” named for its zero shape, Sheidlower said. Novices may say “zero,” and insiders will understand what they mean, but they “will needle them about it,” Flink said.
But “love” still prevails.
“People kind of like it,” Flink said. “It’s different. Why say zero when you can say love?”
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