As far as a brand concepts go, it doesn’t get much better for me than the Los Angeles based Stonghold. The company was founded in Los Angeles in 1895 as the area’s first denim manufacturer, and operated continuously until its closure in 1949. Fast forward to 2004 when Michael Paradise and Michael Cassell revived the [...]
Who says that all clothing made in American has to be expensive. Having recently been turned onto Pointer Brand, I was shocked to see that my friend Mark ordered two jackets and a pair of painter shorts for less than $100 dollars! The Bristol, Tennessee based company L.C. King Manufacturing Co. has been making classic [...]
Looking through these catalogs from 1958-1963 it is easy to see that not much has changed at J. Press. Back in 1958 a cotton Seersucker sportcoat was a good deal at $59.50. That very same sportcoat (or a similar style) is still offered today from J. Press for $395.00 ($296.25 if you factor in the [...]
My friends at Southwick sent me this great looking tote bag yesterday. My bag obsessions have been detailed here before — so no need to go there. The design is fairly innocuous until you flip it over and you see the giant “Made in the United States of America.” I love the way the bag [...]
As I was going through my files recently, I came across these great old scans of J. Press catalogs from the late 1950s and early 1960s. It is good to see things haven’t changed much over there —not considering the new Madison Avenue store —which is a welcome update from the crusty old store [...]
The ACL favorite and American made clothing brand Southwick recently launched a redesigned website. The new site, along with the updated designs for fall, have me excited about the Lawrence, Mass. based clothing company. I find Southwick to be the perfect combination of my clothing preferences. Natural shoulder, traditional styling, classic fabrications and the fact [...]
Number four of a five part series.
Between Free & Easy and the Rusty Knot, nautical seems to have taken over my world. As I browsed The Navy-ism, I came to the realization that the entire issue seems to have been inspired by the 1966 Steve McQueen movie The Sand Pebbles. I think it is fairly [...]
Did you ever think you would hear Band of Outsiders on public radio? Kurt Andersen (who bought his first tuxedo for Harvard Lampoon dinners) followed WHYY’s Jonathan Menjivar for the public radio show Studio 360 to be fitted for his first ever suit. After unsuccessfully trying the off-the-rack options at the Macy’s mens store, Menjivar [...]
The Details team seems to be dedicating more space to the front of book news pages these days. I noticed the new look in March but I didn’t get a chance to go over it here. I was impressed with the improved section from the April issue. The art direction has been cleaned up [...]
I recently started noticing these super-strength Consolidated Edison bags all over the city. I did some research (read the name off the bag - then I googled it) and found that the industrial-totes called “Monstabag” are made by the Ace Canvas & Tent Corp in Ronkonkoma, NY. The material is really cool and it [...]
There is an interesting article in The Wall Street Journal today about the state of American shoe manufacturing. The article profiles a small Pompano Beach custom shoe company Otabo and its owner Howard Shaffer, as it closes its lone U.S. factory. The closure is due in part to the lack of domestic resources for American [...]
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