Words and photos by Pete Anderson
Hat not (yet) available.
Most upstart clothing brands take it slow. Print a tshirt; offer some custom accessories; then maybe add items piece by piece until you have a full collection. It gives you time to test the market, hone your design, and coordinate production, any one of which can be a full-time job for one man. At least Ovadia & Sons has two men, because last year they debuted a nearly-from-scratch, full collection of menswear, and the line has gotten stronger every season since.
Ariel and Shimon Ovadia are Brooklyn born and raised, but unlike your (perceived) average Breuckelen-ite today if either were to wear a fedora it would be without irony. (Note: hipster-bashing is a victimless crime; no one is willing to self-identify as such in order to take offense.) Their Capsule show collection used some classic hats as props, although they’re not quite ready to offer them in the line. Instead they have white cashmere dinner jackets, khaki twill norfolks, and all the idiosyncratic accoutrements that make up a course in advanced dressing.
More monk than a tonsure.
UK-made kiltie bluchers in suede and the requisite double monks serve as the foundation of spring footwear while trousers are available in emerald green twill and other tones. Ovadia’s shirts on display mixed horizontal stripes and Prince-of-Wales fabrics and spread and cutaway collars.
The Ovadias offer sportswear as well, and although the prep-with-a-wink look may not be new, the line freshens it up a bit with paint-spattered seersucker cutoffs and cotton henleys. The brothers Ovadia are probably their own best ad, dressed in cleanly tailored trousers and pressed shirts or weekend chambray (no work required) and sailor’s stripes. The line presented a marked difference from most of the brands showing at Capsule, signaling a crisper vision of men’s contemporary clothing. Consistent with seasons past, there were strong denim, heritage, and mil-spec brands at the show, but Ovadia and Sons seemed to have captured the dandy moment. Stay tuned for more on Ovadia on the Front Page in the near future.
You can shop for Ovadia & Sons in their online store.
Nuclear slub.
Photo by Jonathan Moy.
Trou. Photo by Jonathan Moy.
Sportswear. Photo by Jonathan Moy.
Not kiltie, y'all got to feel me.
Pleat-y uomo.
