The Discerning Compendium of Casual Clothiers

As stated in RFT, I've been thinking about supporting only small clothing brands that, preferably, meet the following loose criteria:

1. They directly produce their the garments they sell (I'm talkin' one or two people designing and making the garments themselves), or
2. Use local and/or fair labor
3. Offer garments made from rich/heritage/'the best' materials
4. in relatively casual styles (i.e., not MC)

Comprehensive
SEH Kelly- small label based in London, using materials and makers from the British Isles. Garments are produced in small quantities, and to very high standards. Just read the four-part story about the development of their recent pea coat, and you'll understand the brand well.

Brooklyn Tailors- Focusing on shirting, suiting, ties, etc., Brooklyn Tailors is another small brand that produces garments in small quantities in part using interesting Italian and Japanese fabrics. They offer OTR garments, as well as MTM. Much of the suiting and ties are made in the US, and shirting coming from Nepal. Review of one of their shirts forthcoming.

Mister Freedom
ARN Mercantile (if they are still producing)

Denim
ROY Denim
Jack/Knife Denim
Artist Denim
Shockoe Denim
(probably a lot more denim labels to add here)

Knitwear
Inish Meain
Inverallan
Handknitting Association of Iceland

Leather Jackets
TOJ
Aero
Himel Bros.

Footwear
MOTO

Let's have a discussion about why these brands, and any others you can suggest, belong here.

I love this kind of stuff. It feels good knowing who made it and that you are supporting a small business and innovation in the industry. in 4 posts that make me lust after things i cant quite afford but am happy to buy.

Great idea

for denim, add Ande Whall. Like Roy but in NZ

WOW I'm so happy to see Artist Denim on that list. I remember seeing the guy who owns/started the company detail his progress on a thread years ago -- it had its fair share of skeptics and I'm glad he was able to prove them wrong.

Paul Harnden fits those categories.

Thanks for starting the thread. Will be closely following .

Well done, but how about adding a link to their webstore/stockists?

I think Minor Variety count:
http://www.minorvariety.com/

I believe this outfit meets your criteria:















Clothsurgeon


Production is done in London, England. Samples are made by the Clothsurgeon from start to finish.

Clothsurgeon has the ability to create any garment and offers a Full Bespoke service. Starting with an initial drawing, to making the desired piece in your chosen fabrics and trims, creating a unique, one off piece for the customer. May it be additional details and fabric choice to an existing silhouette already used by Clothsurgeon or a completely new shape, all is possible.




I would so be on this if I lived in a city with weather. Still might.

(What appeals to me most, aside from the solid OTR designs, is just the imminent tweakability of any piece. For instance, here is a bespoke-ish/MTM-ish jacket incorporating a client's Givenchy scarf

Thanks for the suggestions! I will continually update the list and add a link to each site, along with a few sentences about the brand. If you would like to make a suggestion, include a little description of why you like the particular brand, or what is so impressive about their production, etc, like noob did.

I thought I'd post some first impressions of Brooklyn Tailors here.

I ordered two shirts, one in standard white oxford and the other in cone mills denim. Both are the BkT10 cut, made in Nepal. For reference, I usually wear S in BoO and XS or S in Gitman. I ordered XS (or 01) from BT and the fit is excellent. The cut is similar to Gitman, but without the flare at the hem. I haven't had time to measure but I believe they're a hair longer than either Gitman or BoO, good length for tucking but not unreasonable when worn untucked. If it helps, I'm about 5' 10". The fabric feels substantial and has a nice hand, the denim shirt especially. Buttons are rather small, but still thick - it's a tasteful look, I think. The sleeves are longer than BoO or Gitman and the cuffs are a bit more roomy. The collar is a just a tad on the large side, which I prefer, and has a nice shape to it; I've always found Gitman collars rather flat but that's not a problem here. Assuming they hold up well I would definitely buy again, the price is right and the fit is quite good. If it matters at all, they were shipped wrapped in a nice brown paper and sealed with a BT sticker. I'll probably post a fit with one of the shirts in the coming days.

Hmmm, just seeing this thread for the first time. The range in here can be pretty broad as it means a lot of the SZ faves, like labels in the Carpe family tree, CCP, Guidi, Harnden (mentioned by Guy Burgess) etc., also fall into this category. In NYC you have Siki Im, Patrik Ervell, Ovadia & Sons, Tim Coppens, Bespoken, Epaulet, InAisce (InAisce is in NYC, right?) and probably others. I imagine all the brands at Suspension Point (Schneider, Peir Wu, etc.) fit in here as well, and the smaller labels at LN-CC. Robert Geller probably fits but he's a funny case since his investors handle all the production in Japan as I understand it, so he just designs and doesn't really take part in production. Correct me if I'm wrong on any of these. Some are just guesses.

What about Dries? Even though his brand is larger he has a hand in all the design, right? And his stuff is made in different places but he's also been using the same family-owned business in India to do his embroidery for more than 20 years. That's a really strong commitment.

In any case, cool thread idea

Serum vs. Venom: Hyper Individuality is the future.




Other site as well. I think I've posted the "amputee coat" before