pickpackpockpuck
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Labels like to advertise when their clothes are handmade. Rag & Bone and Band of Outsiders come to mind. Both like to point out their relationship with Martin Greenfield Clothiers, for instance, which makes a lot of their suits by hand. I'm always curious to know how much of a difference that makes.
First off, beyond increasing the labor costs and putting a premium on clothes, what value does handmaking clothing add to the clothes themselves? Do they drape significantly better? Do the seams last that much longer? If you start with a high-quality fabric, does it matter if it's sewn together by hand or not?
Second, if clothes aren't handmade, then how are they made? I presume in a factory, but if anyone happens to know exactly what that means then please enlighten me. For example, are J. Crew's chinos put together by machines in a factory in China somewhere? It seems more likely that their chinos are put together by actual people using their hands (though still in a factory in China).
First off, beyond increasing the labor costs and putting a premium on clothes, what value does handmaking clothing add to the clothes themselves? Do they drape significantly better? Do the seams last that much longer? If you start with a high-quality fabric, does it matter if it's sewn together by hand or not?
Second, if clothes aren't handmade, then how are they made? I presume in a factory, but if anyone happens to know exactly what that means then please enlighten me. For example, are J. Crew's chinos put together by machines in a factory in China somewhere? It seems more likely that their chinos are put together by actual people using their hands (though still in a factory in China).