Hoodie gets the Apple treatment

December 10, 2012 5:40 AM

This is the greatest sweatshirt known to man? Maybe, but is it also the start of a revolution of American innovation in garment design?

American Giant is gambling that you and I will be willing to pay for quality. American-made quality to boot. That the humble sweatpant and sweatshirt can get an Apple-style industrial design makeover is not in question. But will the business model compete with the foreign-made stuff we've grown accustomed to paying less for?

posted by cross_impact (80 comments total)

After reading that link, I'm afraid I can't take these guys seriously no matter how good their product is - that was about as disgustingly fawning as the faux 'news'-style advertisements in the back of Popular Mechanics.

Then again, it's Slate; same difference, really.
posted by fifthrider at 5:44 AM on December 10, 2012 [17 favorites]

I like a nice shirt, but Pepsi Columbia Blue.
posted by Devils Rancher at 5:47 AM on December 10, 2012 [5 favorites]

I was just hearing about this company on NPR. Sounds like a marketing campaign to me now that Slate is picking it up too. It sucks that NPR got caught up in the mix because it makes their news less valuable to me.
posted by 517 at 5:51 AM on December 10, 2012 [1 favorite]

If I were them, I'd be somewhat insulted to be compared to an "Apple-style industrial design makeover," as Apple products are sort of the epitome of 'fast fashion' applied to technology. Sealed, disposable boxes taking the place of more utilitarian, function-over-form designs, etc., basically technology-as-fashion-accessory rather than as office equipment. I don't think the author really thought that comparison through. And as nothing but a name-drop, it really does make the piece come across as more ignorant and fawning than it might otherwise.
posted by Kadin2048 at 5:56 AM on December 10, 2012 [2 favorites]

I'm fairly sure this is what all the hipsters will buy each other for Christmas. And then claim they're vintage.
posted by DoubleLune at 6:02 AM on December 10, 2012 [1 favorite]

As a friend of mine pointed out when this first made the rounds, it may be the greatest sweatshirt known to man, but call me when someone manages to make a decent hoodie for women.
posted by olinerd at 6:06 AM on December 10, 2012 [35 favorites]

You'll have to pry my paper thin, poorly made, Chinese child-labor hoodie I bought from Walmart from my cold dead hands. Screw this American company for having a successful marketing campaign and a high-quality product!
posted by j03 at 6:08 AM on December 10, 2012 [32 favorites]

The upshot of this model is not only a revival of American manufacturing—you also get better garments at competitive prices. Winthrop wouldn’t tell me the exact cost structure for each of his sweatshirts, but he did give me ballpark numbers. A basic American Giant sweatshirt costs the factory $12 or more to make—about double what it would cost a foreign factory to make a much lower-quality garment. American Giant pays the factory about $25 to $30 each, and then it sells it to you for $60 and up. Compare this to a model under which you’d buy standard sweatshirt at the mall—say, this $58 Levi’s crewneck. The department store likely buys that shirt from Levi’s for about $30. Levi’s, in turn, pays the factory about $12 to $15 for it, and the factory likely makes it for $6. So you’re paying 10 times what the shirt costs to make, and Levi’s is earning $18 per garment. With American Giant, you’re paying five times what the shirt costs, and American Giant is earning $35. Since there’s no retail middleman, everyone does better under the American Giant model—the clothing company, the factory workers, and you.
posted by nevercalm at 6:14 AM on December 10, 2012

I would absolutely pay more money for American made clothing, but I'm probably not going to pay the amount extra required for it to be both American made and super high quality (it looks like the hoodies are $80), because it's a fucking hoodie and who cares if the quality is low?

I'm also not buying $60 hoodies to begin with, so maybe I'm not their market. I do think it's a shame that the only way people can justify making something in America is also to make it super nice and expensive in addition to paying their workers a non-slave wage. It just makes it another marker of a luxury good that I can't afford. Make crummy clothes in America and I'll pay a premium for them, but I can only pay so much for clothes.
posted by Bulgaroktonos at 6:17 AM on December 10, 2012 [9 favorites]

Only goes up to 2X. Not much of a giant, are they?

(Tall and Fat means I judge all T-shirt companies by the simple test of whether or not they even want my business)
posted by DigDoug at 6:18 AM on December 10, 2012 [14 favorites]

This hoodie looks unfinished. Slap the logo of a sports team or seafood restaurant on it and I'll take one.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 6:19 AM on December 10, 2012 [3 favorites]

Before I wore American Giant’s hoodie, I couldn’t ever picture a hoodie looking unslouchy. This one makes it look like you spent a minute considering your wardrobe before you rushed out the door.

I wondered where the tradeoff would be.
posted by mph at 6:19 AM on December 10, 2012 [1 favorite]

Behold! The internet! Look at how it keeps me competitive.


In all honesty though, the reason that this works for now is that they're doing (FRS) Free Return Shipping. When they get greedy and cut out FRS, or if the cost of distribution increases, their customer satisfaction will plummet. Not only that, they are extremely limited in size and scope by their distribution network. Give them a few years to chew on - that they realize that finished consumer goods saturates pretty quickly, and that without expanding distribution, growth will cease and then they begin to shrink, well then their business model - fails.
posted by Nanukthedog at 6:23 AM on December 10, 2012

Looks nice, but I wanted to pry my eyes from their sockets while reading that article. If it wasn't actually written by American Giant's own ad agency, that "journalist" really made an outstanding job of emulating the breathless, hyperbolic copy of ad agencies.
posted by Skeptic at 6:25 AM on December 10, 2012 [2 favorites]

I have a $70 Lululemon zip-up sweatshirt they made a few years ago. All cotton and about an inch thick and that sucker is toasty! I commend high quality sweatshirts to your attention.
posted by shothotbot at 6:25 AM on December 10, 2012 [1 favorite]

I'm totally the target market for this kinda thing -- I'm a programmer who works with dudes all day, so comfort with a little bit of style can go a long way. However, I'm reluctant to spend that much when I can't even see or -- more importantly -- touch it first.
posted by ph00dz at 6:30 AM on December 10, 2012 [1 favorite]

It's a sweatshirt.
posted by Legomancer at 6:31 AM on December 10, 2012 [3 favorites]

Obviously, the guy has yet to encounter the investment sector's vaunted "market forces" which presses manufacturers to engage in a never-ending spiral of cost-cutting, which will absolutely result in the "need" to offshore manufacturing, quality be damned.

And, $80 for a sweatshirt? Damn...
posted by Thorzdad at 6:33 AM on December 10, 2012

Whoa, ugly sweater.
posted by Corduroy at 6:35 AM on December 10, 2012 [1 favorite]

It seems like making sweatshirts in the USA isn't as rare as they would have you think.
posted by ghharr at 6:36 AM on December 10, 2012 [5 favorites]

I've been wondering why this brand is catching so much attention lately. This whole skip-the-middleman-online-only thing has been around for a long time, and some new labels in that niche have been doing way more interesting stuff than just hoodies. Everlane, for instance, who also make their t-shirts in the US.

Plus, frankly, American Giant kinda rubs me the wrong way. Their whole aesthetic - name, product, design - is a little too close to Reigning Champ, which is designed and made in Canada and has been for a few years. Maybe I'm wrong and I'm not picking up on the nuances of grey hoodie design, but this feels uncomfortably like just taking Reigning Champ's idea, swapping out Canada for the US, and calling it a day.
posted by ZaphodB at 6:40 AM on December 10, 2012 [4 favorites]

Whoops . . . everything on their site is "out of stock". But hey, you can pre-order a $79 sweater that you can't even see or try on before hand.
posted by fimbulvetr at 6:43 AM on December 10, 2012

Do people really need hoodies that thick? I thought dressing in layers was fashionable?
posted by FJT at 6:57 AM on December 10, 2012

Maybe the best known to man, but only to man, or to women who haven't gotten hooked on having sweatshirts that are at least slightly more tailored to hips and bust.
posted by spindrifter at 6:58 AM on December 10, 2012

I read that article last week, and I honestly couldn't see from the description what all the fuss was about. I wasn't sure where all the innovation in design was*, and I'd sure like to see one before buying.

*It looks like the hood is made from two panels, rather than three, which seems like an inferior design to me.
posted by OmieWise at 6:59 AM on December 10, 2012 [1 favorite]

Wait until someone tells Slate about Outlier.
posted by dobbs at 7:09 AM on December 10, 2012 [1 favorite]

This should be the thread where we talk about good apparel companies based in the US. Here, I'll start: Frye, Hickey Freeman, and Carhartt. Redwing is overrated.

Alternatively, this can be the thread where we talk about why the richest country in the world should be stealing manufacturing jobs from the poorest companies in the world.
posted by anotherpanacea at 7:16 AM on December 10, 2012 [2 favorites]

Hiring a former Apple designer and selling stuff on the Internet is a loophole.
posted by munchingzombie at 7:18 AM on December 10, 2012

it sits close around your chest, then gently tapers in around your stomach, resulting in a garment that doesn’t look slouchy

Resulting in a garment that instead of being flatteringly loose is visibly stretched over my fat gut. Thanks.
posted by Segundus at 7:18 AM on December 10, 2012 [8 favorites]

I have a 100% cotton sweatshirt from J Crew that's comfy as sin and well made. Is it as rare as the article makes it out to be?

I do like the trend toward online storefronts with less overhead - I've had good experiences with both Everlane and Frank & Oak.
posted by naju at 7:22 AM on December 10, 2012

Maybe the best known to man, but only to man, or to women who haven't gotten hooked on having sweatshirts that are at least slightly more tailored to hips and bust.


I caved and ordered a spendy-ish custom made organic cotton fleece sweatshirt dress from a woman on Etsy. It took a while to get it, but it is soft, warm, fits perfectly to my measure, and when i wore it to a party three friends made vague threats of breaking into my house to steal it (one specifically mentioned robbing my corpse.)



The moral of the story is maybe we should be content with our baggy misshapen boxy sweatshirts.
posted by louche mustachio at 7:23 AM on December 10, 2012 [2 favorites]

stealing manufacturing jobs from the poorest companies in the world.

Outside the edit window: this was autocorrected, should have been the "poorest countries in the world."
posted by anotherpanacea at 7:24 AM on December 10, 2012

This is not dissimilar to what Hiut Denim is doing in the UK—making really amazingly well crafted clothes (in this case jeans) out of the best fabric available, with the best people available, and selling direct to customer via the tubes.

I finally got the chance to handle a pair of Hiut jeans last week and daaaaamn. But I can't justify that much money on a pair of trousers.

They make ten pairs a day. Maybe not exactly the same business model then.
posted by Hogshead at 7:27 AM on December 10, 2012

Fawning...then again, it's Slate...

Specifically, it's Farhad Manjoo. Dude's day is a rollercoaster of fawning and retching.

Yay! It's like a MacBook - but you can wear it!!!
Nooo! People are punctuating inefficiently!!!
Yay! I can mediate another private, personal experience - with Facebook!!!
Nooo! People are refusing to mediate their private, personal experiences with Amazon - and they're doing it inefficiently!!!

(That said, that crewneck looks great.)
posted by Iridic at 7:37 AM on December 10, 2012 [2 favorites]

I like the concept and might consider something like that as a Christmas present, so kudos on the marketing campaign guys.

But what I really want is an end to sweatshops altogether because we have replicators that scan our exact measurements and both create and recycle all the clothes we need. Everything fits perfectly, nothing goes in the landfill.

Stupid Star Trek, ruined everything for me.
posted by emjaybee at 7:40 AM on December 10, 2012 [1 favorite]

Redwing is overrated.

Really? I have a pair of Redwing work boots and adore them. They make nice Goodyear-welted stuff. Not all of it is -- they do lower price-point stuff too -- but they make some good stuff for the price.
posted by middleclasstool at 7:47 AM on December 10, 2012

Nooo! People are punctuating inefficiently!!!

To be fair, those of who punctuate properly (the one spacers) have been living under the antiquated tyranny of the two spacers for far too long. From my 4th grading typing teacher to several bosses, I've had to train myself to do things incorrectly just to pass muster with people who are wrong.
posted by Bulgaroktonos at 7:51 AM on December 10, 2012 [2 favorites]

Those long-sleeve polos would look really swell layered under a decent sport coat.
posted by oddman at 7:54 AM on December 10, 2012

Wait, the lead is that "they don't make things like they used to," then the sell is "completely redesigned by Apple guy." WTF? Either you make things like they used to or you don't. Don't confuse nostalgia with innovation. They rarely go together despite the hipster desire for mashups.

The entirety of this business model is direct to consumer with a dash of made in the USA. Yes, they want higher quality items to sell. However, what they are missing is that you can spin up a foreign factory to make this same quality good for less money, and you can still sell it direct to consumer if you like. Or, you know, you can sell it where the volume is about a bazillion times greater for clothing - in a store - probably for a similar price if you depress the cost of manufacture and maybe take a bit of a profit shave. Just as likely, you compromise by medium quality, slightly lower price, made elsewhere, on the shelves, high profit.

No matter what, a company like this has to convince people to pay more and shop for clothing sight unseen just to get something that makes them feel good about themselves - something made domestically. That's fine, but considering the amazingly high quality of goods made elsewhere, we need to take a step back before saying this company's on to a domestic garment industry revival. What's really happening is the design of a marketing campaign of an upscaled product. Unfortuantely, without some technological revolution, that's all that's happening and the markets tend to push production elsehwere or eat the lunch of such companies within a few years. We'll see.
posted by Muddler at 8:09 AM on December 10, 2012

I finally got the chance to handle a pair of Hiut jeans last week and daaaaamn. But I can't justify that much money on a pair of trousers.

The cool things about jeans is that you don't think twice about handling them rough, but if you get a pair for 230 GBP, the price of an okay suit on sale, you would be treating them more reverentially than any pair of jeans should be treated. Or maybe I can't afford them.

Anyway, it's a good idea but premium products can't substitute for the loss of high-quantity, run-of-the-mill quality manufacturing.
posted by ersatz at 8:09 AM on December 10, 2012 [2 favorites]

One of William GIbson's more recent novels (Zero History I think) revolves around artisanal jeans in the UK, with some connection to fine fabrics from Japan, which I thought was a really strange and not believable plot point. Turns out, this is exactly Hiut Denim. And I thought Gibson was done being a prophet after he predicted that whole internet thing.
posted by mcstayinskool at 8:17 AM on December 10, 2012 [1 favorite]

I like everything about those hoodies except the fact that they are conning places like NPR and Slate into writing advertisements for them as news.
posted by mcstayinskool at 8:18 AM on December 10, 2012

I, too, like the idea of high quality, long-lasting clothes. But when looking for good quality clothes, I would never look for a sweatshirt or knitted hoodie (a decent hooded jacket in a woven fabric I might spend money on). It doesn't matter if a hoodie looks good or lasts - they're for wearing while picking up milk in your pajamas on a Sunday morning. And does anyone buy hoodies anywhere other than a thrift store? I guess they must, to get to the thrift store in the first place, but really knits (t-shirts, sweatshirts, etc) are basically then sloppiest, most throw-away clothes - and rarely look as good on people as properly sewn woven fabrics. Even a cheap, ill-fitted button-up shirt looks better on most people than a T-shirt. Why do we let knits dominate our fashions so? I pray for the day we return to proper shirts (linens, woven cotton), maybe with some nice waistcoats and jackets over top.
posted by jb at 8:27 AM on December 10, 2012 [2 favorites]

I would want to know whether they pay the workers a fair living wage, and whether the company will oppose any unionization attempts by the workers, etc. If the workers unionize and the garment has the union label we can be sure the workers are treated fairly, otherwise, who knows....
posted by cushie at 8:28 AM on December 10, 2012 [1 favorite]

Everyone knows that the greatest sweatshirt known to man has an image of 3 wolves howling at the moon on it.
posted by ovvl at 8:49 AM on December 10, 2012 [1 favorite]

Turns out, this is exactly Hiut Denim.

Most of the world's best denim is Japanese. When US mills went to cheaper production and lower quality, they came over and snatched up as many of the old looms as they could, restored them, and started cranking out the world's best selvedge.

The denim used in Levi's Vintage is US, though, and it's damn nice.
posted by middleclasstool at 8:53 AM on December 10, 2012 [2 favorites]

I went on the website to see what it was all about, and they're quoting Slate as calling it "the greatest hoodie ever made". If you call a "journalist" and tell them something and they just repeat what you told them, that's not really the same thing as them discovering the product on their own and then deciding those words describe you.
That's shady as hell.
posted by FirstMateKate at 9:12 AM on December 10, 2012

so this is American Apparel without the molesterrific CEO? although their quality did at times leave something to be desired, I still have a few early American Apparel hoodies and shirts that have held up just fine..
posted by ninjew at 9:17 AM on December 10, 2012

Also made in the USA. The thermal lined hoodie will run about $55-65 at your local workwear outlet. It will last you forever. And keep you warm in everything north of an actual blizzard. I've had mine 12 years now, hasn't lost a stitch. They also make an unlined lighter weight hoodie.
posted by billyfleetwood at 9:23 AM on December 10, 2012 [1 favorite]

Every time I hear about some company that's somehow revolutionizing clothing production, their product line is always limited to super-casual stuff like pocket T-shirts, hoodies, and canvas tote bags.

If there's ever a company that does this for clothing a thirty-year-old woman can wear to work, I will spend all kinds of money there.
posted by Metroid Baby at 9:26 AM on December 10, 2012 [8 favorites]

While I agree that the copy of the first link is pretty ridiculous, and I like the idea of paying more for something well-made, I really, really like knowing the cost structure involved and where my dough is going to.

I wonder if spilling the beans outright and exactly would encourage or discourage sales?

I think about Raleigh Denim, their roots, the fact that they get their denim from nearby (and used to claim ~90% of all the material was sourced relatively locally-- dunno how things are now), and how nice the owners are and how happy their employees are, and I can almost justify the price of their jeans. The only thing that would completely sell me on their jeans, I think, would be a table outlining their cost structure: "ah, $200 goes in profit, which is split amongst persons X, Y and Z, with which they buy frozen yogurt and Necco wafers."

As it is, I still like supporting such efforts as a splurge. Also: damn nice jeans. Sweatshirts, though? Well, maybe. But only in the context of knowing I'm already stupid enough to pay more than ten bucks for a t-shirt.
posted by herrdoktor at 9:35 AM on December 10, 2012

Specifically, it's Farhad Manjoo. Dude's day is a rollercoaster of fawning and retching.

Don't forget general provocative link-baiting. also.
posted by zamboni at 9:37 AM on December 10, 2012

This looks pretty nice, but I gotta wonder if it will scale at all.
posted by klangklangston at 9:58 AM on December 10, 2012

I wear American Apparel hoodies, and they're awesome for 3-6 months, okay for another 6-12, and then misshapen and weird after that. Especially the cuffs, which stay stretched out after a while. The dye on the gray ones fades. So I'd give these guys a try but really what I want is a good jacket. (recommendations?)

Also, Zero History. The secret denim plot line of that book was the dumbest fucking thing I've ever read, not least because every shady underground character Hollis comes into contact with already owns a pair of Hounds and is also a "huge fan" of her supposedly underground band that's still generating royalties from songs in commercials. Gibson doesn't write about secrets and subcultures well at all.
posted by migurski at 10:29 AM on December 10, 2012

Maybe I'm wrong and I'm not picking up on the nuances of grey hoodie design, but this feels uncomfortably like just taking Reigning Champ's idea, swapping out Canada for the US, and calling it a day.

I took a look a Reigning Champ's site. The hoodies look well put together. And they cost $182.

People have been continuing to make high quality goods in North America, as long as you pay boutique prices for it. The nuance that you may be missing is the price tag. These American Giant guys are now selling these good at close to what you'd pay at the Gap for something made in south-east Asia.
posted by thecjm at 10:41 AM on December 10, 2012 [2 favorites]

Or perhaps one buys chinos at Bill's or Filson

Alas, prices are 2x-3x that of mass producers.
posted by Dreidl at 10:52 AM on December 10, 2012

There was a good article in Businessweek last year about small American clothing manufacturers and the reasons why they make their product in the US rather than overseas. It's not just hipsters making stuff in the USA.
posted by vespabelle at 11:08 AM on December 10, 2012 [1 favorite]

American Giant is gambling that you and I will be willing to pay for quality. American-made quality to boot.

Eh. In my experience most people are big on social consciousness exactly so far as it doesn't significantly affect their pocket book or convenience.
posted by Justinian at 11:21 AM on December 10, 2012 [2 favorites]

People have been continuing to make high quality goods in North America, as long as you pay boutique prices for it. The nuance that you may be missing is the price tag. These American Giant guys are now selling these good at close to what you'd pay at the Gap for something made in south-east Asia.

That's the first part of my comment - this whole scene of low-overhead US manufacturers is nothing new. Check out Everlane, they're selling US-made terrycloth sweaters for $45 (and you can actually order from them). My beef with American Giant and Reigning Champ is that they seem to be ripping off the style and concept. If they futz around with the price, or if they're able to do it cheaper by using lesser materials, that still doesn't make it great.
posted by ZaphodB at 11:39 AM on December 10, 2012

Every time I hear about some company that's somehow revolutionizing clothing production, their product line is always limited to super-casual stuff like pocket T-shirts, hoodies, and canvas tote bags.

Yes. This sounds like the sort of thing I’m interested in. I’ve been slowly replacing items with higher quality items, made in the USA if possible.

But I don’t wear hoodies. When I look up companies making clothes in the USA it’s a long list of generic prewashed jeans, sweatshirts and t-shirts.

I don’t mind if Slate and NPR report something like this if it’s interesting. I know it’s a fine line, and I can certainly get annoyed with it, but are they not supposed to report anything that’s for sale or is a business?
posted by bongo_x at 11:47 AM on December 10, 2012

From the Slate article:

Compare this to a model under which you’d buy standard sweatshirt at the mall—say, this $58 Levi’s crewneck. The department store likely buys that shirt from Levi’s for about $30. Levi’s, in turn, pays the factory about $12 to $15 for it, and the factory likely makes it for $6. So you’re paying 10 times what the shirt costs to make, and Levi’s is earning $18 per garment.

This is just flatly wrong. Did the author consult nobody in the rag trade? At Target.com a Hanes crewneck retail price is $5.
posted by charlie don't surf at 11:55 AM on December 10, 2012

If there's ever a company that does this for clothing a thirty-year-old woman can wear to work, I will spend all kinds of money there.

An interesting (and very annoying) trend about the current 'revival' of American clothing and accessories manufacturing is that it seems to come with a side of hip pretension.

I don't need a cruelty-free, vegan-dyed, manufactured on restored antique equipment in an old cannery from heritage breed cows, $75 belt.
I just need a decent quality, not made in an overseas sweatshop, everyday basic belt.

Same goes for pants, shirts, etc. Spare me the psuedo-oldtimey backstory and logos and just make some good products.
posted by madajb at 11:56 AM on December 10, 2012 [8 favorites]

I'm fairly sure this is what all the hipsters will buy each other for Christmas.

Are we still doing this?

I don't need a cruelty-free, vegan-dyed, manufactured on restored antique equipment in an old cannery from heritage breed cows, $75 belt. I just need a decent quality, not made in an overseas sweatshop, everyday basic belt.

May I suggest Well Spent.

I made a promise not to buy cheap foreign-made shoes that end in the trash after 6 months. Getting quality American-made shoes and finding a inexpensive cobbler has been wonderful. Good shoes get fixed not forgotten. Scoff at the vegan-dyed leather, but nothing gets a shoe tossed away quicker than the paint(!) chipping off.
posted by MiltonRandKalman at 1:59 PM on December 10, 2012 [2 favorites]

Looking at that Hiut jeans site.

Okay, £230 for jeans is light-your-cigar-with-folding-green extravagant. But were I rich enough to buy said jeans, I'd like them to reach my waist. Because, really? I don't want jeans that "ride on your hip." Children and grocery bags ride on one's hip. Jeans come up to my waist.

When did we lose our way as a nation?
posted by the sobsister at 2:07 PM on December 10, 2012

A long time ago, sobsister. I'm 33, and I don't think I have ever in my life worn pants that went all the way to my natural waist. The very idea of that is incredibly uncomfortable.
posted by flaterik at 3:03 PM on December 10, 2012 [1 favorite]

It's a hoodie with a zip and it costs...seventy dollars? And it makes you look like the guy from that first Prototype game which is like the worst video game character design ever.
posted by turgid dahlia 2 at 3:27 PM on December 10, 2012

Personally, my waist is the absolute widest part of my body so pants that sit at my natural waist are just a slight slip away from from plummeting to the ground. Pretty much the only way I could wear pants at my waist is suspenders.
posted by Bulgaroktonos at 3:35 PM on December 10, 2012

Even a cheap, ill-fitted button-up shirt looks better on most people than a T-shirt. Why do we let knits dominate our fashions so?

My guess is ironing and cleaning. Even a non-iron shirt looks shabby compared to a pressed one and I guess most people would feel better if someone spilled beer on their t-shirt rather than on their shirt.
posted by ersatz at 3:48 PM on December 10, 2012

When I think of the word "greatest", I think of "best"...it's possible that this is the best value for $80, but I think that a top piece of heavy piece of utility clothing would cost more than $80, especially if made in America. You can pretty much spend through the roof on quality of cotton and wool, nevermind adding technical fabrics to extend the life of the sweatshirt.
posted by winecork at 4:27 PM on December 10, 2012

flaterik,

I mourn for the generations that have never known the comfort of wearing pants that don't feel like they're about to slide off due to movement, gravity or entropy. I hate hiphugger jeans. Waist-high jeans "incredibly uncomfortable"? Only if you take the "un" out of that phrase. Imagine pants that luxuriously caress and capture those critical inches between your hip bones and your belly button. Pants that say, "Slip into us as if we were a perfectly warm bubble bath."

Given the Bloating of the American Public, I really can't imagine how hiphuggers do anything but serve as muffintop multipliers. At least waist-high pants contain the damage. Hip-high pants are basically serving dishes for wearers' lipidicious wares.
posted by the sobsister at 6:01 PM on December 10, 2012 [2 favorites]

After reading that link, I'm afraid I can't take these guys seriously no matter how good their product is - that was about as disgustingly fawning as the faux 'news'-style advertisements in the back of Popular Mechanics.

That's more of a reason not to take slate seriously than it is a reason not to take the company seriously.
posted by kenko at 7:55 PM on December 10, 2012

The hoodies look nice enough to me, kinda pricey but not terribly bad if it will last for more than a year or three. What would I know though, I'm a shabby shiftless American hipster with none class.
posted by thsmchnekllsfascists at 8:05 PM on December 10, 2012 [1 favorite]

Ah yes, 99% of the people who buy this lovely expensive 'lifetime' hoodie will discard it for next year's 'greatest sweatshirt known to man' just so they can be on the cutting edge of the hoodie fashion market.


I hate hiphugger jeans. Waist-high jeans "incredibly uncomfortable"?

Please manufacturers, don't stop making hiphugger jeans. After years of wearing jeans with the waistband directly under my boobs, it's wonderful to have a pair with a short rise that actually fits around my waist and on my hips.
Signed,
The torso-challenged among us.
posted by BlueHorse at 9:51 PM on December 10, 2012 [1 favorite]

jb: "I, too, like the idea of high quality, long-lasting clothes."

I don't. I wear pretty much t-shirts only, and I have t-shirts going back 17 years. I am so tired of my wardrobe. The same clothes for almost two decades. Heck, the only reason my oldest t-shirt is only 17 years old, instead of over 20, is that I finally couldn't take it and threw away several perfectly good t-shirts. I buy new t-shirts from time to time, but since the old ones don't fall apart, it's down to maybe 1 or 2 new shirts a year.

I'd be much happier if clothes only lasted, say, a decade or so.
posted by Bugbread at 6:16 AM on December 11, 2012

Bugbread: you are allowed to get rid of clothes. If they are perfectly good, give them to charity (Goodwill, etc) - they need really durable clothing.
posted by jb at 7:55 AM on December 11, 2012 [2 favorites]

Even a cheap, ill-fitted button-up shirt looks better on most people than a T-shirt. Why do we let knits dominate our fashions so?


Clearly you do not have boobs.
posted by louche mustachio at 2:50 AM on December 12, 2012

last time I bought a bra, I did - and slightly larger than average, and yeah, I have problems with gaping buttons. I still look better in a woven shirt (with strategic safety pins) than in a t-shirt.
posted by jb at 5:30 AM on December 12, 2012

jb: "Bugbread: you are allowed to get rid of clothes. If they are perfectly good, give them to charity (Goodwill, etc) - they need really durable clothing."

Unfortunately, as far as I know, there are no clothes donation charities where I live, plus, not having a car, it would be really hard to get the clothes to any charity drop site.
posted by Bugbread at 10:37 AM on December 12, 2012

Ah - I have no idea about Japan. They're common in the US and Canada, even in rural areas, though I noticed when I lived in the UK that charity shops there seemed to be both more expensive and tend to only carry more expensive clothes (jackets, coats, nice shirts, etc) - except for the Salvation Army/Sally Ann store.

Well - rags then. Or diapers. Or nightgowns for toddlers.
posted by jb at 12:32 PM on December 12, 2012

> This should be the thread where we talk about good apparel companies based in the US

OK. The Cat's Pajamas. Their pajamas last freaking forever, and it's one of the few places I can find poplin (not jersey) pajama tops. Santa, if you're reading this: these in size M, please.
posted by The corpse in the library at 4:22 PM on December 15, 2012