New Arrivals

Finally, I think there perhaps needs to be another thread on it, but I wanted to chime in on this guy. First things first, maybe I'm a weirdo, but those little imperfections on a hand-made or hand-sewn (or hand-sewing-machine-run-made) give them character, and when I receive them, any little bit of work I've done makes it mine, and creates a bond. I expect to find them on garments that are $80 and on garments that are $200, I really don't have any experience with really expensive clothing, so I can't say how I feel at that level.

What I've found, though, and this is actually something I learned with guitars. In my experience, the thing you pay additional money for is fit and finish. It's why an Epiphone Les Paul is cheaper than a Gibson Les Paul. Sure, there's some upgraded hardware, but all that stuff is temporary (with a well crafted guitar, in any case). There are going to be variations, but when you're getting to something made from a pattern, a certain level of quality will be inherent. If I buy a cheap chinese guitar, I'm not going to be offended about the need to file the edges of frets, maybe have to pull out a pot to re-solder a joint, etc. And I'm not going to mind that as long as the piece of wood it's built out of isn't splitting before the finish is applied. Once I've put my time and effort into it, I have more pride in it, I feel a stronger sense of ownership, and I feel better using it.

I feel this way with Gustin, and will likely feel this way with Lawless. They're giving me a great palate on which to develop a sense of pride, and so long as they continue being proud of what they do, it's worth supporting. I feel like I've been pretty vocal in my Gustin complaints, but I have had a largely positive experience (despite my first few). Now, I think they still have some stuff to work out with the shirt sizing (probably on the sew-shop end) but if they put the kind of focus they've had on the jeans in the last six months into the shirts, I'd probably be in a position where I'm not even looking at other brands, until something like Lawless comes along that seems to share the desire to make quality garments with the consumer's wallet in mind, in which case my interest is piqued.

The mistake on the pocket of those Lawless jeans posted to reddit sucks, but it's certainly not a reason to throw out the baby and the bathwater. Despite that, I'm excited to see the lawless clothing getting out in the wild, and if they keep it up, Roman and his team should be proud of what they're doing, especially since they're doing it with their ideals intact.