How We Get Started

All men may be created equal, but certainly not with the same body type. And when you’re in the business of dressing stylish men, that is a complex problem on which we spend a lot of time. From predicting evolving style trends that will appeal to you to knowing how you wear and take care of your clothes, we begin our design process in a human-centric way. We re-frame our creative work so the focus isn’t about what we want but about garments that look, feel, fit and wear as you need and expect.

Every detail of a garment is an intentional choice for improving your comfort, performance and style. Hours are spent ideating and sketching garments. Those that pass muster are prototyped and rigorously tested against our exacting creative and technical standards. What looks good on paper must work in person literally. Fit models try on our garments and we iterate change after change to ultimately arrive at what we feel is an exceptional item.

However before a garment is introduced to you, it goes through one last stress test. It must get the thumbs up from the best menswear stores in America who stock our garments. Industry professionals who scour the world over in search of the best brands for their discerning customers. When they select a style, we can confidently say that our garments are considered the best.

California Surfin'

Legend has it that Hawaiian George Freeth first introduced surfing to California in 1907 at Redondo Beach. In the 100-plus years since, there’s no denying the sport’s imprint on the Golden State’s reputation worldwide.

California surfing culture isn’t just limited to the waters. It includes the local hangouts and shops that dot the Pacific coast like Duke’s in Malibu, minutes from “the Bu” now known as Surfrider Beach. Selected as the first World Surfing Reserve by the Save the Waves Coalition, the likes of Duke Kahanamoku and Miki (Da Cat) Dora surfed here, and Surfrider played a pivotal role as surfing moved into the cultural mainstream thanks to the 1950s novel and movie Gidgit that had inlanders flocking to the surf.

Well before the mansions, paparazzi and the commercialization, when all there was from Santa Monica to Malibu was a winding dirt road and a hodgepodge of ramshackled lean-to-shacks along the beach, one could lease, 30 feet of ocean frontage for just $30/month. The actor Ronald Colman who built #16 Malibu Colony was one of Malibu’s first residents and a dear friend of Duke Kahanamoku having starred with him in movies. Duke was frequently seen at Colman's cottage with his 10’ redwood board heading for the pristine beach at Malibu Point starting the trend that made Malibu one of the world’s great surf spots and the namesake for one of our new tee shirt styles for Spring 2021.

And what of the Gidgit whose stories about golden-tinged summers surfing with Moondoggie, Kahuna and Tubesteak started the surf culture craze. She works at Duke’s to this day.

An American Icon

What’s black and white and worn everywhere? The t-shirt. Okay so we took a lot of creative liberty with that riddle to make our point. The t-shirt today is quintessential American casual. Whether you rock it with a pair of jeans or pair it a tailored suit jacket, the t-shirt has become a hallmark of stylish men from James Dean to McQueen to Denzel and David Beckham.

While the American Navy began to manufacture the t-shirt and issue them to sailors as standard undershirts at the turn of the 20th century, the name “t-shirt” wasn’t coined until 1920 when F. Scott Fitzgerald used it in his novel This Side Of Paradise. For years the t-shirt was worn as an undergarment only and it was considered bad form to do otherwise. Though after World War II veterans would wear t-shirts tucked into their trousers, it wasn’t until the 1950s when Marlon Brando’s Stanley Kowalski in A Streetcar Named Desire and James Dean in Rebel Without A Cause wore a white t-shirt did the cultural phenomenon start.

As wearing a t-shirt without a shirt over it gained fashion popularity, it was associated with the movement of a rebellion against the established norms. Somehow that reputation still remains intact even as the t-shirt has taken on various forms from utilitarian to luxurious. It is still the go-to for stylish men who desire comfort and convenience.