the district

I apologize for two stupid posts in a row but I found this gem via stumble and wanted to share.

This bag is great. If you carry a tote that is not from District Cotton, then it definitely should be this one. (even if it is from cafe press) Get it here: Douche

The new belts are near. They are still in the works, although the latest progress report indicates that the screen-printing is down (not pictured) the buckles are drying (from what I do not know).  These are up for sale on the website now, but won’t start to ship until Wednesday or so.  They are currently being made on conventional cotton (trust me I looked high and low for organic cotton webbing), but maybe that will change soon depending on my roomates’ willingness to let me dye the next batch of belts in the bathtub.  In the meantime, see them here.
Additionally, you should know that throughout the month of February we are giving away FREE CHOCOLATE with every order over $20. It is our effort to be Valentine’s Day compliant, and also it gave us an excuse to have whole lot of chocolate from the fine folks at Sweet Riot here in the office.  While belts are only $14, for $28 you can get a shirt/belt and the free cocoa nibs. If you haven’t heard of Sweet Riot, you should definitely check them out. The chocolate is good and the people are friendly.  The promotion will last the entire month or until we run out of candy (or clothes, but that seems unlikely).

Sometimes it just takes a few tries.

Just in time for inauguration, this organic t-shirt from Black Sheep Heap is now available from the Just Food gift shop.  There are a couple other cool prints up there including the “Beet the System” which I’m pretty sure was covered here once before. Take a look.

Now I feel the need to preface this posting with the disclaimer that I really am not really a big fan of Johnny Cupcakes (the clothing).  Frankly, I don’t get what the phenomenon is all about, but maybe thats just because I’m kind of grossed out by things with lots of frosting (although, ironically, I cannon resist most things with sprinkles.)  Anyway, while I may not love the clothes, I am a huge admirer of JC the person and JC the brand.  First of all, Johnny seems like a hell of a guy. I can’t think of anyone who owns a super hot clothing line that would just invite people to a pizza party just for the hell of it.  Yeah, obviously there is a marketing value to doing stuff like that, but really it is only worth anything because you get the feeling with JC (the person) that it is entirely genuine.  Like he was just sitting around and thought, I wish I could just grab a slice with some JC fans, and then he did it.  This brings me to the second reason I really admire JC (the brand).  How many other t-shirt companies have not just customers, but actual fans?  In addition to doing an excellent job of creating a JC cult of personality (if you will), Cupcakes has managed to do what so few other brands have failed at: remaining exclusive without being pretentious.  By refusing to sell to crappy stores and introducing new and innovative products (oven-mitt key chains, wooden belt boxes, etc) JC keeps his line and image exciting.

Anyway, this is not at all what I set out to write about. JC got ripped-off pretty bad and is reaching out to t-shirt enthusiasts the world over to help serve justice. To read the long sordid tale you can check out emptees or to just go buy some Cupcake Apparel you can go to the JC site directly.

Hey, so I try to keep the District Cotton related postings to a minimum here but we have some new shizzo that you may not have seen. Also redesigned a lot of the website to make it easier to navigate and streamline it a bit. Take a look around, districtcotton.com, let me know if I made any major errors, like its only showing up on your screen in Korean or something. I hope you like it.  Oh yeah, and “Free Shipping” is now in effect for the remainder of the recession.

Disgusted by the gutters filled with discarded cigarette butts? Why not start picking them up and weaving them into clothing? Thats what Chilean designer Alexandra Guerrero did for her recent thesis turned business project now named Mantis. Guerrero takes used butts picked up off of the streets and foraged from her friend’s ashtrays and processes the filters into raw fibers. The fibers are then spun in with natural wool at a 10/90 ratio and woven into apparel. Since most filters are derived from cellulose (like rayon and modal), I imagine they are actually pretty soft. Clothing available only be email at this point: mantis.yea (at) gmail.

New styles from American Apparel beg only one question: Who the fuck is buying this stuff? Apparently someone is because AA stores are popping up faster than new Starbucks’ in the 90’s.

I remember reading about the launch, failure, buyout and relaunch saga of Portland based Nau apparel without much interest over the past few years. After a more in-depth review of their  website (their sole selling platform following the closure of their retail outlets), I think I might have a new business crush.  Unfortunately, I also rediscovered the cause of my original apathy which is the fact that I can’t afford any of the clothing on their site.  I am not saying that it is overpriced for the level of quality and fashion that they offer, I am just not sure that I am equipped to make that kind of judgment.   The brand offers a signature look of contemporary yet minimalist styling in dark colors that really looks like how I might want to dress in the future. (both in the sense that the clothing looks oddly futuristic and that in the future I hope to maybe dress at a level that doesn’t entail my girlfriend asking me why I am so dressed-up everytime I try to put a polo on.)

However, this article is not about Nau’s clothing, its about their honesty.  The company’s website features a whole section entitled “Grey Matters” and basically addresses all of the social and environmental issues associated with apparel production in an honest and straightforward manner.  Its no wonder they went out of business once already.  With lines like “we don’t have any ’sustainable’ fabrics, but neither does anyone else” Nau is a clothing company that I could feel good about buying (if it was the future grown-up and rich me).  Check it out, you might learn something.

Without much fanfare Playback recycled apparel has quietly hit the market by becoming available exclusively through NES Clothing, a promotional wear wholesaler. The 8 style line of hoodies, track jackets, and sweaters are a very attractive blend of 70% recycled cotton fibers and 30% virgin polyester.  While the recycled content obviously gives the line substantial eco-cred, the use of non-recycled poly may draw some criticism. (For clarity it should also be noted that the “recycling” is from cutting scraps and not post-consumer)  Styling highlights include contrasting color interiors (double-sided knit as opposed to a traditional lining), understated embroidered sleeve logos, and a muted but fashionable color range.  While inventory and color selection are still relatively limited that is expected to change.  Having had my hands on a few of these garments I can say without hesitation that they are very nice, with a heavy-weight knit feel. (more like a sweater than a fleecy-hoody.)  We hope to see more styles from them this spring, as well as their goods in retail stores.