Every time I needed to buy clothing it felt like starting over. The fit and fabric of the products I learned to like were always changing, or not available. I wanted to find jeans and shirts I liked and know I could always buy them.

In 2000 I moved to New York City after college. I worked for a fashion brand during the day and went to design school at night. After three years I released my first product: a long-sleeve t-shirt. I made it in standard and in-between sizes.

I sold directly at street markets in Soho on weekends. In 2005 I built a website. By 2009 I had enough online sales to leave my day job. Sales grew, but problems with manufacturers grew too.

An order with a pant factory in Brooklyn was six weeks past due. I called every week. Finally, the owner, Mr. Hertling, told me: "We'll get to your order when we get to it. If that's not good enough, you need to make a decision."

I decided to start a factory. I mentioned it to a vendor from my day job days. He said, "Come talk to me and my business partner in East Rutherford." They offered me space in their building. That's how we landed in New Jersey.

That was early 2012. I moved into a back corner of their building, bought my first machines, hired a full-time seamstress, and placed a help wanted ad for a jean maker. Gabriel replied. He had just arrived from the Dominican Republic, where he worked in a GAP jean factory. He taught us how to make jeans and stayed six months. Mr. Chin answered the same ad. A former shirt factory owner from India, he spent three months with us.

For the next decade we learned how to make clothing and run a factory. The factory gave us control no outsourced manufacturer would allow. I used it to solve fit problems. If a customer needed an adjustment, we made it. If enough customers needed the same adjustment, we created a new fit option. Each solution created new complexity. We could fit anyone, but almost no one could navigate the options.

The collection had the same problem: too many products. Each product was pulling the customer in a different direction. Khakis are a different mindset than jeans. Stretch jeans fit differently as the day goes on. Plaid shirts require a style decision every time you wear one. The collection was asking the customer to make decisions the brand was supposed to eliminate.

In late 2023 I simplified our fits. In early 2025 I discontinued everything except cotton jeans, solid colored button-ups, and crewneck t-shirts. Two decades of decisions led to three products.

The collection is the wardrobe I wanted to be able to buy in 2000. It's the wardrobe I want to be able to buy in my later years.