Old MFA favorite brands
I was pursuing some old MFA posts and encountered a number of brands that used to be popular that I hadn’t heard of in awhile. Some of them no longer exist. I forgot how popular Wolf vs Goat, Epalaut, and Unis all used to be about a decade ago. They all kind of fit into the vague Americana that was popular at the time and were a more expensive made in USA version of J Crew
Anyone else have some forgotten brands?
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I remember when fashion was heavily carried by Robert geller and Raf Simons
One that comes to mind is Jomers
Robert Geller was a little before my time paying attention but I remember Raf Simmons being popular in the more high fashion scene
I meant to buy something from them when they first came out but never did. Then I stopped paying close attention to the men’s clothing scene and mostly wore what I had. Then a year or so ago when I got back into it and found out they were gone
Howlin, Filson, Pointer, Apolis, ToJ, Falcon Garments, Rosen, the list goes on and on
I wore my Howlin sweater today actually. And I still have a Filson waxed canvas that is one of my favorite jackets
Pistol Lake henleys were the go-to, saw they just closed down actually
I haven't heard people talk about Club Monaco a whole lot anymore, they had a bit more popularity on the subreddit I feel like
Old threads talking about Pointer and Apolis being MFA favorites were always baffling to me because I never saw anyone talk about them
Pointer and Apolis had a vice grip on chore coats in like 2014
Everyone needed an SNS Herning sweater too at some point
oh yeah great call out
armor lux breton stripes
Slim straight dark wash jeans, Buffalo plaid flannel, Chippewa, red wing, or Alden Indy boots, and a pointer chore coat was the 2010s Americana uniform
Aka the urban lumberjack aka the lumbersexual
omg toj -> falcon garments
wonder if the people that got scammed ever got their money back
Also just go on fmf and it’s like a time capsule
Gustin was bussin
I still want a howlin towel shirt
i think howlin is still relevant, just like certain stuff that used to be popular from them probably aren't as much anymore
They did not
ooof
I have a J Crew towel shirt and it's awesome
FG is more or less totally separate tho and they're cool
Basically any brand that Independence Chicago carried. Gitman Vintage, EG
EG is still a favorite i feel
Oh yeah not really a forgotten brand
gitman, no idea what happened to them, just became super irrelevant
EG is very relevant, they've had great staying power
wings+horns, another dead one
The OCBD space is totally different now and Gitman's products honestly aren't that good for the price point. +$200 for an alpha sized OCBD? Come on
Reigning Champ too, go-to for anything remotely athleisure, not sure how relevant they are still
Norse Projects caps were in a lot of fits too
Gitman has been around since 1978 so eBay is flooded with cheap MiUSA shirts from them. I haven’t bought any yet but I like to browse.
reddit keeps recommending me fmf threads and I'm shocked that people are still hyped over common projects sales in 2023
They make very nice shirts. I have 2 I got on eBay, and a saved search to be on the lookout for more.
(but only if they have dress shirt sizes. )
A.P.C. jeans; Norse Projects shirts and sweaters; and Common projects if you wanted sneakers, Red Wings if you were more inclined to boots
It was all scandi minimalism and heritage workwear
I got a secondhand gitman for ~$30-40 and was very underwhelmed
lol still have a fair few of those
I believe Falcon gave them a good deal if they wanted to purchase from them though
That was a wild saga
I think the guy used the money to open a restaurant in Korea or something? Idk what it exactly was
that sounds familar, remember someone going to his place asking where their money was
it was a fried chicken place
unionmade til they shut down had all kinds of stuff, the cheap monday skull logo is nostalgic
rpmwest and their free t-shirt promotion - then people realized their t-shirts were rebranded from bella+canvas
Also Golden Fox for inexpensive boots. I almost bought some but went with clarks dessert boots instead 🍨
Thorogood was the other one
Gustin
I still really like Gitman because the cut is perfect for me
The fit on GV seems really weird on me. Very slim fitting, but also very long.
Actually slimmer fitting than the extra slim CT shirt of the same variety that I’m currently wearing - maybe I accidentally shrunk it…
my only real gripe is that they billow out the back, or they used to.
If anything Howlin is more poppin than ever outside of MFA. They've got a few more stockists than they did back in its MFA heyday. Filson is also still really. Their resale value is absurdly high for whatever reason.
Howlin has expanded into mohairs, french terry, socks, accessories and women's (not sure if they had women's before).
Ya filson is massive it's just nobody talks about it here as much
Good for howlin tho
Is the Filson resale high on MiUSA stuff since some of it was moved overseas?
Depends on the item. Shirts and canvas pants maybe not as much, but any outerwear or wool pants or leather goods still have crazy resale regardless of MiUSA
That’s so odd I figured it’d be a huge drop since they got bought by PE
Maybe it's because I'm entrenched in the resale market which is largely the vintage MiUSA stuff. Old mackinaw coats and such. But I've resold some newer items as well that weren't MiUSA for generally high prices.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/256232657938
https://www.ebay.com/itm/256232658350
eBay
FILSON Men's Sz L Ultralight Hooded Jacket 20114879 Quilted Black P...
Model 20114879. - Insulated with 60g PrimaLoft® Gold.
eBay
FILSON Omak Size S Down Parka Jacket Goose Down 650 Fill Dark Timb...
650 down fill, 80% down, 20% feathers. Size: Marked size US S. Fits slightly large. - Leather accents.
Is a used Filson wool jacket worth it over a vintage Pendleton or Woolrich jacket for a quarter of the price?
Howlin’s knits are made by Harley who often gets mentioned here (a thread for them was created yesterday). They both offer some unique colors and designs not found at the other but the basics like the shetlands are the same.
Epaulet is still going! They have good stuff, although it's increasingly niche.
I miss Jomers. Cool fabric chinos for under $40? Can't get it anymore. I still look for their stuff on ebay sometimes.
I think Club Monaco has kind of always had a stronger women's brand presence. The menswear popularity drifts in and out on the margins.
we need to go back
'worth it' is very subjective. For me, no. There are vintage pendleton or woolrich mackinaw jackets that also use thick high quality wool with similar designs / cuts and made in USA manufacturing. But there are probably also some details that filson enthusiasts care about that don't make a difference to me, so it could be worth it to them.
Norse Projects is another brand that I associate with that era that I don’t see any mention of anymore
Norse Projects chinos are still great. And their stuff is built super well.
Remember Steven Alan????
why do ug think norse projects became less popular? their stuff looks p nice
Probably because it was boring basics and we got bored of basics brand 28
They had a cool sweater last year but other than that yeah just so boring
i like their fuzzy sweaters but ig there is nothing notable about them vs other fuzzy sweaters
the landscape knit? That was insanely cool
Yup! Sold out fast 😭
I like this one https://www.norseprojects.com/store/men/knitwear/arild-alpaca-mohair-jacquard-sweater-espresso
Arild Alpaca Mohair Jacquard Sweater
A sweater taking inspiration from camouflage prints and playing with the colours and proportion of it. It is knitted in a jacquard technique using a mohair/alpaca blend following a wash to enhance the hairy surface. The regular fitted style features a seasonal graphic artwork and is constructed with a ribbed neck trim, cuffs and hem.
I hear Uniqlo is still around
I heard that too.
this is an old thread but does anyone give a shit about Anonymous Ism socks anymore? i bought so many during sales that I still have some NWT. And I still dig 'em (like many of the wears for brands mentioned here)!
i mean they're still nice socks right?
rototo is still big on here
no, we've moved on to wide socks now
i finally felt rototos in person the other day and they are mindblowingly soft
like i didnt know cotton could be that soft
still wouldnt pay retail for them tho
they're freaking great! and they fit my style, anyways, which has barely evolved past the early 2010s 'americana' stuff that was talked about earlier in this thread 😎
I've been disappointed by mine. The patchwork ones especially — all of them developed holes really easily and lost elasticity. Some of the denser knit ones are still good. I've generally switched to thinner socks now and usually wear Uniqlo + some Muji and DT.
That's a bummer! The only ones I bought were the heavier knitted ones so I haven't had that experience.
I've had great experience with darn tough socks living up to their name, would recommend
Seconding that, they're incredibly robust
So far I've been finding my CHUP socks to be more robust that Darn Tough, but DT is much better value with rather frequent sales.
You can find darn tough seconds at TJ Maxx/Marshalls for as low as $6 too
had the exact same issue. felt like everywhere i looked online i found people talking about how high quality these socks are but mine developed holes after two seasons. i didn't overwear them (probably wore once every ten days or so, and only in the colder months from say, october - early april) and one day the heel just straight up ripped. i have thinner, cheaper uniqlo socks from like 2014 that are still going strong
and the anonymous isms aren't even that soft or comfortable IME
got them for xmas 2021 and they basically ripped in half early fall 2023
Anonymous ism are garbo
I feel like whatever hype they had is gone now though so it doesn’t really matter