Ahh, the indomitable legacy of Americana: the smell of sweet apple pie, the tick of cards in your bike spokes, and the nagging suspicion that all of it would be so much better if it were Japanese. Celebrating all those aspects of our sweet history: Civil Smith
Just launched by a former lawyer for a slew of apparel guys (including jeans guru Paul Guez), Civil Smith's an affordable, wardrobe-wide line of mostly simple clothes, inspired by rootsy homegrown fashion and bourne out via old-school design, vintage-inspired hardware, but based on Japanese-imported fabrics, because, according to the owner, "nobody knows American heritage better than the Japanese"... Hai! Upper-body gear includes a simple, light, military-inspired sweater with a single buttoned chest pocket, a long-sleeved flannel in your choice of three shades of plaid (red/green/blue) and a soft v-neck tee, spotted white for the look of well-worn bleach stains, or just a super nice bedside-cleanup cloth. Pantswise, Civil's got a variety of different denims (everything from a chocolate-colored straight-leg to a pair of relaxed, distressed ocean-blue boys), each of which's abetted with buttons and rivets directly copied from vintage jeans, as well as classic chinos in your choice of green, navy, or "grease", which's hopefully the closest John Travolta's ever going to get to your crotch
In the future, the line'll be upping the Americana, with tags explaining the history of specific details like removable buttons -- allegedly because pants originally couldn't be washed with buttons on, leading to another indomitable legacy of the American spirit: making excuses.
