The jacket I refuse to sell.
Have you ever purchased an item of clothing and after spending an entire day in it you think, did anyone on the design team actually wear this before they started selling it?
I’ve had a long stream of sartorial disappointments over the past few years. Shirts made of inexpensive poplin that start off gloriously crisp but after an hour they wilt and wrinkle like unwatered plants. Nonsensical pockets on a wrap skirt that wind up in a north/south position instead of east/west, or even worse, pointing out at the widest part of my hip in the style of a chihuahua’s ears. Then there are the textured fabrics that grab onto any speck of dust, hair or lint and hold on for dear life.
These are all problems that hide under the surface waiting to attack while you’re doing the quick five minute try on for fit and color, turning and posing in front of a mirror like the ol’ dressing room dance of yore minus the unflattering lights. It isn’t until well after you’ve removed the tags and exceeded the return policy that your garment makes its big debut and you find yourself tugging, smoothing, re-tucking and using the sticky side of a UPS label pouch in an attempt to remove mysterious debris that will not budge.
This is why when we set about designing clothing here at D.Gustibus, we do more than try them on for fit; we road test everything, whether through daily wear or transatlantic flights and European vacations. That way we can tell you how our cotton twill trench coat holds up in torrential downpours while we navigate the historic sites of Rome or how our lightweight wool jacket looks after a red-eye flight (both performed marvelously). In fact, we include these details for every item we sell so you can feel confident adding them to your shopping cart.
And this is how I arrived at the jacket I absolutely refuse to sell you. On paper this jacket was perfect, shawl collar wrap jacket with a matching belt in a fabric with enough stretch to feel like athleisure yet looking polished enough to negotiate a corporate merger. I wore it everywhere, on leisurely walks during chilly evenings, to lunches, on planes and trains. It practically needed its own passport. But after about a month, I noticed the fabric starting to pill from wear. I could not in good conscience sell the jacket in that fabric.
We want our clothing to be with you for the long-haul, worn in and then handed down to the next generation. We’ve created our design development to honor that premise as we strive to create a wardrobe of heirlooms for our customers. We believe it’s a better way to buy and dress. We hope you agree.