All-American Style: The Best Made-In-USA Men’s Fashion Brands
After decades of cheap overseas manufacturing, a number of US brands are prioritising quality over quantity by keeping production on home soil. We've rounded up the very best of them.
The United States has a long and storied tradition of manufacturing but the onset of globalisation led to huge shifts in how and where products were made. With low labour costs, Asia became the modern hub of global production for virtually everything, including fashion and textiles. With that came cheap clothes and fast fashion.
On the surface – at least for the consumer – everything was just great, but beneath the hood the fashion industry was a dirty mess, entangled in environmental issues and human rights abuses. Household names leveraged economies of scale to ramp up output for years and years, but that is slowly beginning to change, at least at the demand level. Consumers are now more demanding of brands’ sustainability measures and are well-informed enough to sniff out green washing when it happens.
More recently, the rise in strength of the US dollar has meant that many labels are relocating their production to US soil, and new brands are no longer looking overseas to manufacture their products. Home-grown garments mean quality assurance, significantly better control over sustainability measures, smaller production lines and thus less wastage, as well as an engaged local workforce that they can skill up.
Having the ‘Made in America’ label has also become a badge of honour that signifies a preference for slower, more deliberate and thoughtful production, as well as an assurance of craftsmanship. So with that in mind, and to recognise the names pioneering the movement, we’ve handpicked some of the best Made In America clothing brands operating today.
3sixteen
Based in Los Angeles, 3sixteen started life in 2008 when the brand created its very first pair of jeans, the SL-100x. Working closely with the renowned Kuroki Mills in Okayama, Japan, 3sixteen developed a custom denim designed to withstand hard wear and show incredible character along its life’s journey.
Today, the label has expanded the range to include modern classics and everyday staples, all still manufactured in the US.
Bills Khakis
Bills Khakis does what it says on the tin. The brand’s mission statement says it all: “We are dedicated to making Bills Khakis the best fitting cut-and-sewn in America khaki and casual pants you can buy. Period.” Does it measure up? Affirmative.
All of Bills’ khaki pants, shirts, shorts and jackets are indeed cut and sewn in the US using premium cotton yarns. With a relaxed fit, classic fit and straight fit to choose from, aside from cotton twill Bills also cuts its slacks in some sumptuous corduroy and moleskin fabrics.
Boathouse
Boathouse is an American-made sportswear brand that specialises in functional athletic garments with a vintage preppy aesthetic. Founded in 1976, the brand’s first product was its iconic Stevenson jacket, which was created for use during the Montreal Olympic Games, designed by rower John Strotbeck.
Strotbeck returned from the games with a goal of setting up a factory in Philadelphia to produce the jacket on mass, and thus Boathouse was born. Now with an extensive technical outerwear collection that references old-school preppy athletic attire, Boathouse is perfect for those who love heritage looks with modern performance.
Bridge & Boro
Denim specialist Bridge & Boro is a great story of an Italian immigrant chasing the American dream. Carmelo Bari left Italy for New York in 1970. A pattern maker, he spent a lifetime perfecting his art, a passion that was passed down to his son Fabio who started Bridge & Boro in honour of his father.
Producing top-class denim shirting and jeans, all of Bridge & Boro’s products are made in NYC using cotton sourced from the US, Italy and Japan.
Brave Star
Brave Star Jeans’ backstory is one of passion, commitment and comeback. Made in Los Angeles from selvedge denim spun from the renowned Cone Mills, Brave Star was founded in 2005, becoming the first premium, all selvedge ‘Made in the USA’ brand.
In 2008, the GFC hit and Brave Star was sold off to a conglomerate who put it on ice, but the founders were fortunate enough to be able to buy it back in 2012 thanks to a Kickstarter campaign. The brand has not looked back, staying true to its roots by offering high-class selvedge denim at surprisingly affordable prices.
ColsenKeane
Leather specialist ColsenKeane handmakes all of its bags and small leather goods out of its atelier in Charlotte, North Carolina. The brand uses only the very best full-grain leather hides, the vast majority of which are sourced, tanned and treated in the United States.
ColsenKeane is best known for its vintage-style bags – producing some exceptional tote, backpack and satchel styles – but it also does an eclectic and expansive range of wallets, belts and leather-bound journals.
Frank Clegg
From a restored mill built in historic Fall River, Massachusetts, Frank Clegg and his two sons have built an esteemed luxury bag brand that uses only the very finest European hides to create an array of elegant and sophisticated designs made entirely in the USA.
From stunning tumbled leather backpacks and nubuck totes (in collaboration with Simon Crompton of Permanent Style) to shrunken grain leather duffles, Clegg’s creations are at once works of art and family heirlooms.
Crawford Denim
Hand-crafted, small-batch denim maker Crawford Denim is an artisanal brand that produces all of its garments to exacting standards in Southern California. Using raw deadstock denim for its jeans, Crawford has since expanded to create a small but perfectly formed curation of shirts, sweatshirts and tees, all made to the same high standards.
Given the small runs on each product, you can be guaranteed of extremely high levels of detail and craftsmanship.
Freenote Cloth
With all of their products cut, sewn and finished in California, Freenote Cloth produces high-quality menswear classics with a workwear heritage.
From indigo denim to plaid shirting and leather flight jackets, Freenote’s aesthetic is perfect for workwear heads and those who love a timeless menswear silhouette.
Gustin
Cut and sewn in Los Angeles and San Francisco, Gustin specialise in premium denim products, with a difference: the price. It’s able to do this because it crowdsources demand in advance, thus minimising wastage and oversupply while creating a well-oiled and extremely effective manufacturing process with little to no inventory costs.
The jeans are excellent, while Gustin also produces other garments such as shirts, tees and loungewear.
Gitman Bros.
One of the few remaining shirt makers with all production based in the USA, Gitman Brothers is a family run affair that dates back to 1932, when Brooklyn based shirt maker Max Gitman left New York and opened the Ashland Shirt & Pajama Company in the coal mining town of Ashland, Pennsylvania. Gitman made white label shirts until 1978, when Max’s two sons persuaded him to launch his own brand.
Ever since then Gitman has come to represent the finest quality shirtmaking (many of their sewers are third and fourth generation shirt makers), renowned for its excellent Oxford cloth button downs amongst many others. The Gitman Vintage subline is particularly worth checking out, and features shirts that pay tribute to the brand’s rich heritage through a modern eye.
Hamilton Shirts
Based out of Houston, Texas, Hamilton Shirts is one of America’s premium shirtmakers, and has been ever since it first put needle to thread back in 1883.
Still family run to this day, Hamilton offers a pretty vast array of shirt styles, from casual plaid flannels and OCBDs to exceptional bespoke and made-to-order options for the sartorialists amongst us.
Harvest & Mill
Sustainability is at the very core of everything Harvest & Mill does. Using only organic cotton grown and sewn in Oakland, Berkeley and San Francisco, the result is an excellent collection of minimalist-inspired casualwear and loungewear such as sweats, hoodies, tees and joggers, as well as socks and underwear.
If you’re looking for beautifully-made, pared-back basics with bona fide eco-credentials, Harvest & Mill is a great place to start.
Imogene + Willie
Husband-and-wife team Imogene and Willie started out with a simple mission: to create the best possible pair of jeans for men and women, and make them in Tennessee.
They set up in an unused former gas service station in Nashville in 2009 and produced their first men’s pair: a mid-rise straight leg constructed from Cone Mills rigid selvedge denim. From then, they have developed a state-wide reputation for incredible quality jeans and a service to match.
LC King Mfg
American built since 1913, you’d be hard-pressed to find better quality American workwear than LC King. Family run and manufactured in Tennessee, King is a smorgasbord of workwear classics, including overalls, khakis, jeans, chore coats, utility jackets, aprons, western shirts and so much more.
If Americana is your vibe, you’ll have a field day here.
Oak Street Bootmakers
Oak Street Bootmakers has only been around since 2010, but it’s already earned the accolade of being the world’s only shoemaker to handcraft 100% of its footwear in the United States using Goodyear-welt, handsewn and stitchdown construction techniques.
Founded by George Vlagos, himself the son of a cobbler, Oak Street’s aim is to preserve the traditional artisanal methods of shoe construction, which it does with aplomb. Its Lakeshore boots are modern icons that reference heritage styles of old, while the loafers and moccasins are Manna from preppy heaven.
Quoddy
Handmade in Lewiston, Maine, Quoddy is renowned the world over for its moccasin styles that pay homage to vintage shoemaking. Using artisanal skills passed from generation to generation, some of the machines it uses are over a century old.
With small limited runs so as to not undermine quality, Quoddy creates a range of loafers, bluchers, boat shoes and slippers that really are as comfortable as they look.
Save Khaki United
Save Khaki United is a New York-based outfit dedicated to manufacturing simple everyday classics such as chinos, polo shirts, tees, loungewear, and a few traditional workwear silhouettes thrown in for good measure.
With a minimalist aesthetic, all of SKU’s products are manufactured in America, with the dyeing and finishing of its garments carried out in California to extremely high environmental standards.
Schott NYC
Founded in 1913 by brothers Irving and Jack Schott, Schott is one of the most iconic American labels around.
Famous for producing the very first Perfecto motorcycle jacket, which was made popular by Marlon Brando in The Wild One (1953), the brand also produced garments for the United States Armed Forces during World War II.
Still family run to this day, Schott makes the vast majority of its iconic leather jackets in the US.
Shockoe Atelier
Located in Richmond, Virginia, Shockoe is primarily a denim brand that was setup in 2012 with the aim to handmake the best possible jeans in the USA.
If it hasn’t achieved that, then it has come pretty close because Shockoe’s selvedge denim is exceptional, typically handmade in small batches using the finest cloth from the US and Japan (including the renowned Collect Mills in Kojima).
Tellason
Proudly made in San Francisco, Tellason have been in the selvedge denim game since 2009, when founders Tony Patella and Pete Searson came together to produce one single item: a pair of slim straight jeans. They were made with great care and precision, with particular attention paid to the finishing details and fit.
Using its proprietary Kaihara Japanese red line raw selvedge denim, the brand has gone from strength to strength, rolling out equally exceptional lines of denim jackets and shirts.
Todd Shelton
Founded in 2002 in Tennessee, Todd Shelton is a champion and advocate of American-made clothing, specialising in minimalist basics such as jeans, chinos, shirts and tees.
In January 2012, Shelton relocated 10 miles outside of NYC to East Rutherford, New Jersey, building a factory that today is home to all brand operations.
With a clean, no-fuss aesthetic, Shelton’s collections are timeless yet modern, and will slide seamlessly into any capsule wardrobe.
White’s Boots
For over a century and a half, White’s has been synonymous with rugged American footwear. Handcrafted by skilled artisans in its Spokane factory in Washington, White’s boots are as tough as they come, but that takes nothing away from the comfort.
Using both stitchdown and Goodyear-welted techniques, you can be assured of a high-quality boot that will handle anything you throw at it.