It was never the label.

The reasons a shirt stops you are rarely the ones people sell on. Not the brand, not the rarity. They're things you can see if you slow down.

So we start with the object. What caught our eye first? What is the composition doing? What would change if the print were twice the size, or a few centimetres lower? How has wear changed it? How does it sit on a person?

Sometimes we compare it to another shirt, a drawing or a period, but only when that makes something visible. Never to make a shirt sound more important than it is.

Every page here is one shirt, one observation and the reasoning behind it. Agree or don't. You'll look a little longer next time.

Beyond the shop

The looking doesn't happen alone. We're working with stylists, shops and artists right now, and the ideas we trade with them shape what we notice next. With artists, that can mean finding what to wear on stage: clothes with no borrowed brand, whose presence comes from the design, so they become their own influence. With shops and stylists, it's building a selection. Got something you're working on? Let's talk.