My American Style

So I've been on a kick the past few years to maximize the Made in USA that exists in my wardrobe. Though normally I don't like to put myself in with popular trends, I'm a big fan that I'm recently in growing company in this effort. Right now there seems to be people who jumped on the movement because of bad conditions in the Asian sweatshops. Not me. I just don't like sending money to overseas manufacturers so that some rich guy (a job creator) can maximize share prices to make him and his buddies richer while cutting jobs in the US.  *See bonus rant below

A couple observations about trying to build my American-made wardrobe: First, shoes and underwear have been difficult to find.  Heavy, purpose-built boots can be found for a price, but casual and athletic shoes are pretty hard to come by.  Second, there seems to be more sources for women’s than men’s clothes that are made domestically, though it’s probably just proportional to the overall number of clothing manufacturers.  Last but not least, just because a brand manufactures one of their lines in the US, it does not mean everything they make is from the US; actually, it seems to be pretty rare to find an entire Made in USA brand.

Shoes:

 

New Balance has been making some of their running shoes in the US for awhile.  Unfortunately not all are made here; I especially wish they would bring the Minimus line to the US.
http://www.newbalance.com/Made-in-the-USA/made_in_usa,default,pg.html

Keen has been my favorite non-running-shoe brand for a few years.  I wear them pretty much every day (when I’m not wearing combat boots).  And just recently they brought production for as few models to the US.  I ordered a pair but haven’t been home to enjoy them yet.

http://www.keenfootwear.com/us/en/product/shoes/men/blvd/ontario%20lace/slate%20black

Underwear:

 

Just read about Flint and Tinder on a financial website I browse.  Haven’t tried them yet, but I definitely want to once I get home.  Like I mentioned, American made underwear seems to be pretty rare, and I believe this is the reason these guys started the company.
http://www.flintandtinderusa.com/collections/underwear

 

Socks:

 

American made socks are actually pretty easy to find anywhere and are usually the same price as the imports.  Smartwool socks are pretty awesome.
http://www.smartwool.com/

Fox River socks are also high on my list, and they even sell a Sock Monkey kit:

http://www.foxsox.com/catalog/product.aspx?type=subcategory&sortorder=stylenumber&code=BUILD&selectedstyle=N015

 

Shirts & Pants:

 

I started off with All American Clothing.  The jeans are nice and are my current choice especially for the price.  I’ve also ordered khakis and a button-down shirt from them; they are decent, but seem more like work-wear than business casual.
http://www.allamericanclothing.com/made-in-usa/jeans.html

My current choice brand for work clothes is Todd Shelton.  Expensive as all get out, but I see my wife at work and so I’ve got to look good!

http://toddshelton.com/

 

Sweaters & Casual:

Ibex is the household favorite.  Not all of it is American made, but a lot of it is.  Also, a lot of it is wool and is freakin’ awesome.  I own like three sweaters and three other shirts and Jaime has about the same.  Also expensive, but worth it.

http://shop.ibex.com/

 

Outerwear:

Not too much need for quality outerwear in the LC.  We only experience cold when visiting family in MN for Christmas, or when sent to Moscow anytime between September and April.  I’ve now got my trusty OD-green WWII era wool coat, but if it comes time for something new, I’ll be checking out Filson.

http://www.filson.com/

 

 

* Yep, somewhere along the way our society thought it would be a good idea to move our manufacturing overseas so that we could get all the crap we don't need at a slightly cheaper price. Then when money starts to get low and jobs start to run scarce because we send all of our money to foreign companies, instead of blaming ourselves for demanding that cheap crap and changing our ways, we instead demand that our standard of living cannot decrease (we're America dammit) and look for even cheaper ways to fill the void we created. And I'm about to digress into our insurmountable debt due in no small part to our refusal to share any burden that comes with being at war for twelve years, so it’s time to quit…