A couple weeks ago I wrote an article about Sameunderneath, which mentioned in the all-to-brief space available for such issues that the company had their clothing manufactured in the same region of China that the bamboo used in their product is sourced—the idea being that instead of transporting the raw materials to a second location for production, and then to the third retail destination, this would reduce a bit of the carbon footprint left by transportation of goods. Of course, when many people see “Made in China,” their first thought is “sweatshop.” Portland companies such as Sameunderneath and Nau have spoken to these concerns by assuring their inspection and contractual policies with the factories are trustworthy, but a letter in response to the article, sent in by Ese Carnal creator Donovan Skirvin disputed the reasoning held to make it seem “sometimes okay” to buy goods manufactured in China:

MADE IN CHINA

DEAR MERCURY—Regarding Marjorie Skinner’s Sold Out column last week [“Sameunderneath Branches Out,” Sold Out, June 21]. When we buy products made in China, we give away our local wages. The laboring humans that live here have their quality of life eroded by the fact that our designers spend their money in China and elsewhere where labor is cheap. Every time we support a company that exports our labor, we make it harder for our workers to have normal standards of living. Sameunderneath is not avoiding transportation by having their clothes made in China. They are saving money on labor. Is that ethical? Portland’s own Duchess has a similar practice. They have that “family of tailors” that builds the suits they design. And, that “family” happens to live in China. Consumers have to realize that if they want to buy a shirt, a suit, a pair of shoes, or any goods that come from a humane and ethical source, they have to pay a lot of money. The fact is consumers in the States are not ready to pay for the humanity they dream of.

Donovan Skirvin

Today, I received a letter in response from Seyta Selter, the creator of Duchess. Read it after the break.

Dearest Portland Mercury,

I just saw the letter from Donovan Skirvin printed in your June 28 edition,
in which Duchess was mentioned. I want to correct the misinformation he
provided about us.

After meeting with clients and designing and patterning suits to meet their
wishes, the suits are cut and tailored to our specifications by our tailors
located in Bangkok, Thailand (a world center of fine tailoring), not China.
I went to great pains and years of research to ensure that the people we
work with, who are third generation tailors known for excellent
craftsmanship in English-style tailoring, have implemented fair labor and
environmental practices. Additionally, I do not pay pennies on the dollar
for the suits they make for us; in fact, the mark-up for our work in the
process is significantly lower than any other clothing retailer I’m familiar
with.

While I’d love to offer suits made entirely of Oregon parts by Oregon
craftspeople, they’d cost several thousand dollars for the same level of
craftsmanship we now provide. This in and of itself is contrary to my goal
of providing fine custom suits at a good price to average, non-rich folks.
Fortunately, I’ve found a way to offer a fine custom suit for a good price
and do so using responsible labor practices. And we don’t hide our methods
from our clients.

I’m offended by Mr. Skirvin’s readiness to tread on other small local
businesses. The argument that I’m stealing jobs from other Portlanders is
ridiculous. I created my own job in starting this business (which seems to
be unique in this town) and recently hired a second employee. We work hard,
as we're sure he does, and spend the money we earn locally. I see his
approach as quite counteractive to the Portland-centric business ideal he
champions.

Best,

Seyta Selter
Duchess, Clothier

This week I wrote about bathing suits, and one of the options I mentioned was the bathing costume designed locally by designer and Denwave co-owner Genevieve Dellinger. Unfortunately I didn’t get an image in time to run in the print paper, But Genevieve sent these over last night:

She says she’s made it in the reverse colors (black with white piping), and if you have the guts to wear it as streetwear you can get it in stretch denim (that version has a zipper in the front, and a little more coverage on the rear. If you’re interested stop by Denwave (811 E Burnside) and check them out in person.

Do you love NBC’s The Office? And if so do you love the gal who plays the super-effervescent KELLY? That’s actress Mindy Kaling by the way, and apparently, Mindy loves shopping just as much as Kelly does! She even has her own blog devoted to the subject of shopping entitled, “THINGS I’VE BOUGHT THAT I LOVE.” Also like Kelly, it’s very funny, personal, and pretty damn useful! I’m going to rush out and by a Mindy recommended Conair Deluxe Handheld Steamer today!

I’m a big fan of Lille Boutique (1007 E Burside), where you can find all sorts of lovely unmentionables from lines like Princesse Tam Tam and Eres, to name a few. If you haven’t gone to see them (or even if you have), you should. Tomorrow is First Friday, so there will be all sorts of things going on, including the grand opening of The Rocket right up the street, and the folks in the 811 E Burnside building (Denwave, Stand Up Comedy, Redux, etc) are always up to something fun. Be sure to stop by Lille as you make your way up and down the strip, have a glass of wine, and check out the merch, including these new arrivals:

The Lake and Stars:

Spamente:

Eberjey:

Think it’s cool how certain local boutiques allow you to shop online from inside the store? The Japanese were all over that shit 20 years ago—PLUS THEY ALREADY HAD ROBOTS. Check out this creepy funny vid from 1980s CBS News about a fully robotic Japanese department store. It really does makes shopping for kimonos so much easier.
(P.S. Stick around for the dead kid at the end. A robot killed her.)

My problem is this: After about four years of living without my car (I, uh, lent it to my brother for a really long time), I suddenly have it back. Though I have many tumultuous feelings about how utterly regressive this just because I can get a full extra half hour of sleep if I drive to work instead of walk. So I have perhaps been overcompensating for this by trying to become a self-styled “exercise addict.” This means in addition to my standard, er, “program” of boxing class three days a week for two hours per class, I have taken up a lunch break Pilates class on Thursdays, and a running Tuesday evening jogging date with a girlfriend (though our varying schedules sometimes mean we don’t make it.) My goal is to get a workout at least six days a week. That, more or less, makes five. I prefer classes but they can be expensive, and running is free, so running has sort of become my fall-back no-excuses-for-missing-this workout routine. I have to admit that I was pretty cocky about it—my boxing routine is pretty effing hardcore, and having done it for almost 2.5 years I fancied that it’s made me pretty tough. It even sometimes involves running, though there’s not enough time to squeeze it in as any more than warm up. But running a long ways… That is a different beast entirely. It pretty much kicks my ass, and my primary goal is to be able to do the esplanade loop from the Hawthorne to the Steele bridge and back without ending up walking like half the way. It’s good to have that as a challenge, and I work well with goal-oriented tasks. Already it’s getting easier; when I first did it, my entire body came to a point of protest. Which I know is good, I’m all about no pain, no gain and all of that. And running is so painful that I pretty much am convinced it’s got to be outstandingly beneficial. My question is twofold: What’s even harder than running that I should try to sate my new addiction? I’m looking for a challenge. And, any general running advice? Ways to make it easier? Inspiring success stories? Anyone want to buy a car? (Just kidding.)

Not convinced that Dina Lohan, the mother of Lindsay Lohan is the WORST MOM IN THE WORLD? Who else would let their 13-year-old daughter Ali Lohan traipse around in this microscopic (yet adorable) bikini?
Or is that a couple of used pieces of tissue?

Speaking of Prada, Fashion Wire Daily is making “must have” eyes at these striped loafers from the S/S ‘08 Prada collection. What do you think guys, must you have them? (Or do you like them enough to get the knock off version?) Mark me down in favor.

Much faster than scrolling through a slideshow of stills, here are You Tube videos of my favorite menswear collections from Spring/Summer 2008.

Jil Sander:

I love the cleanliness here. Love everything but the mandals.

My favorite part is the cut of the pants. Still under the influence of Thom Browne with the slightly too short length, but Miuccia adds more movement and slightly belled shape, plus a slightly dropped crotch, like the opposite of sagging the waist of your pants.

Live Tyra Banks’ famous Vaseline episode again, as rendered in this illustrated tribute:

For the record, according to Jane Cowan, certified aesthetician, it is not recommended to us Vaseline on your face! It’s an unnatural petroleum project that your skin can’t naturally process. Which makes it a pore clogger!. Her professional opinion is that people who swear by it must be mannequins.

If you missed it the last time Nolita had a big sale, cheer up: Starting July 7 and going all the way to the end of the month, find up to 60% off spring/summer clothing and denim for men and women. Considering summer is just getting off the ground anyhow, the timing is perfect. My score from their last sale was a Mike & Chris hoodie, which had been exceedingly hard not to wear every single day.