The Story of Individualized Shirts as the "Ultimate Ordinary"
Good evening. This is Kai.
Do you all have that one piece of clothing that you find yourself wearing all the time? There are clothes we buy because we like them but then stop wearing, and then there are clothes we've worn hundreds of times without even thinking about it. Today, I'd like to talk about one of my shirts that I realized I've been wearing forever.
My first encounter with—or rather, awareness of—Individualized Shirts was back when I was a university student. At the time, I was seeking something more classic and was burning with passion for Ralph Lauren and vintage items. It was a shirt brand I recognized but had never actually picked up. This was back before Usonian even existed.
Wearing a McGregor Drizzler
After I started working as a staff member at the Todd Snyder store, I met some wonderful seniors who still treat me well today. It was one of those seniors who recommended Individualized Shirts to me, saying, "Kai, you should wear this shirt too."
This was my very first Individualized Shirt. It wasn't oxford, it wasn't a button-down, and it was a young-grass green color—and for some reason, it had a band collar.
I didn't have a photo from back then, so this is from my time at Usonian.
But I loved it so much that, even though the care label recommended hand washing, I thought, 'What a hassle! Who cares!' and just tossed it into the washing machine. By the time that young-grass green faded into a lighter shade, I had the opportunity to start working at the Usonian Goods Store.
I had it made with jacquard fabric and an open collar.
It's weird, but in a good way.
Once I understood that the essence of Individualized Shirts lies in custom ordering, I ordered shirts incessantly. I tried making the sleeves a little longer, or the waist a little slimmer. I made the cuffs tight and the shoulders wider. I repeated the ordering process, changing the fabric and specifications to match my mood and feelings at the time.
Apparently, not many people order it, so Jim at Individualized called it the 'Kai collar'.
And then, one day, it hit me. Could it be that Individualized Shirts have been accommodating every single one of my moods? Of course, with custom-made shirts, there is a certain amount of time between ordering and delivery. No matter how much experience you have, 100% perfection is impossible. Even so, there wasn't a single shirt I stopped wearing (though, unfortunately, there are some I can no longer fit into). It is precisely because they are there as an ordinary presence that they possess a universal beauty. And they have the durability to withstand the rigors of daily use. The 'ultimate ordinary' that exudes from them is because they don't try too hard to make dressing up a form of beauty. What I understood to be the essence of 'trad' was exactly the essence of Individualized Shirts that I had felt all along.
I pushed the waist on this one too much and can't wear it anymore.
Sad.
The 'ultimate ordinary' for you might not be Individualized Shirts. Even so, everyone must have had the experience of feeling that a single shirt or a single pair of shoes was more than just an object. Even if you no longer have it in your possession, it's surprisingly fun to occasionally remember it and think about it.
I hope you'll look forward to the next Trad story.
Kai Hayano
Click here for the story of the origin of how I came to think about the 'ordinary' ↓