Are You Not MEN?!

In my weekend wanderings, I met a lovely couple.  The lady makes customized hula hoops, and the gentleman designs men's shirts.  Being a small-scale designer myself, we discussed fabric and production while I perused the available designs.  Had I been a man or had one to shop for, I certainly would have bought one of his shirts for several reasons.

First and foremost, all of his designs are made in the U.S.!  I love that.  Like myself, he never wants to outsource production and would prefer to pay American people a living wage.  It does keep cost higher, but frankly, you pay about the same retail price for clothing manufactured overseas.  (For example, I do love Trashy Diva, but was disappointed that their dresses are not American-made, which I expected for the prices.)  Not only are Flameless Shirts made in the U.S., but (clapclapclapclap) deep in the heart of Texas!

Designer Brooke Wilton makes classic men's shirts with a vintage-inspired style, unusual modern fabrics, and cool details (right down to the buttons!).  Some of the shirts are allover print, but my favorites are actually the accent ones like this Japanese wave print.  The print is even on the underside of the button placket, and I love the diagonal split pockets!

This is one of my favorites, and soon-to-be discontinued because the fabric is out of print:

Jellyfish!!!!  Maybe it's because I'm from the sea myself (as a little girl, I aspired to be a mermaid when I grew up), but I love this to bits!

The construction is high quality- you can tell he works with skilled seamstresses to make shirts that are built to last.  He pays attention to detail and includes print in unexpected places like button-placket facing, and chooses unique buttons to complement each print.

And so, to all my guy friends wanting custom western suits, the answer is still "no".  Sorry, I'm not doing all that interior hand-stitching.  I do recommend checking out FlamelessShirt.com or their Etsy store for locally-made high-quality menswear that's out-of-the-ordinary. 

All photos courtesy of Flameless Shirts