I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: Colorado’s Topo Designs is one damned impressive young label. Started by three friends with a shared affinity for the outdoors (and the many activities contained therein – out in?), the co. deftly mixes the best design and construction elements of gear from the 70s and 80s, with those of contemporary high-end goods from Europe and Japan, to produce a range of bags that are as handsome as they hard-wearing (that is to say, very).

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While at NorthernGRADE this past September, I had a brief but very interesting conversation with Jen Guarino, president of J.W. Hulme, about how she felt the concept of patriotism was changing. We both agreed that the term had long ago been high-jacked and politicized by special interest groups. However, she maintained that in the last few years, there had been a marked increase in the number of Americans who chose to define patriotism not by politics, but by deeds. She believed that these Americans were showing their love for their country by actively supporting domestic manufacturing and business. As someone who has struggled to reconcile the current prevailing definition of patriotism with my preference to buy American, this idea had a lot of appeal to me. I liked thinking there were other ways to show my allegiance, beyond the typical and familiar. And this, in part, is why I have taken such a shine to New York’s LAYERxlayer (kind of a roundabout way to get there, but we still reached our destination).

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I admit it: I’m an internet shopper. As much as I want to support my local brick and mortars, the lure of the web makes it impossible for me to stay loyal. It’s just so much easier to get exactly what I want. I never have to settle for an item solely because that’s what’s available. Online, everything is available (and usually for a better price). And yet, I have to admit that the more I e-shop, the more I miss the person-to-person experience of buying from an independent retailer. There’s something about interacting with the people who choose the stock, merchandise the space, and pour their hearts and souls into the business’ day-to-day operations, that makes a purchase feel – for lack of a better word – special. Fortunately (for me, not so much for my local retailers), there is one brand that does a near-perfect job of combining the ease and specificity of buying online, with the feel-good aspects of buying locally. That brand is Taylor Stitch.

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As I see it, the best designers aren’t the ones who try to reinvent the wheel, they’re the ones who keep coming up with new ways to make it interesting. It’s a feat that’s all in the details; subtle singularities that make the well-worn welcome again, without detracting from the broader qualities that made the item well-worn in the first place. It is this balance between unique and familiar, between old and new, that enables goods to transcend trends and eras. And, it is precisely this balance that makes the newly launched Baron Wells such a stand-out. Live as of last month, the label’s inaugural range is undeniably of the now in both form and fit, and yet, its appreciation of – and respect for – its roots and points of inspiration are enough to maintain its appeal long after current tastes have changed.

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