The Artfully Distressed Issue
it’s sunday morning
Sunday, March 12th 2023 - Welcome to Issue 9 of our weekly email where we gather 3 style, wellness, travel or music links worth some time on a slow Sunday morning. Make a cup of coffee, find your favorite chair and cue the Velvet Underground…
“Sunday morning, rain is falling
Steal some covers, share some skin
Driving slow on Sunday morning
And I never want to leave”
ONE Heritage Rock and Roll Tees
Perfectly new shirts are “sanded, stretched, painted, patched - and occasionally burned” - just for the vibe.
If you want a replica of your favorite classic rock or hip-hop T-shirt complete with holes and rough edges that simulate years of hard love and a life well spent in the wind, look no further than Madeworn. They license old band and concert designs, screen print on a variety of T-shirt patterns and then artfully distress each by hand in their Hollywood studio. The appeal of distressing is personal taste as some prefer to earn the vibe over time while others are into the shortcut - either way - Madeworn is doing soulful work with nostalgically cool designs.
photo: madeworn
TWO New Vintage Guitars
Can modern luthiers and artisans recreate the spirit and sound of a vintage guitar?
Vintage guitars have become incredibly expensive, hard to find and can be unreliable unless you employ a full-time guitar tech. Luckily, the folks at Gibson have us covered. A few years ago, they partnered with master luthier and artist, Tom Murphy to launch the Murphy Lab at their Nashville electric guitar factory. The new models replicate the exact specs of popular vintage Gibsons from neck shapes to electronics and then they are “hand-aged” by Tom and his team to simulate minor distressing from years of play all the way to an instrument that looks like it was dragged behind a tour bus. So, if you are like me and constantly on Reverb in search of that real, affordable, 50s/60s Gibson unicorn the Murphy Lab might be worth checking out to save some money and some heartache. (3 min read)
photo: adam gasson for gibson
THREE Japanese Classic Americana
Our favorite Japanese designers artfully blend classic Americana with modern Japanese streetwear.
Kapital started in the 80s as a heritage denim brand. They specialized in distressing, enlarging, tearing, patching classic Levi’s and other Americana designs with subtle or - unapologetically in-your-face - 1960s hippie culture references. Now they have arrived as a global streetwear icon but you can still see that heritage DNA in their current designs. (3 min read)
photo: kapital/goat
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