Taylor Johnston of Gamine Workwear
Your workwear made for women, particularly the dungarees, have changed the game for women in their quest for comfortable work clothing. This reason alone would sell products, why did you choose to source and manufacture them locally?
Your workwear made for women, particularly the dungarees, have changed the game for women in their quest for comfortable work clothing. This reason alone would sell products, why did you choose to source and manufacture them locally?
Wow, thank you-- I guess I don’t see what I’m doing as a game changer. I’m just a gardener who got tired of tearing through clothes and looking like ‘Little Orphan Annie.’ The short answer to this has to do with my deep interest in history and clothing particularly denim. I wasn’t interested in producing a garment that didn’t contribute to the proud tradition of American made workwear, or denim. I wanted to understand what was necessary and sufficient about the roots of these garments in addition to their functionality. To contribute to the history of American workwear, I really wanted the garments to be made here in the States, by folks using the same machines that were used during the heyday of women’s workwear during World War II. And as a tradie myself, I want to know that the folks who make our garments and our textiles are treated with respect---paid a living wage and given benefits.
Gamine Co. uses L.C. King Manufacturing Company for the manufacturing and White Oak Cone Denim as the selvedge denim supplier. What is your reasoning for choosing these organizations over others in the field?
In thinking about what made (and continues to make) American workwear so special and durable, I knew I needed to find a manufacturer who uses antique machines, which produce the strongest and most elegant single needle stitches for industrial garments. Coincidentally, the oldest workwear manufacturer in the States is using these machines. The denim has a similar story-I didn’t want just any old denim. I thought about the denim being pulled out of mines and put into Museums. I went straight to the source (Cone) to find a super rugged and beautiful 13 oz raw denim that fingerprints the story of the person who wears these dungarees. It’s not an exaggeration to say that character of the American worker is imprinted in the very fabric of this denim.
What is the hardest struggle you’ve had to face in preparing a brand made entirely in America and what advice could you give to those who are trying to start their own?
I think the biggest struggle for us is happening right now: trying to figure out how to meet the demand without curbing quality. With the decline in American manufacturing post NAFTA, we lost a ton of skilled labor. What’s worse, is for those who have been making clothing for many decades their time has come to retire, leaving a pretty substantial skill gap. Additionally, there are bumps associated with sending more business to folks who are only scaled to handle certain numbers given the fact that they’ve not had much business for many decades. That said, we’ve all experienced brands who do something really well and as soon as they start to pick up some steam, they seem to comprise their quality to serve more folks. Since I’m a gardener and have infinite capacity to take pains (to borrow a quote from Nathaniel Hawthorne’s granddaughter), I guess I’m OK with doing the hard work to built an infrastructure to handle our unique process, standards, and pattern.
The best advice I can give to someone just starting out, which is essentially where we are (we’re just five months old!), is spend the most time you can figuring out who you are and what makes you special. There seems to be a lot of waste being generated in the name of folks not wanting to take a job and work for someone else. There are no shortcuts to anything and you must do the hard work understanding the “why” behind every aspect of your idea.
All repairs are included in the purchase price of the dungarees. What do you find is the greatest value in this service?
The idea of value is really interesting and pretty complicated. The short answer is that I live in the land of 700 year old L.L. Bean clothing. There’s something really appealing about Yankee thrift and keeping things going as long as possible to reduce all the waste and get more for your dollar. Since I myself am someone who makes a living in a trade, I want to look out for folks to keep more dollars in their pocket. If you spend a little more on a garment that operates as your best tool, and put your hard earned dollars to use in a better way than buying cheaply and questionably made clothing, think of all the problems we might solve.
You have made such wonderful niche products so far, do you feel there is room for growth in the sustainable fashion industry and what changes are you looking forward to seeing in your own brand?
Thank you! Of course, I see many opportunities for room for growth. That all depends on how you define sustainability and what kinds of garments you’re making. We’re pursing all kinds of ideas. For instance, I’m working on finding ways to source cotton that is grown with less water and fewer pesticides—turns out we’re on the front edge of that possibility. We’re also using as many sustainable textiles that make sense for our hardworking sisters. For instance, we’re using hemp and organic cotton in the basics that I’m designing for Jungmaven. And we’re just about to release a small capsule of overalls and coveralls, which are made of vintage, pre-loved workwear garments. Most of these textiles aren’t being produced anymore, which is a bummer, but they were made to last seemingly forever. Since I believe the best overalls and coveralls have already been made (I’m a vintage workwear fanatic, in case you couldn’t tell), we’ve been carefully sourcing a variety of special 100% cotton coveralls and overalls, which have many, many years left to give. The wear patterns and soft quality of the textiles means you’re actually excited to put them on. The paint splatters and wear patterns are a celebration of the hard work and previous lives these garments had. To ensure their durability, we’re working with a small team of talented seamstresses in New England. These blue-collar ladies were taught to sew as young ladies and have been making clothes for their own families since the beginning. As a celebration of self-reliance and Yankee thrift, these ladies are reinforcing seams, patching, and ensuring all these garments are good for many miles. The resulting patchwork is a bit like a quilt that is made to go for many, many miles. We’re actually calling the capsule “M I L E S.”
Hopefully this cottage industry style of production is something we can continue to explore since I believe it allows you operate overall with less waste. Aside from this capsule, we’re thoughtfully developing more styles and fits for our dungarees in the hopes of being able to accommodate a variety of body types and trades. I can’t wait to share what we’ve been working on when the time is right.
