All I Want to Wear is a Hardy Matching Set
What it says on the tin, plus Matty Matheson.
Hi! So much has happened since last I wrote! My sister’s adorably guilty dog accidentally drop-kicked my old Mac so I am typing this to you on a cheap Chromebook that is only just barely functional, in any case, please excuse any formatting weirdness and let me know if there are any technical difficulties on your end of the line. Then, I visited NYC to style Janelle Abbott’s second show for her brand JRat, “HOMESICK, AGAIN,” an opportunity for which I’m deeply grateful. I’ll write more about the specifics of the job and the fits later, including which pieces were my favorites, tips and tricks I deployed, and which JRat original I got to take home! I’m so proud of the work of everyone involved, myself included, but I am completely, deeply wiped. I got back to my temporary accommodations on the West coast at 10:30 PM and have been running errands and doing freelance work since 7 AM, with another gig at 8 AM tomorrow before I start my new retail job at 11 AM. I feel like I am staring down the barrel of a very stressful gun, but I am still happy I took this opportunity and helped create something so cool. Special thanks to friends of the blog (and me) Aline and Avery for hosting me during such a whirlwind trip—I have written about Avery many a time before and Aline’s incredible closet filled with genius Brazilian designers’ wares is my next target (I have tons of photos!).
All that being said, literally all I’ve wanted to wear for the past few weeks has been rugged, no-brainer chore suits—the curse of someone who spends too much time thinking about clothes—so I’ve been scouring the web for the best ones, which I’ve shared below. Everything is gender-agnostic (as always, but even more so today). More to come soon!
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Well, my most obvious recommendation for a utility set is sadly moot at the moment—typically, it’d be IJJI, but I believe the designers are on parental leave right now (congrats!):
The sets run about $450 (though when the business is up and running, frequent sales render the total closer to an agreeable $300) with both chore jacket and incredibly constructed pants in thick, comfy canvas:
I especially love the dual button/tie waist, and these sets are short people friendly. Hope their dang baby grows up quick so the parents can get back to what’s REALLY important: releasing new colorways of this easy-to-wear set.
Amsterdam’s Bonne produces cheekily romantic, almost, hm, princely chore suits like the above with its stand collar and four neat columns of buttons and pockets.
This weird, glum gray strikes me as the kind of thing all the moody secret homosexuals in the third book of In Search of Lost Time would wear if they had to play pool instead of commit psychological crimes against the moody secret lesbians. I like the clamp-waisted design of the above, also available in blue, black, and forest green, and could see it worn with fancier pants or a skirt just as readily as with its corresponding trousers.
Speaking of skirts, my favorite “suit” sold by Bonne is this blue smock which can pair with trousers, the below wrap skirt, or both, if you’re nasty.
So, Matty Matheson started a line of work wear, “Rosa Rugosa…”
…and it’s pretty great-looking (I’m in love with the older gentleman modeling on the home page). The color selection is excellent, with the Kelly green and chocolate standing as my favorites, and shirts available in a non-cringe cropped length ($130, above) regular length ($135, below), and short-sleeved ($125). They’re all somehow kind of sexy, maybe it’s the genderless high waist:
I also like that an entire suit runs under $300. Well played, Mr. Matheson.
I posted about this one recently, but I am intrigued by the Instagram-ad-bait Manchesterian brand Wawwa’s sets—ostensibly “water-resistant,” not waterproofed so they don’t contain forever chemicals or whatever but you have to retreat them every so often, the videos of people pouring pitchers of liquid that then glides off their pant legs are compelling, and I like the details like a cinch-able smock hem and pant cuffs. I didn’t manage to get a set of the pieces in the cobalt I really liked when they were up for pre-order, but maybe someday in the future. As for now, the set is available in black, charcoal (pictured), and olive.
You can even grab a matching cap! Also, the workers creating these pieces are allegedly being paid a living wage, hooray!
You know a brand like Service Works made especially for service workers (especially chefs and servers) is gonna kill, and for this being the cheapest offering of the bunch (just over $100 for a full set), it uses some of the best materials (organic 100% cotton drill). This color is almost sold out, but I wanted to share it, because I swear I’ve seen this exact gray only ever in my dreams before. It’s gorgeous. I like the cornflower blue a lot, too, and I am FURIOUS that the pants corresponding to this leopard print jacket are sold out, as I’m going through a hardcore leopard thing right now, no clue why. Is anyone else?
For some more color, consider the GOAT, Big Bud Press:
From cobalt to red to bright yellow, BBP has the rainbow covered, but I find myself drawn to this safety orange for whatever reason. I like the three-pocket design, too.
Ok, excuse me while I take a 10 minute nap before I write an article, finish an assignment, and prep for my first day at the perfume shop. Thank you for your patience while I’ve been swamped, and I’ll do my best to get my NYFW thoughts and stories up ASAP!
<3 ESK
Did not know re: Matty Matheson! That Kelly green is so good
Oooh these are all great! Been wanting to try that Matty Matheson stuff for a while, it might be time!