Ask good questions.
Here are three I ask about clothing.
Question 1. Why is it so Cheap?
This is the opposite of what most people ask.
And it’s a great question.
Because the answer to this question will.
More often than not.
Make you like the thing less.
Question 2. Why is it so Expensive?
This is good question too.
Because value is important to me.
But so are values.
And the answer to this question is an opportunity for the brand to make me like the thing more.
So yes, I want to know the materials are superb.
And the makers are talented.
But I am also interested what the brand stands for.
And I may also pay more if it’s been made sustainably.
With patience.
And care.
And with respect for the maker.
Question 3. How Does it Become Mine?
I’m late to the party with this.
Customisation.
Personalisation.
But I also mean how something ages.
How it wears in.
Not out.
As I use it.
I like how great clothing changes over time.
Good Questions.
These are good questions.
And I asking them a lot.
Question 3 reared its head recently, for example.
As I chatted to a friend.
About the Always Wear Red caps I designed and had handmade in Yorkshire.
But they did nothing for my friend.
Because it was his grandad’s flat cap that he wanted.
One day.
He said.
As he glanced down.
Eyes closed.
Picturing the oily, brown, many-times-repaired flat cap he later described to me.
And even though I spent a good year of my life mastering the design and overseeing the making of my Limited Edition satin lined, natural herringbone and blood red felt Always Wear Red caps.
I understood.
And I had to agree that.
For him.
Of course.
His grandad’s cap wins by a lifetime.
