Good evening. This is Matsushima from cantáte.

Clothes are at their most beautiful when they are new.

There was a time when I thought that too.

Sleeves without a single wrinkle, the surface of denim that has not yet begun to breathe.

I stand a little taller in front of the mirror, feeling unsettled somehow.

It is because the distance between me and the clothes is still awkward.

But as time passed, I began to realize.

New clothes are not the finished form.

If anything, that is where it begins.

Today, I’m talking about those “clothes that have already begun.”

Mixing in some personal belongings that are not for sale.

Today, I’m no longer thinking about whether to sell anything or not. I’ll just write what I like.

and that kind of distance makes talking about clothes more honest.

 

As for personal belongings, they are not things I can introduce at the shop,
I cannot answer questions.
I’m sorry. Please accept this as a small gesture.

 

Let’s start with the three whose changes are easiest to see.

RED WING 2268 PT91

I do not ride a motorcycle. I do not ride a bicycle either.

That is not their intended use, but even so, the brown core still comes through clearly.

They are heavy, stubborn, and occasionally I grow tired of them.

Yet before I know it, I want to wear them again.

The 2268 is my third pair in my life.

Even when I tire of them, I come back.

I think that is the honesty of a Red Wing boot.

 

Fluffy Series

No matter how many times I put it on, its loft does not deflate and its shape does not collapse.

It is not merely soft and fluffy.

The shoulders become rounder, and the elbows move just slightly forward.

and even when heavy wear distorts the silhouette, washing restores it.

The warmth of the winters spent wearing it seems to soak straight into the fabric,

With every wash, it gradually begins to follow my body.

“Sweatshirts are all the same wherever you buy them, right?”

I think the people who felt that way will get hooked on it most of all.

In fact, until I encountered this sweatshirt, I had never chosen one even once.

Because it felt somehow “sloppy,” and I could never bring myself to like it.

 

Denim Flare Trousers

The 12.5 oz starched denim is stubborn at first.

But after just a week, they begin to follow the body.

The Union Special chain stitching, the chain stitch at the hem, the way the lockstitching sinks.

Everything becomes more exposed as time passes.

Not wrinkles, but more room.

Every morning, I think this must be what it means to grow into something.

They fade with every touch, but their character grows deeper.

This is the closest point between me and my clothes.

Once someone has starched them, they want to starch them again.

Because that distinctive dry texture gets under your skin.

From here on, these are pieces whose unseen parts slowly change.

Rios of Mercedes

Even now, I sometimes wonder how it develops such a shine.

A sheen that seems not to come from losing its oils, but from pressure increasing its density.

The toe knows the way I walk, and the opening never gives up on the shape of my foot.

A craftsman’s meticulous shaping gains persuasive force with age.

 

Ribbon Belt

it makes no statement despite being used every day.

More than simply holding up your trousers,

A tool that, before you know it, comes to support the movements of everyday life.

The slight catch when you tighten it, and the subtle flex that follows along when you walk.

Those small details settle in as though learning your habits.

You seem not to care about it, yet it is actually what you trust most.

You notice its quiet work only when you take it off.

I think a Ribbon Belt is the kind of item that keeps that sort of distance.

 

WW2 T-Back Jacket

so the center-back seam is not decorative.

for the large sizes of the time, the body could not fit within the fabric width,

It simply had to be split down the middle—

is the detail born from those “constraints.”

Yet the logic that seems almost accidental,

It is structured to support the lines of our bodies today.

The shoulders do not completely collapse, and the shape holds even when worn open.

The practicality born of history now fits naturally into modern life.

I always iron only the sleeves crisply.

I secretly love the crease lines running through it.

The clothes that support us develop something like a personality the longer we wear them.

The T-Back must be one of them.

And finally, the pieces whose depth over time becomes their appeal.

Mouton Vest

and the flow of the nap slowly begins to follow gravity.

The fibers that initially stood up gradually take on a settled look as it is worn,

Even the roundness of the shoulders softens and changes year by year.

Somehow, the pace of that change feels just right.

The nap shifts with movement, and the depth of the color changes with the direction of the light.

It shows a different expression every time I put it on.

A change quieter than “growing,” one that deepens the relationship.

 

Silk Linen Forestiere Jacket

Of everything introduced today, this is the one that feels closest from the very beginning.

The straightforwardness when you put the sleeves on.

But it doesn't end there.

The goal isn't simply to break it in,

A jacket that quietly deepens the more you wear it.

The sheepskin at the back of the collar and on the elbows,

The place that honestly reflects this garment's aging more than anywhere else.

Each time you touch it, its subdued sheen increases.

“Some things become beautiful by being worn away.”

I thought the same thing when I first saw a black-painted Leica.

Not diminishing, but deepening.

The essence of aging over time surely lies there.

 

Le Corbusier Vest

The space in the front panel softens in proportion to the number of days.

It may look rational at first, but by the time the seasons turn, its expression becomes emotional.

It's top-quality calfskin, but any leather's color floats at first.

but after a week it settles down and softly breaks in.

I'm lazy, so I sometimes drench it in the shower,

I end up quickly breaking it in with a wet towel.

It's that tough and honest a material.

 

Hermès coin purse and an old 18K money clip

Leather embossed with HAAS Barénia.

A sheen developed by the oils from your hands.

A tool that, before you know it, supports “my own standards.”

 

10eyevan

No matter how carefully finished the metal is,

Continued contact with sweat and skin oils will inevitably change its character.

the end tip's Silver 925。

The initial bright silver reacts with sulfur and humidity in the air,

It gradually sinks into deeper tones.

18K the balancer of.

but it takes on a subtle reddish tint, and the way it catches the light becomes softer.

The shine returns only for the moment you polish it,

It soon draws closer to the colors of everyday life again.

as does the plating applied to the frame.

Fine oxidation progresses from the places touched,

The position of the finger you use becomes the mark itself.

glasses lie at the boundary between the face and time.

As I wear them every day,

it develops “my own metallic color” that new items cannot produce.

Belonging to no one,

A change that remembers only my own contours.

 

Gantier Causse  Unlined gloves

Sheepskin and peccary.

Things I took for granted quietly drift away before I realize it.

I suddenly think that I've reached an age where I have to face changes like that.

“If you want it and can still afford it, you'd better buy it.”

If the reason you're hesitating is the price, buy it.

If the reason to buy is the price, don't.

Honest tools quietly put the criteria for judgment in order.

 

ROLEX GMT-Master 1675/3

This is less a “watch to enjoy as it ages,”

My 1675/3 is a watch brought back to life by someone who can take it to a level of accuracy new watches still don't know.

Because this watch is already a 55-year-old nice middle-aged gentleman.

Mr. Kanesaka of vintagerollies.

My time and the time this watch has lived through,

he carefully and quietly reweaves it.

Tools have limits, but

There is no limit to what human work can achieve.

A watch that makes you feel that way.

If anyone is struggling over a five-digit ROLEX,

Please consult Mr. Kanesaka once.

It becomes a “watch you can wash and use.”

Putting on new clothes makes me a little nervous.

But clothes you've continued wearing let you entrust yourself to them with ease.

Because it understands everything about my body heat, habits, and life.

Not “getting old,” but “becoming mine.”

That is the true nature of patina.

The days it has been used become the story of that garment.

And the more discerning I become, the more troublesome it gets.

Because I end up noticing changes without a reason.

But that's okay.

I want to tell the Matsushima boy from back then that, too.

Rather than leaving it on display as new,

It's much better to take the plunge and get it dirty.

The more you wear clothes, the more you understand them.

I think I like that feeling of gradually coming to understand.

If you've read this far,

You, too, can be someone who helps a good face develop.

Is the grass greener on the other side?

Then I might as well make this one blue too.

 

cliché OFFICIAL INSTAGRAM.

 

cantáte 松島 紳