A sweatshirt you’ll keep coming back to.

What does it mean to be a “regular”?

Is it someone who comes in almost every week? Someone whose name the owner remembers?

The other day, I read a piece written about this very subject.

It suggested that a regular is neither someone who has visited a certain number of times nor a title used to tell others about one’s relationship with a shop, but rather a customer whose presence allows the atmosphere of the shop to take shape naturally.

Indeed, rather than someone who says, “I’m a regular at that shop,” a person who has somehow always been there, ordering the usual thing from the usual seat, looks far more like a regular.

They do not make a show of their familiarity in a loud voice, nor do they try to make their presence known to someone visiting for the first time. They are simply there, as always. Their presence naturally brings the atmosphere of the shop into balance.

I think being a regular is not about how often you come, but about how naturally you fit in.

 

Good evening. This is Matsushima from cantáte.

 

Clothes have similar qualities.

Some clothes make you want to take a photo on the day you buy them, while there are others you have even forgotten wearing.

When it comes back from the laundry, you find yourself reaching for it again without really thinking.

You wear it on days you go to the shop, on long journeys, and on days when you are a little tired. Although you treat it a little more carelessly over time, for some reason you cannot let it go.

The latter is probably the one that becomes deeply woven into everyday life.

 

<cantáte>

" Essential Zip Sweat Parka "

COL : FADED BLACK , DIRTY L/GRAY , WHITE

¥60,500 TAX IN

" Essential Sweat Pullover  "

COL : FADED BLACK , DIRTY L/GRAY , WHITE

¥51,700 TAX IN

" Essential Sweat Wide Pants "

COL : FADED BLACK , DIRTY L/GRAY , WHITE

¥60,500 TAX IN

I think that is the kind of garment a sweatshirt is.

You do not need to make plans around wearing it, nor do you need to think deeply about how to style it. Even on a morning when you oversleep, or on a slightly tiring day, your hand reaches for it before you have time to think.

And yet, when you look in the mirror, you do not look as though you have given up and thought, “I guess this will do today.” That is exactly the right degree of distance.

 

The fabric is a heavyweight reverse-weave fleece made with American cotton.

It is thick and properly heavy in the hand. On the reverse side, the traditional sweatshirt-like loops stand firmly upright.

I think there are sweatshirts out there that are thicker, or that look more vintage.

 

But what I wanted was,

It was not the thickness itself, but the way its weight made it fall.

 

Thin, soft sweatshirts settle into the body from the moment you put them on.

On the other hand, it readily picks up the body’s lines, and its silhouette gradually loses definition through repeated washing.

This fabric is thick enough to hold its shape slightly away from the body.

From the shoulders to the chest, and from the waist to the hem. Because the fabric’s weight lets the lines fall downward, it does not look excessively bulky even with a relaxed fit.

The reverse side is not heavily brushed, nor is it made to look soft from the outset. If it were only about how pleasant the fabric feels at first touch, there would be countless clearer, more immediately comfortable options.

This loopback fabric loosens as it is washed repeatedly and gradually conforms to the wearer’s body. Friction and wear marks also develop on the surface, transforming its uniform new appearance into that of the wearer’s own garment.

 

However, changing texture and losing shape are two different things.

If you say it has developed character while the neck has stretched, the length has shortened, and the knees have bagged out, that is a little too convenient.

With vintage clothing, that is part of what makes it interesting. But when making something new, you need to consider how it will look over time as well.

Fabric normally used vertically is cut crosswise. It is a longstanding method, exemplified by the reverse weave. It helps prevent stretching and shrinking vertically through washing and wear, making the silhouette less likely to lose its shape.

Old sweatshirts retain adaptations made for wearing every day, washing repeatedly, and continuing to use them nonetheless.

Using the fabric crosswise is not decoration intended to make it look vintage.

It was made that way because it was necessary.

What draws me in is not how something looks, but why it was made that way.

 

The seams are finished with two-needle stitching rather than a simple overlock finish. We also set the stitch spacing finely. It is a part that is almost invisible unless you turn the garment inside out.

The reason we did not cut corners is that sweatshirts are not garments treated delicately. They get caught in the rain, shoved into bags, and thrown into the washing machine.

I do not think the people who make clothes that can be treated roughly should be careless in making them.

 

The new hoodie is based on the same idea.

It is easier to put on and take off than a pullover, and much more casual than a jacket.

Throw it on when it is a little chilly, and take it off when it gets warm. It slips easily into daily life not only between seasons, but also while traveling or indoors.

 

The hood was not added merely to be worn over your head. When viewed from the side or back, how much volume around the neck is needed for the silhouette to settle properly?

If it stands too tall, it looks strangely bold; if it lies too flat, the back view loses its presence.

Considering the weight of the substantial fabric, we settled on an amount and angle that neither stand too upright nor collapse too much.

 

The zipper pull is made from deerskin. It is a very small detail, but it is a place your fingers touch every time you wear it. It feels softer than simply pinching cold metal, and the more you use it, the more naturally it fits your hand. This is not decoration; it is a specification suited to a garment that is opened and closed repeatedly.

 

Wide Pants use the fabric crosswise, just like the tops, creating a wide straight shape that falls directly from the waist to the hem. The hem is not tapered.

 

What concerns me about sweatpants is not that they are comfortable, but that they can look as though you chose comfort. That is why I used the fabric’s weight and heft to create their outline.

It is comfortable on the body, yet it does not look sloppy.

I like this slightly contradictory quality.

 

The only pockets are set along the seams at both sides. Without adding unnecessary details, we let the fabric’s weight and the line of the pants speak for themselves.

Sneakers are an obvious choice, but leather shoes work too. You can wear a shirt or jacket over it. Rather than forcing the sweatshirt to look refined, we have made it possible for it to remain a sweatshirt while sitting comfortably alongside leather shoes or a jacket.

 

And the new WHITE added this time.

I think this is the color in which the sweatshirt’s simplicity comes through most clearly. Because there is nowhere to hide, you can see the fabric’s weight, its dry surface, and even the shading created by the seams.

Rather than carefully storing it pristine white, I want you to wear and wash it like any other color.

A little of the wearer’s own time gradually remains at the cuffs and hem.

 

Hoodie, pullover, pants. Wear them as a set, or mix each piece into your everyday clothes.

Over the hoodie, a coat or jacket.

With the pullover, well-worn denim.

With the pants, a white shirt or leather shoes.

I feel you can best understand this sweatshirt’s place when you pair it with clothes of slightly different character.

 

I do not think this is a garment that conveys everything the first day you put it on.

The two-needle stitching and the effect of using the fabric crosswise probably do not mean much on the day you buy it.

You may only realize it after washing it many times.

Or perhaps the right thing is simply to keep wearing it without ever noticing anything like that.

 

You do not confirm with a regular customer, “You are one of the familiar faces.”

Most of the time, you do not even remember when it became that way.

Before you know it, that person is in their usual place.

Clothes can be just that.

Once the laundry is done, you put it on again. You handle it more roughly, yet you have grown even less able to part with it than when it was new. You do not know when it happened. But without it, you would feel a little inconvenienced.

 

I hope it gradually blended into your wardrobe before you even realized it.

I think that is the coolest way for this sweatshirt to be worn.

 

cantáte Matsushima Shin