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Most sources agree that cotton was grown for the first time in human history in present day Punjab, in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent. It was here that people wove and stitched the first piece of fabric. Soon thereafter, tailors’ guilds developed and became an essential part of daily lives and local economies. A rich and tumultuous history of cultural shifts every few hundred years only added to the diversity, technique and beauty of the crafts.
A few millennia later these traditions are still an essential part of daily life. It’s standard practice to have your clothes made by buying cloth from a fabric shop and bringing it to your neighborhood tailor. As neighborly reputation is precious, the resulting product is usually beautifully crafted. A new generation of these tailors, fully equipped with tablets and smart phones, is increasingly connected to world.
We are a small company based in New York and we make all your clothes by hand to fit your unique measurements. We have created a small network of tailors in the Punjab who sit in their own family-owned workshops and make your clothes. They do so in their own time and on their own terms. Our goal is to expand this network over time. We do not own or work with garment factories. Our primary focus is to deliver superior craftsmanship in exquisite fabrics, be transparent in our supply chain, preserve traditions of handwork and make available our clothes at affordable prices. Now there is no reason someone in a small town in Idaho or near Osaka cannot have a shirt or a pair of pants made specifically for them.
In this part of the world, there are roughly as many independent tailors and textile craftspeople as a quarter of the entire population of Italy. Over time, we hope to widen our network of tailors. We are in the process of partnering with local NGOs dedicated to economic development and other development agencies to this end.
It is becoming increasingly clear that we need to keep our stuff in use longer and change drastically the way we consume and produce things. The Post-Romantic Co. contributes to this effort. We produce durable and beautifully made clothes in short production runs, use no plastic and hold no inventory.
HANDWORK
Things worked on by human hands have a beauty that is unmatched in all its glorious imperfection. The seeming inconsistencies, the small details only a discerning eye notices. Machines have been invented to do what human hands used to do, they do it perfectly and in a dreadfully monotonous manner.
All our clothes are extensively worked upon by extremely deft human hands. They are made using nothing more than a sewing machine, a needle, some thread and lots of patience. We don’t interfere with the wise ways of the artisans and we let them do what they do so well, in their own family workshops.
FABRICS
The fabrics we use come from two different sources. The first source is a handful of small family-owned mills in Italy, Japan and England. These mills have traditionally produced some of the finest fabrics woven on the planet.
Our other source of fabric is artisans’ homes in Punjab and Sindh provinces in the Indian subcontinent. This silk and cotton is woven by artisans in their own homes, on hand-operated looms that use no electricity. Once spun, the fabric is dyed in completely natural dyes: primarily using indigo plant, pomegranate rind, madder root, walnut husk, and henna leaves.
AESTHETIC
We make clothes that become more coveted as they age. We think highly of people who always have that one thing on. That one thing which, with every wear, becomes more lived in, and tells a story. Our clothes are meant for people for whom the romance with labels and brand names is at an end, for people who derive pleasure from small thoughtful details and the sheer beauty of the fabrics.
We draw inspiration from the sort of clothes you’d find in a cool, old vintage clothing shop that is filled with timeless, well-made, durable clothing, reminiscent of a different time, with a shade of nostalgia and a hint of mischief. We make simple, classic clothing that you will love and keep for a long time.