I hadn’t really been looking to buy anything the whole week long. My wardrobe is already full, I just can’t seem to make up my mind to stop,” I can just hear myself thinking. Then this picture appeared on my feed. A man wearing a yellow crewneck, his back to the camera, has the word “SAINT” written in beat-up lettering. But then, I just stopped…scrolling. Stared at it way too long. There is a thing that you feel and you just can’t get rid of it? That was it. So I bought it. Let’s back up, though, because it was not something I just did at 2 a.m. For months I’ve been ghosting here and there a pattern similar to Saint Michael Clothing.
This is the first time I saw the brand
In all frankness I don’t even remember exactly when. Probably late in the night when it was half asleep, I think most of this stuff begins. I got tagged by a friend in a post. A link has been dropped in a group chat. There it was once more that same doughy-yellow hue, worn in a way that seemed like it was meant. I zoomed in on the photo. Examined how the fabric gathered light, the stitch and the fade. None of it was unintentional, as it really seemed like that. There’s someone who thought of this. I guess quite unusual in a copy-paste-hoody world, overwhelmed with the same five fonts repeated a thousand times. I followed the ‘rabbit path’. Scoured and searched for every morsel of it. Every collab. Random archive images which people saved their years earlier from Resale sites. The more I delved, the more I saw why people refer to this particular brand uniquely from the rest of the clothing in their wardrobe. Today, let’s shed some light on the magic behind a person’s spirit.Today, let’s clear up a bit on the magic of the person’s spirit.
Saint Michael’s voice
The issue is that: Saint Michael voice doesn’t cry out. Does not require a point to be made with some big logo pasted on the chest. It stretches towards distressed fabric, vintagey colours, graphics that seem to almost be religious at times. Crosses. Hand-painted looking text. Colors that have been imparted by real time as opposed to colors that have been artificially rendered somewhere in a lab. That was what attracted me to them being honest that. I actually had a number of more basic streetwear items on P.T. Straight lines, secure fittings, logo everywhere, logo there. Fine. Just just perfect is just too perfect, isn’t it? I wanted to be able to feel it. Something that wasn’t so much a product anymore, it was art, I wore it. There’s also a certain charm in wearing a piece before it goes “poof”. Not gate keeping just for a hot minute feels personal. Not some algorithm pressing the thing in your mind! In the end it’s found by all. I suppose that is how good design goes on a journey I guess.
When the saint michael hoodie entered the picture
The Hoodie sealed it, he means. He means, the Hoodie sealed it. Well, I have to say, I almost chickened out. Price, makes me hesitate to say, made me hesitate. Used Tab for two whole days. Doing refresh like that wouldn’t make a difference. Then I thought else. Seriously, how many times do I use the hoodies? Every day actually from October through March. So, if I have to spend real money on something than I might as well spend money on something that I will want to get to more than once every month. Fit sold me first genuine. Not tight, but not too loose as much texture as can be put together in a loose relaxed manner. Then the fabric. Hefty yet airy. The kind of weight that feels premium upon grabbing hold.
Graphic work too
Same vintage washed lettering, faded but not so much as to appear as if it was distressed fake you know the sort of thing I mean right? Saying it is distressed but it isn’t, real lettering looks different. Subliminal from a distance yet really quite something up close. Even the drawstrings were not flimsy, as you can expect most hoodies at this price to cheap out in this area alone. Hardware felt solid. Also Hem didn’t curl after it has been washed once which will tell you a lot about how they treated the fabric before it was even sent to me. So I clicked buy. No more overthinking. At times you go with the gut feeling and pick up the pieces afterwards.
Sailors went on board to see what was there
Unfortunately I had to open it a little slower than usual. Did not want just to tear through the wrapping and wanted to really view. Stitching was clean. I guess, rather bizarrely, the colour was more intense in real life than it was in the images. Fabric did just what I thought it would! Apply it as soon as possible. Didn’t even have to slate it just wanted to feel it on my body. It’s then I got the entire “hoover” thing in a different way. It was not a fashion shoot per se. It wasn’t so much how it looked but how it felt when it was worn out the door. Confident and unassuming. I without much difficulty did that!
I actually went somewhere in the house in it later the same day, but had no real plans just wondering about people’s reactions or if anyone would notice. Se, two individuals did. There was this guy in the coffee shop who asked “Where is it from? I said I did and he went and retrieved his phone in the act and looked it up. This type of article is a one that begins conversations before you utter even a single word.
Plan for it to be a building outfit!
Since that I have mixed a selection of jumbles on top of that first one. Denim works, obviously. If I want to get more edgy, I could call for a bring tops. Even regular neutrals come together in harmony when I don’t want to over-stimulate my brain. The most surprising thing was? Its contribution of versatility! I thought it was just something that I was going to use big time, just certain days. Instead it became a just a staple. Stuffs to be used regularly rotate every other week to wash pile. After awhile I did get a second piece, though. Then, a third, I won’t beat around the bush any more. Not to dress up, (needed that, but why), but because I think every drop is a little bit different and has its own particular “feel. More old style varsity. The other, rather gloomy, almost gothic.
Most of the brands are simply following the trend
It is one that comes from a greater place, doesn’t feel like chasing after one thing in a really superficial way. It’s also treated differently in the resale market, based on what I get a glimpse of. Much of the original early articles will not de evaluate after a season like the majority of streetwear. Some actually climb. That should give you an idea. It’s not just how people are rapidly flipping it to make money. They’re not discarding it, they’re not just tagging the shirt or jean but rather are creating a real relationship with the clothing like I did with mine. If you ask me, that’s the one thing that makes a trend different from the brand that has legs. Trends fade instantaneously, as soon as the algorithm goes onto the next. Brands that truly have a distinct sense of design will stay for longer as people will continue returning to see where the next one’s headed.
Though was it worth it?
Depends what you’re looking for I suppose, longer phone call is long. If plain basics’ is all you are looking for, pass on this. If texture, little bit of history and a little edge to the design is desired, then it is price worth it. These items are worn more than half of the contents of my closet, at this point! “That’s enough in and of itself.” is all that has to be said. Looking at the checkout page does sound like a lot more money but costs-per-wear sounds far better. But durability comes into the picture as well and not one that people pay enough attention to. Cheap Hoodie will last for a month until it starts to pill, fade unevenly with the dis colored area around the collar. Mine hasn’t gone through any of that and it can only have been on my arm every day for a full winter as well, and more washings than I probably should have.
Just to sum it up, I suppose
To me, buying into Saint Michael wasn’t so much a trend but as a way of taking a chance. It was about conceiving on how to establish pieces that really fit the mood I wanted. Overused, superimposed with some sort of significance, low-key yet conspicuous enough to not have to push for attention. If you’ve been ‘considering the brand’ like I did for months then just stop making up your mind, SAID! Choose whatever piece is the most irresistible to pull and go and get it. Most likely, it will come out of their sitting place in your closet more than any other piece you have.