
Kanan: Los Angeles-based Kanan does more
than any wide-distribution clothing designer/manufacture that I’ve found that
employs Californians to make California clothes out of California
materials. Kanan’s luxury-quality
t-shirt fabric is made from California cotton.
The zippers for their hoodies are manufactured in Los Angeles. I own an ever-growing collection of Kanan
t-shirts – they are my favorite t-shirt brand, by a wide margin. I do not yet own one of Kanan’s hoodies, but
I’m betting that they are top shelf.
Patagonia: With Ventura-based Patagonia, you
get what you pay for. What you pay is a
lot. What you get is exactly what you
want. Patagonia’s gear and clothing
looks great, it works perfectly, and it is manufactured as ethically and
sustainably as reasonably possible. I do not yet own a Patagonia
hoodie. But I do own a broad
cross-section Patagonia clothing and gear, all of which may very well last me forever.
Espinoza’s
Leather Company: Or maybe you'd like a very different kind of hoodie? Rosemead-based Espinoza’s is a family shop
that makes custom-tailored clothing for motorcyclists, including leather hoodies.

Mountain Hardwear: Richmond-based Mountain Hardware
has been my go-to supplier for camping-and-backpacking clothing and gear for
more than a decade. They also make
hoodies, which probably are of high quality, and which look nice, in an
a-backpacking-company-made-this sort of way.
North Face: Alameda-based North Face makes
pretty much everything an outdoors-enthusiast could want. They also make outdoors/urban-hybrid hoodies
which – judging by everything I’ve bought from them so far – likely are of high
quality, if a bit over-logoed for my taste.
Olivers
Apparel: Los Angeles-based Olivers makes shorts, shirts, and
sweat clothes for runners and gym-goers. Their thin, structured hoodies also would
work well as streetwear.
Volcom: Orange County-based Volcom is a
one-stop shop for skater/surfer/snowboarder fashion, from hoodies and
sweatshirts to board shorts to two-piece suits.
Because they target skaters – who shred clothes quickly, no matter how
high quality – I did not expect Volcom to put much effort into the
second-thing-to-go elements of clothing construction. After all, why double-stitch a garment that’s
going to be rags within weeks regardless?
But I was pleasantly surprised. A
few years back, I bought a Volcom button-up. It was a good purchase. The shirt had a clean silhouette, but with
slightly skewed seams that bent people’s eyes just enough to prevent them from
looking past me. And – because I do not
lead a tear-through-fabric lifestyle – it lasted for years.
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