Introducing… Mr. Seasons + Salt, on Ethical Menswear

I am excited to try out something new at Seasons + Salt. Let’s talk about ethical menswear. There’s been so much coverage and talk about where women can turn to for ethical fashion, and what it means for their everyday lives, but what about men? Here to help me out, none other than Mr. Seasons + Salt.

Much to my envy, he gets to dress up in nice clothes everyday and trek into a hip part of town where he spends his days at the office. There he leisurely sips coffee, browses email, chats with co-workers, even naps on the couch in his office. I kid, I kid. He works hard every day, and I know some days he’s more stressed than I even realize. But still, half the time I am a little jealous that he gets to be in an office with adults – but ahem – that’s a topic for a different day.

As I’ve been slowly building my ethical wardrobe, Mr. Seasons + Salt has been too. We do a lot of things together, and one of them used to be shopping. Now we are adopting a new take on how we build our closets. I thought I’d ask him a few questions to get a guy’s perspective.

What do fashion and style mean to you?
Mr. Seasons + Salt: Fashion is what I perceive different groups or eras adopt to create an identity. It often relates to clothing, but I think all aspects of life get sucked into it or affect it. Like music and film. Style, is our personal take or application of a particular fashion. I often observe and critique fashion long before I adjust my style and then find myself consistently behind the curve. (cuffed pants…)

Tell me about your philosophy on making purchases. Why did you decide to stop shopping at fast-fashion stores?
I’ve never liked shopping in large department stores because I find it overwhelming and underwhelming all at once. It’s overwhelming like Netflix. Too many choices. It’s underwhelming because most of the stuff is fluff and not worth sifting through the rack for. I like boutiques, but there just aren’t a lot of boutiques for men. Slow fashion meets me in the middle. It meets the “less is more” that I want. Fewer options that are of a much higher quality. Plus, when you open your eyes and realize what crazy conditions are involved with making our most basic clothing, it’s a game changer. You can’t unlearn the true human cost just to put on a $2.99 t-shirt.

What would you say to a guy who is interested in building a closet of fewer, better items, but doesn’t know how to get started.
Put aside that machismo pride. It takes confidence and courage for most guys to admit they even care about how they look. Of course they do. Even when it’s purposefully outdated baggy pants from the 90s, they care that they are perceived as not caring. That’s step one – own it. The next step is to do your research and be okay with making mistakes along the way. It’s not “normal” for the average guy to show an interest in fashion and therefore there aren’t a ton of resources. Luckily, the Internet has helped. I’m not as good about this as Andrea, but I do try to review and assess what I see out there. I even started a Pinterest account that I tinker with for inspiration. I think the market also needs to learn that most guys don’t need or want to see Fabio wearing something to buy it. We want to see average guys pulling off amazing style to get that extra push to ‘go for it.’

Lastly, what inspires you?
Portland is a great city for inspiration. There are some very well dressed people from all walks of life. The diversity of style also helps with creative thought on fusing things rather than being a carbon copy. This goes back to being okay with occasionally failing. Portland is a forgiving city for trying something out that maybe never makes it back into rotation. Also, I think it’s important to have at least one person who directly inspires you and encourages you to take chances. For me that’s my wife, brother and a couple close friends. These people should also be close enough to freely let you know when you should probably ditch that outdated floral shirt or cargo shorts.

[Details: Jacket H&M (better option) / pants, Crawford Denim (all USA made – they have women’s stuff too!) / Everlane: shirt, tie, belt, / shoes, Nisolo / socks, Pact Apparel]