A sweatshirt you’ll keep coming back to.

What does it mean to be a “regular”?

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

The other day, I read a piece about something like that.

It occurred to me that a regular is neither defined by the number of times they have visited nor a title to tell others about their relationship with the shop, but rather a customer whose presence allows the atmosphere of the shop to take shape naturally.

Indeed, someone who is simply there before you know it, ordering the usual thing from the usual seat, looks far more like a regular than someone who says, “I’m a regular at that shop.”

You do not loudly display your familiarity, nor do you try to make your presence known to someone visiting for the first time. You are simply there, as always. Your presence naturally brings the atmosphere of the shop into balance.

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

 

Good evening. This is Matsushima from cantáte.

 

Clothes have things like that, too.

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 wash, you find yourself reaching for it again without really thinking.

You wear it on days you go to the shop, on long journeys, and when you are feeling a little tired. You handle it a little more carelessly over time, yet somehow you cannot let it go.

It is probably the latter that has become 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 plan your day around wearing it, nor do you need to think too deeply about how to style it. Even on a morning when you oversleep, or on a day when you are a little tired, your hand reaches for it before you have time to think.

And yet, when you look in the mirror, you do not look like you have given up and thought, “I’m done for today.” That distance feels just right.

 

The fabric is heavyweight loopback made with American cotton.

It is substantial and has a proper weight in your hands. On the inside, the loops stand firmly, just as they do on traditional sweatshirts.

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

 

But what I wanted was,

It was not the thickness itself, but the way it draped, created by its weight.

 

Thin, soft sweatshirts adapt to the body from the moment you put them on.

On the other hand, it picks up the body's lines more easily, and its outline becomes less dependable through repeated washing.

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

From shoulder to chest, and from waist to hem, the fabric's weight draws the lines downward, so even with a relaxed fit, it does not look more voluminous than necessary.

We have not heavily brushed the inside to make it feel soft from the start, either. If all you want is a pleasant sensation the moment you touch it, there are countless fabrics that offer an easier, more immediately comfortable feel.

At the same time, as this loopback fabric is washed again and again, the loops loosen and adapt to the wearer's body. Abrasion and wear marks also develop on the surface, transforming it from the uniform appearance of a new garment into something that belongs to its wearer.

 

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

If you say it has developed character while the neck has stretched, the body 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 have to consider what it will look like as time passes.

Fabric normally used vertically is cut horizontally. It is a long-established method exemplified by the Reverse Weave. It helps prevent stretching and shrinking in the vertical direction caused by washing and wear, making the silhouette less likely to lose its shape.

Old sweatshirts retain the ingenuity needed to be worn every day, washed many times, and still kept in use.

Using the fabric crosswise is not decoration meant to make it look vintage, either.

It was made that way because it needed to be.

What draws me in is not the appearance, but the reason behind it.

 

The sewing is finished with two-needle stitching rather than simple overlock finishing. We also set the stitch spacing finely. These are areas that are almost invisible unless you turn the garment inside out.

The reason we did not cut corners is that a sweatshirt is not a garment treated with care. It gets caught in the rain, pushed into a bag, and thrown into the washing machine.

I don't think the more casually a garment can be treated, the more casually it should be made.

 

The new hoodie follows the same idea.

It is easier to put on and take off than a pullover, and far more relaxed 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 the 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 high, it looks oddly heroic; if it lies too flat, the back view loses its presence.

Considering the weight of the thick fabric, we settled on a volume and angle that neither stand too upright nor collapse too much.

 

The zipper pull is made of deerskin. It is a very small detail, but one you touch with your fingers every time you wear it. It feels softer than grasping only cold metal, and becomes more comfortable in the hand the more you use it. It is not decoration, but a specification suited to a garment that is opened and closed again and again.

 

Wide Pants uses 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. So we used the fabric's weight and thickness to create their outline.

It feels easy on the body, yet never looks sloppy.

I like this slightly contradictory quality.

 

The only pockets are set along the seams at both sides. We added no unnecessary details, allowing the fabric's weight and the line of the pants to remain visible as they are.

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 made it so that it can remain a sweatshirt while sitting comfortably alongside leather shoes and jackets.

 

And this time, we have newly added WHITE.

I think this is the color that shows the sweatshirt's simplicity most honestly. Because there is nowhere to hide, you can clearly see everything from the fabric's weight and dry surface to the shadows created by its stitching.

Rather than keeping it carefully stored in pristine white, 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 that this sweatshirt’s place becomes clearer when you pair it with clothes of a slightly different character.

 

I don't think this is a garment that reveals everything the first time you put it on.

The two-needle stitching and the benefits of using the fabric crosswise probably won't 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 never tell a regular customer, “You’re one of the familiar faces.”

You usually don't even remember when it became that way.

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

Clothes can be like that, too.

You put it on again as soon as the laundry is done. You handle it more carelessly, yet find it harder to part with than when it was new. You don't know when it happened. But without it, you feel its absence.

 

If, before you know it, it has blended naturally into your wardrobe.

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

 

cantáte Matsushima Shin