The Uniform

No matter the season and no matter the temperature, there are two articles of clothing that can be constantly thrown into the casual rotation: hats and t-shirts. They're solid options in summer when you are trying to keep only the basics on and can be layered once the cooler months hit. In all of their ubiquitous glory there are not-arguably too many options to choose from. T- shirts may fit too long or have collars that stretch. Hats can have oddly small bills and lack in quality materials. A lot can go wrong with a lot of options. Luckily we at Reserve have whittled down the options to a couple of American made brands that have never steered us wrong: 3Sixteen and Fairends.

3Sixteen does more than just tees. Their quality production stretches from premium denim to outerwear to beanies, but their stand outs (for us) have been their heavyweight and garment dyed t-shirts. Both the heavy weight and garment-dyed tees are constructed with 6.5 oz jersey fabric that is custom knit in Canada. This means they are cut from sturdy fabric that won't give you a sagging collar after you have worn it in. They then cut and sew all shirts in San Francisco. The garment-dyed tees go through a dying and enzyme wash process that give them a softer hand than the heavyweights but still don't feel thin. Whether you want the softer feel or heavy hand you'll still be reaching for 3sixteen.

Fairends started when Ben from Minnesota and Martin from New York collaborated on making custom bicycles in lower Manhattan and were looking for another opportunity to work together. They wanted to make hats that were for anyone. No logos, no frills, just a line of quality made colorful hats that you could grab for any outing. They designed a hat that looks at home on heads in Brooklyn as much as on west coast beaches and now have their caps in stores all over the globe. Their latest run is made of organic cotton twill and comes in a wide array of colors. All of their hats are made in California.

Hats and t-shirts are the universal uniform when a uniform isn't required. They dip into the casual side of style but that doesn't mean they get a pass on quality. Stop by the shop and see the options we've narrowed down over the years. If you pick up something that has the name 3sixteen or Fairends, it is going to be a well constructed piece. They don't expect a pass on quality. Neither do we, and neither should you. Photos By Danny Perez and Max Burkhalter