5 Favorites – Ratio Clothing’s Eric Powell

5 Favorites from Eric Powell, owner of ratio/clothing

Sure it’s just stuff.  But stuff can make life easier, more enjoyable, etc…  Every so often we ask one of our favorite people to rattle off their five favorite things.  This is the stuff they’d grab if the house was burning down.

Eric Powell is the owner, CEO, head guy, & top dog at custom shirt maker ratio/clothing.  They’re one of many made to order menswear start-ups, but one of the few (or only?) to make their shirts here in the United States.  Their custom sizing method hits the mark perfectly in-between too invasive and too dumbed down.  More on how it works over here.

As is always the case with our 5 Favorites series, nobody is paying to be here and we determine who gets a spot.  To ratchet up the difficulty level on owners and designers, they’re allowed to pick only one item from their place of work.

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#1 Imogene & Willie Barton Rigid Selvage Denim

“I&W is a smalland shop out of Nashville, TN run by a husband and wife team that used to design for the likes of RRL and J Brand.  At $250, these are absurdly expensive and a rare splurge for me, but you can get your money’s worth since raw denim is best when you have one pair and wear them very frequently (like every day).  They’re made in the USA with Cone Mills denim, and if you buy them in the store, they will hem them up and do alterations on the spot.  I’m not quite a raw denim cultist just yet, but I’ve worn mine virtually every day for a year and they really just get better with age.”

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#2 Ratio Campus Oxford

“The Oxford Cloth Button-Down is just about as classic and timeless as it gets.  Ours are raw, untreated oxford cloth, which means that they start a little stiff, but break in and have more character as they age.  I practically live in mine, especially in the cooler months when they layer nicely with a merino wool sweater.”

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#3 Turntable.fm

“Turntable is a great streaming music service where users go to a virtual “room” and people take turns DJing. It’s a great way to discover new music that works a little like Pandora, except that you have real people (the “DJs”) curating music for you based on the intent of the room. I usually am in the “Indie While You Work” room while I’m at my desk.”

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#4 Chuck Taylors / Jack Purcells

“Ever since I stopped working in a corporate office every day, my Chuck Taylors are my go-to shoe.  I like a classic white because they look just as good beat up and dirty as they do new.  And, since they are fairly inexpensive, you can pick up a new pair once you’ve worn yours out.”

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#5 Evernote

“Like many people in my age range that grew up on a computer, my handwriting is positively worthless.  I use Evernote for everything.  It’s my digital filing cabinet, to-do list, bookmark system, and it’s great for taking notes on the go.  I’m constantly thinking of things I need or want to do while I’m out or driving and this is a great way to capture those little thoughts so that they aren’t lost.”

For more on ratio/clothing, see the Dappered in-person review, the ratio/clothing website, and find them on Facebook.  Random fact about Eric:  When not making custom shirts, he can apparently make a mean grilled cheese.

Very Top “5” Photo Credit: Gunnar Bangsmoen