Gustin is a San Francisco based company that is using a crowdsourced funding model to bringing you raw, selvedge denim at competitive prices.
I started looking for better denim after my fourth crotch blowout. That's where my story begins - looking down at my exposed crotch through a tattered hole in my jeans. What I couldn't understand was, if I'm buying "good" (read: brand-name) denim, then why did it always break? That's when I started to look really hard at the denim I was buying. What was it made out of? Where was it made? How was it made? Little did I know that these questions would land me a denim-themed Instagram and blog, way too many pairs of jeans (and boots), and an annoying habit of lecturing my friends and family about denim. It also led me to this cool company called Gustin. (BTW that link is a referral link and get's us both $5 - whoo hoo!)
"That's where my story begins - looking down at my exposed crotch through a tattered hole in my jeans."
The Model
Gustin has taken the classic "Kickstarter" model and applied it - in a fairly ingenious way - to men's fashion. Gustin has a pretty good explanation of their model and story, but here's how it all works in a nutshell: Gustin will release a new product on their website - called a campaign. For a period of time, customers will have the opportunity to back said product. When you back the product, you pass over your payment information and, if the campaign is fully funded (i.e. reaches a critical mass of backers), Gustin processes payment and puts the product into production. It's usually about three days between when you back a campaign and when you learn whether the campaign is funded
*note: I've never backed a campaign that did not get funded.
Once the campaign is funded, the waiting begins. In my experience it takes about 10 - 12 weeks for a product to ship. This seems like a long time, and in fact it is a long time (three months!), but this is why Gustin is able to price items at almost half of what traditional retailers are charging.
Now I should note that Gustin is not the only company to do this. Taylor Stitch usually uses this model for new releases, but they also hold quite a bit of inventory on hand for immediate sale as well. Where Gustin is really able to save money is by holding essentially no inventory. They fund their entire purchase of raw materials before they even make the finished goods. Combine that with their direct-to-consumer model, and they're able to deliver some pretty great pieces at a killer value.
The Goods
Much to my wallet's dismay, Gustin offers a variety of denim and non-denim items that reflect the company's commitment to quality at an affordable price. If you visit their web store, you'll notice that every campaign that Gustin posts comes with a very detailed description of the product. They talk about the fabric and materials, origin, and construction of each piece with level of excitement that speaks to true passion for the craft.
As I mentioned above, since stumbling on to the brand, I've purchased quite a lot of Gustin items. I'm a sucker for a good deal and good story, and fortunately/unfortunately, Gustin is great at telling a good story and offering a great deal. They make their jeans out of raw, selvedge denim sourced from mills in Japan and (until their recent shuttering) Cone Mills in White Oak, NC. Gustin's leather goods are made from full-grain leather, much of it sourced from the famed Horween Leather Company (you know, the 100-year-old Chicago, IL tannery that makes all of the leather for the NFL's footballs? That one). It's Gustin's commitment to quality that keeps me interested, and the great prices keep me coming back.
The first thing I purchased from Gustin was a pair of 16oz. jeans made from American Cone Mills' denim, dubbed the "American Heavy" in their slim fit (more on the fit later). From there I picked up some mid-weight Japanese "mystery" selvedge denim on their black Friday special in a skinny fit. Then a waxed brown canvas type III trucker. From there I checked out their leather goods, starting with the Gustin briefcase in Horween's nut brown Dublin leather. Then a fishhook keychain in Horween natural (impulse buy). After that I dipped back into the denim pile for a pair 15oz. of jeans made from Zimbabwe cotton spun into raw selvedge denim in Japan. From there is was a pretty quick iteration through a leather accented duffel - made from the waxed canvas again - a corner wallet and Apple Watch strap made from Horween's Chromexel leather. After all that my therapist told me to stop.
Enjoy the gallery below!
I should mention that I've never purchased any of the shirting that Gustin offers. The shirts are good quality and made from great materials (heavy-weight cotton and USA chambray), but the prices range from about $60 - $100 and I'm not quite to the point where I'm willing to spend that much for something I'm only realistically going to wear once a week.
The Fits
Besides the wait time, my only semi-large gripe with Gustin is their fits. Gustin offers three styles for each denim and chino they make: Slim, Straight, and Skinny.
I'm not really interested in straight fit jeans (sorry 501's) - my ideal fit is a Levi's 511 or Nudie Lean Dean, so the first pair of Gustin's I purchased was in their slim fit. Now is a good time to mention that Gustin tries not to vanity size, so if you do purchase from them you're going to want to grab a measuring tape and a well-fitting pair of jeans and consult their size chart. You should also allow for about 0.5" in variation and the same for break-in potential.
I measured both by 511's and my Lean Dean's and went with Gustin's slim fit in size 33. When I finally received the jeans I found that they fit pretty well in the waist, but were just a tad baggy through the thigh, knee, and calf. After I soaked the jeans (six months later), they tightened up a bit, but I still feel they could be a bit more tapered. I actually emailed Gustin about the fit and got the following response:
"As for the fit, thanks for the feedback. No two brands really have the same fit and it's one reason why people stick with a single brand of jeans after they find a good fit. While you may find that the legs are a bit more relaxed than you'd like, we have many other customers who find our slim fit to be too tapered. Levis offers like 30 different fits and maybe 10 of them are different kinds of slims, but we only offer a single slim fit. A good fit for most, but definitely not ideal for those looking for something very specific."
So I get what they're doing, and realistically they probably couldn't sell their goods for the price that they do if they offered 30 different sizes.
For my next pair I decided to try their skinny fit to see if it fit better. It did not.
Gustin's skinny fit is, in fact, very skinny. I tend to have a more athletic build in the legs (bigger thighs, bigger calfs #humblebrag), so I prefer my fits to be slightly wider in the hip and thigh and evenly taper down through the knee and calf. The skinny fit that Gustin offers is fit me very tightly in the thigh and calfs, to the point where I could see the seems stretching when I put them on. I tried to wear them around and endure the pain while they hopefully broke in, but they never really got to a point where they were comfortable. I should mention that I've had friends with skinnier builds buy the skinny fit and, while they did have the fit issues that I ran into, they did mention that they jeans were not comfortable.
Overall, I think Gustin is a great company. They have an obvious commitment to quality goods, and they've employed a business model that allows them to manage inventory, reduce waste, and sell direct to consumers for a really good price. If you do order, keep in mind that (1) you'll wait a bit (three months!) to get your items, and (2) you'll want to consult the fit guide carefully and make sure that the fits that Gustin offers are right for you.
Enjoy!
*Please denim responsibly*
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