Shorts Go 4th!

They sold out at Bloomingdale’s and we’ve had people clamoring for them ever since. Now they’re available directly from Distilled. We’re releasing our Side Panel & One Pocket Cargo Shorts just in time for your holiday BBQ this weekend.

Distilled Super Fan Erik U. (real customer) emailed us this note about our Side Panel Shorts:

“i just wanted to send a note to say that these shorts are the best thing maybe _ever_. i literally haven’t owned a pair of [non-sports] shorts in maybe a decade? and now i’m wearing them 2-3 times a week. especially for the summer home office scene, there could be nothing better. ROCK”

Pick up a pair by Thursday and we’ll be sure it gets to you by Friday. Free shipping!

Let Me Introduce You To... Joanna

Three years ago I was lured by the hum of machines down a back alley and into an unmarked building - generally not a good idea on Capp Street. There I was greeted by the warm smile of Joanna. A complete and fortunate coincidence, Joanna’s sewing shop was just a half block down Capp from Distilled’s studio. Since that day she has become our primary resource for sewing Distilled. 

To say she is one of our most valuable assets would be a gross understatement. Rush time-lines, super complicated garments, eccentric details, she’s done it all for us. When we showed other shops our plan to use bungee cord as a Toggle Coat closure they laughed and said “too hard.” When we showed Joanna she had solutions for how to do it. This positive attitude, refined sewing skill and hard work has kept her shop open for business as almost all other SF sewing factories have closed.

Sewing since she was 17 years old she first worked in Hong Kong creating blouses and then men’s pants. In 1969 she moved to San Francisco where she has run shops in Chinatown and the Mission working with companies like Giorgio Armani, Bebe and Distilled, sometimes employing up to 30 people. She is a pillar of San Francisco’s sewing industry, a valuable contributor the city’s economy and a great friend. Thanks for all your hard work Joanna! We <3 you!

San Francisco Summer Scarf

Mark Twain said “The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco.” So true.

Distilled comes to the rescue with the San Francisco Summer Scarf™!

Washed for softness, wrinkled for texture and cut to just the right length for casual wear, it adds a smart splash of color, washes easy and like many of this great city’s residents, it’s cool with both girls and boys.

Best of all, it’s made right here in San Francisco.

Get your own SFSS at distilledclothing.com

Auction for Carol

Please take a minute to support a friend of Distilled, Carol Decker, who lost her legs below the knee, her left arm and her vision due to complications during an emergency cesarean section on June 10th last year. The baby she delivered, Safiya, as well as young Chloe and husband Scott are all doing well but there are hospital bills that need to be paid and nearly $80k in rehab for Carol that is not covered by insurance.

Bid on Distilled and dozens of other great items at the Auction for Carol. You’re supporting Carol, Scott and their beautiful family!

Hot Models Strip to Support the Arts

Distilled donated a look to The Lab’s annual fundraiser Thread/Bare where audience members bid on the clothing a model is wearing on the catwalk. The model removes each garment as it is purchased. I honestly didn’t expect this to be as raunchy as it was. A member of The Lab’s Board of Directors was the first model and she was definitely not not hot. Go The Lab.

More pictures including some of me pretending to be a hipster art kid at alamodedujour.blogspot.com.  -Thanks for that Lee!

Distilled <3 Our People

Distilled is lucky. We have great friends, friends like Yanda. I took a picture of Yanda and he emailed me to ask if he could post it to Facebook with the caption “I <3 distilled”.

Hells yes. You can definitely do that Yanda. In fact we’ll do one better. We’ll take that photo and add your sentiment to the image itself. I think you’re on to something here.

Do you want to show your love? Just go to Distilled’s facebook page and make a request on our wall and we’ll add “I <3 distilled” to one of your photos.

We <3 you folks

Sneak Preview of Distilled's First Shoot with... a Lady!

Distilled has gone unisex. And not just casual, experimented-in-college unisex. We’ve gone full on lady crazy. The full spread of photos will be available when we launch our first ever product for both men and women, the San Francisco Summer Scarf. Until then enjoy this set of photos by Distilled’s own Media Czar in Residence, N.Haddox.

Self Edge - Historic Jeans

My brother can quote the score of every Superbowl game ever played; NFL Football is just something that he is really, really into. Take that and times it by 100 and you have Kiya Babzani’s passion for denim.

Kiya runs Self Edge, an unassuming shop on Valencia at 18th St. that sells the world’s most sought after denim. Europeans fly to San Francisco just to shop at Self Edge. Why? Because it’s cheaper than flying to Japan which is the only other place in the world you can buy most of the stuff at Self Edge.Kiya is also is a master collaborator, constantly working with the world’s top denim producers like Iron Heart, Sugar Cane & Dry Bones to create exclusive pieces only available at Self Edge. People who think about jeans the way you and I think about water wait with dry mouths to hear what Kiya has coming out next.

All this love and attention might lead you believe that Kiya is a dick. He’s not. He’s sweet as honey. I suggest you check out the store and meet the humble and knowledgeable lord of indigo. If not the store then at least skim his brilliant interview with Selectism where he drops crazy textile knowledge like this:

“I wanted a heavier than ‘classic weight’ denim with a lot of character not only in the weft but something that was also visible in the warp. Something 16oz or so, dark pure indigo, and slightly resin pressed to give it a darker look. The resin comes right off if you choose to soak the jean before wearing it, which many are choosing to do. I also wanted something where in spots it almost looks like it’s broken twill denim due to the extreme variation in the weave pattern.”

Right.

Miniature Monsters

Our dear friends and Distilled fashion icons at TacoLab have already outdone their recent chat about Siftables at a little forum known as TED. This time they’ve unleashed a mysterious fury of monsters across the internets.

These Miniture Monsters are generated once a day via time machine by the eponymous Prof. Engd and are managed by Mstr. Kalanithi. They’ve been arriving since January 2nd and will keep coming through all of 2009. They’ve already got a pretty impressive gang in the archive.

Oh, and the Monsters have their own hotline. Dial 650 273 5382 for a monster fact report. Even hear your own comment if you contribute one!