Elder millennials and older generations may remember a time when it was easy to get high-quality clothing that was made in the United States by skilled workers in reasonably pleasant working conditions. That is no longer a simple task. American Flannel: How a Band of Entrepreneurs Are Bringing the Art and Business of Making Clothes Back Home by Steven Kurutz chronicles the decline of the American clothing industry when "America renounced its role as factory to the world and, starting in the 1970s, outsourced much of its manufacturing to developing countries." Kurutz follows a group of leaders who are trying to bring it back.
A quick, easy read, American Flannel is nonetheless informative and endlessly interesting. Kurutz profiles many small, American-run businesses, though none in more detail than American Giant, a brand that began with a sweatshirt but now sells many types of classic knitwear. Kurutz (Like a Rolling Stone) spent countless hours with Bayard Winthrop, American Giant's founder and CEO, to document the birth and growth of the company: from a simple longing for the old-style, indestructible, warm, American flannel shirt to the only sweatshirt anybody would need to buy, Kurutz takes readers on the journey.
For readers curious about how a good flannel shirt is made, this is the book. For readers who put on socks every day without considering how they're knit or how they stitch up the toe, this is the book. And for those who wonder: Who learns to make shoes anymore? Again, American Flannel is the book. --Alyssa Parssinen, freelance reviewer and former bookseller