Brian Davis
Where did you grow up?
I grew up on Long Island in an area called the North Fork. Which is the easternmost part of Long Island if you keep going east as far as you can go - and then, keep going, and keep going. It’s pretty rural out there. It’s mostly farms and fishermen and not much else.
Would you come to the city a lot when you were younger?
Oh yeah, definitely. My earliest recollection of coming into the city myself, I was probably like twelve or thirteen.
Do you remember where you went?
We went to - actually, this is really funny because actually, it had just opened, this will tell you a bit about my age - my friends and me, we were all skateboarders, so we went to Supreme. It was all very intimidating. You still had to put tokens to get into the subway. We just went to go skateboarding; basically, that was our adventure. It was not about clothes or anything like that. We were skaters, and we wanted to meet other skaters and skateboard in spots we’d seen in magazines.
I like that there is still that clothing connection with Supreme in that story!
I think I was interested in clothes at a young age. If you’re into any subculture, music, skateboarding, there is a style that comes along with that; it's impossible to ignore. You sort of chose your lanes and sides within those worlds, even within something like skateboarding. There are guys who are flexing with gold chains and fancy sneakers, driving fancy cars. Then some guys were metalheads with mullets and black jeans. You could kind of figure out, “Well, where do I sit in that?” or “Am I taking bits and pieces from all of it and making my own thing?”
Have you participated in a lot of subcultures? You mentioned punk before.
I’m definitely not one who hopped around a lot, but I think at a young age, I just really gravitated towards alternative music. It was the first time I remember feeling like okay, Kurt Cobain, Snoop Dog. Hip-hop and alternative music, and sort of aggressive music were all happening at that time. And skateboarding, I feel like all those things happily co-existed together. I was right there, in the center of it all for sure. And then that evolved. It was a baby step to discovering hardcore. Which was really great for me since I grew up in the middle of nowhere, and there wasn’t anything to do. It was very tribal; you could find other people in other parts of Long Island who were into the same thing, and all of a sudden, you had something to do on the weekends.
That seems to be a common theme with hardcore!
Very localized. It was a time where things were really just happening in people’s basements and local VFW halls. That was pretty much the extent of my subculture. I went in deep on that, and it had a very lasting effect on me, in all aspects of my life.
Do you take little pieces from the subcultures today?
Hardcore, in particular, the 90’s in New York, had terrible style. It was the worst style imaginable; huge baggy pants, athletic sneakers, basketball jerseys, golf visors, it was really awful. It’s ironic because if you look at pictures from other hardcore scenes around the country, everyone looked really cool. If you look at pictures from Washington, D.C., LA, or Chicago, everyone looked cool. They were just wearing old Levis and T-Shirts - totally timeless, totally great. New York for whatever reason was like this weird hybrid of, I don't even know, hip-hop and raver, it was a mess. Thankfully I only dabbled in that! I’ll tell you as a young person being like in junior high school, you saw that and were like, “Okay, cool, I gotta get into that.” I snapped out of it really quickly because I saw this band from New Jersey called You and I; they all dressed amazing. They all had black Dickies, shined up dress shoes, button-up shirts, and cardigans.
So good.
But they were still screaming and flailing on the floor. Really in the super-aggressive world. But I was like, “THAT'S the look.” I remember the very next day going to this store called Caldor, with my grandfather. He was thrilled because I had been wearing these big baggy pants - he hated it. I got some brown sharp creased work pants, brown dress shoes, a button-up shirt, and a cardigan. I was like, “I'm in; this is it.”
Everyday uniform!
Exactly. That’s really when I got into going to thrift stores and just finding other bits like that. That’s where that interest really spawned from, the music world.
Tell me about something you’re wearing now! You were talking about the sleeved vest on Instagram yesterday.
I was going to wear this [sleeved vest] anyway. I’m not super precious with anything I own; I don’t even own that many clothes... I guess I own all this, so that’s a little different! I think what I was talking about yesterday was really spurred on by this feeling, people get jaded so quickly, in any industry. What I love is meeting people who are still excited about what they are doing. I felt invigorated when I found this because this is something I’'ve wanted for a long time, and I finally got it in my size, in good condition. I was excited about it! It was funny because you spend a lot of time fixating on something and wanting something, and sometimes when you get that thing, it doesn’t even look good. You’re like, '“This is ridiculous. Why was I obsessing over this thing?” It was just the thrill of the hunt. But, I was pleasantly relieved when I got this because I do like it!
I love when that happens. I think it especially exciting if you’re buying vintage, or you go to consignment stores, or something. I always have a list of things I’m hunting for and when you do find that thing it’s a sign!
Oh yeah, it’s like meant to be! It’s fun to finally get that thing. For the record, it’s a ‘40s/’50s era L.L. Bean sleeved vest. I don’t know how they described it; I need to find an old catalog. It’s the only way I can think to describe it. It’s not a jacket, it’s definitely a vest, in the style of an old Brown’s Beach vest. I wouldn’t be surprised if Brown’s Beach actually made it. L.L. Bean actually, people don’t realize this, they didn’t actually make much. They made the totes and the boots, but a lot of their other stuff was private label from other brands. They would curate kind of the best of the best of which they thought was interesting and have them put their label on it. They sold shirts probably from Saint James, Breton striped shirts. I wouldn’t be surprised if Brown’s Beach made this. I have this same shirt, the red and black houndstooth wool shirt, they were probably like, “could you put this sleeve on that?” I like this piece; it was fun to find it. It’s still exciting to find clothes and want things. That’s a feeling that has not left me since I was ten years old.
Do you remember the first thing you found that gave you that feeling?
Yeah, 100%. It was an Adidas Samba Classic. It was a moment in time, I remember seeing those sneakers, I was with my grandmother, and I had to have them. She got them for me! I remember wearing them to school and just feeling like a million dollars. I felt like the shit! I always loved that feeling. I always loved the feeling that clothing had that type of power - for better or for worse - it had a grip on me where I was like, “this is how I want to express myself.”
I get that feeling completely.
Also, being a young punk, I just wanted to react against everything. Whatever other people were doing, I did not want to do that thing; I wanted to do something else. And that still informs my style. There are things where I’m like, “Oh, that's cool, maybe I should check that out.” But then I see too many people, and I need to back away from that. It’s fine, classics are classics, and they’ll be there, I’m just going to wait until the wave is over. I don’t want to be on the wave.
I love when everyone says something is done... I’m like, “no no no, it just started.”
Totally. Adidas Samba Classic, 4th grade, changed my life in some weird way.
I get that. There are so many, and this sounds weird to a lot of people, but I think you’ll get it, pieces of clothing that have changed my life. I think if you’re the type of person that has a relationship with clothes, you understand that completely. For some people, they are like, “What do you mean? Those shoes didn’t change your life.” I think it gives you a boost of confidence in how you see yourself.
I grew up in a place where I went to the same school from 2nd grade until I graduated with the same like 75 kids.
I had the same situation, pre-k until graduation.
And that to me felt so oppressive that I could not wait to leave. Any little thing that you did that deviated from the norm, that was controversial. And so, I couldn’t wait to leave. I moved to New York City the second I could when I was 18. It was such a relief to be able to wear what I wanted. It sounds so cliche, but that was really the appeal of it. I felt like I could do and wear whatever I wanted, and no one is going to give a shit. Because there is somebody that is doing something a hundred times more eccentric and crazy. All I wanted to do was wear vintage Wranglers, Wallabees, and old 50/50 cotton-poly blend t-shirts with some stupid graphic on them and a denim jacket. And have big curly hair. That was all I wanted to do. And I got to do it, and nobody bothered me.
So you said you don’t buy a bunch of clothes, do you have “too much” of anything?
So, it’s interesting; my real vice was vintage clothing. I was buying a lot of vintage clothing before having a store. It got to a point where my girlfriend at the time (wife now) was like, “why don’t you open up a men's vintage clothing store?” Online, this was 2010, when the idea of that seemed really novel. So that gave me an outlet for the stuff I was already really passionate about buying. I kind of get it out of my system that way. I don’t buy, I haven’t bought a new piece of clothing in years. And that’s not to say I dislike new brands. Like, I love Engineered Garments, it’s like my favorite brand. I love RRL and the myriad of Japanese brands that are amazing right now. But for me, I want to immerse myself in Wooden Sleepers and this world.
You do a good job of it!
It’s me; it is super reflective of my personality and my tastes. If I’m not in it, what message does that send?
You want to live and breathe your brand, then other people will recognize that and want to do the same.
It doesn’t feel like a chore!
So, if you could be dropped into any time period just for the clothes, what would you pick?
That’s interesting, one thing I hate in vintage clothing is looking like you’re wearing a costume. Something that I try to promote with Wooden Sleepers is picking and choosing, piecing together things from different eras, different styles to just make something that is your own. So, with that said, and I don’t know if this is cheating, I think I like being in this era because I get to pick and choose my favorite things from all the previous eras. Most vintage menswear guys are going to say ‘30s/’40s no question, but then the thing with that is I love the ‘80s stuff, some stuff from the ’90s since that's when I came of age. I love the select pieces from each era. I’m sticking with 2019! Is that fair?
Yeah, sure! I didn’t know if there was a year that you would have liked to have been born in so you could live through all the different eras.
A big thing for me and something that informs all my personal interest in clothes and style is I want to find what I feel is the quintessential version of that thing. And that could lead me to all different eras. If I’m looking for the quintessential oxford clothing button-down shirt, I may not actually have to go that far; I could just go to the ’60s/’70s to Brooks Brothers. Or if I want the best version of a hoodie, some people might say the ‘80s, and you could get a Champion Reverse Weave, or you could go to the ’40s for the perfect double V crewneck sweatshirt. If you want the perfect khaki pant, you don’t have to go much further than the ’50s and find a nice military surplus pair. So that’s where my personal interest lies, and the aesthetic of the store is formed. I want to find the best versions of these things for myself and the store.
Is there anything in the store right now that you’re particularly obsessed with?
So this [knit basketball jersey] is interesting because it has an early Spalding label, ‘20s era Spalding label, which is fascinating because they always made sports equipment, the basketball that is used in the NBA since it was formed. It’s interesting to find these kinds of pieces!
I’m obsessed with vintage gym uniforms, and all the things that everyone had but probably threw away. Like old camp uniforms and such. They got so dirty that everyone threw them away.
I always say something like this WWII Military Era Undershirt; I feel like this is rarer than a beautiful uniform. Something like this would have been garbage. This withstood the test of time. Plus it feels amazing and it has a certain construction.
Those pieces, to me, are the most incredible.
What movie had the biggest influence on your style?
The Great Outdoors
What are 5 songs you always play?
Polar Bear Club - Silent Majority
Water vs. the Anchor - On The Might of Princes
Ray Brower - Inside