UNIFORM | Rudas Leisurewear

By Aja Lake
Summertime is supposed to be all about idle time, right? Long days followed by hot nights followed by the smell of breakfast in the morning. Idle time is something the Brooklyn-based duo behind RUDAS take very seriously, it's the point of focus for their unisex line of robes, lawn jackets, and dressing gowns. Launched this Spring, the collection is American-made using luxury fabrics from Belgium, Japan, and North Carolina. Whether you're lounging at home or half a world away, each piece is expertly constructed to encourage slowing down and enveloping yourself in stylish comfort. You can find RUDAS online, in Amagansett, and all summer-long at The Pennyweight Pop Up in Nashville.

UNIFORM | Pilgrim Women's Debut Collection

I'm a sucker for independent surf labels—the Mollusks, Birdwells, and Almonds of the world—because I feel like they are the brands that are nailing today's surf lifestyle in an authentic way and are starting to fill in for the big surf apparel companies that have completely lost touch with any kind of real surf culture. Pilgrim Surf + Supply has always been a label I've admired from afar. They're based in New York (funnily enough, I've been to their Beams pop-up shop in Tokyo but neither of their US locations) with a shop in Brooklyn and Amagansett and continue to do churn out quality and cool. Today marks the launch of their first ever women's collection which is American-made and wonderfully simple and casual. I'm sold.

UNIFORM | Summer Weekends

Memorial Day weekend is a common sartorial indicator of when to break out the summer colors (although we've always believed in white all year round!), but it's also around the time when the aroma of charcoal BBQs start to fill your day and the sun shines longer into the night. Here are a few picks from The Reed to celebrate and gear up for the greatest season of the year.

Lifeguard Hat ($24); Armor Lux Passarele Fair Trade Marinere ($125); N'East Paper Lobster Notecard ($4.50); Joshu+Vela Key Hook ($35); Vintage Nantucket Beaded Souvenir Belt ($46); Chambray and Indigo Bandana ($65); Drawstring Camp Shorts ($125); Joshu+Vela Canvas Boat Tote ($265).

GEAR | Solid Denim by Mosevic

Have you ever liked a pair of jeans so much that you wanted to wear them on your face? No? Just me? OK, well, regardless of next level denim-face interactions, the technology being utilized by the UK brand Mosevic to make a hard solid from our beloved textile is pretty unreal (when you click here you get a visual of how layers of denim are infused with resin). They call it solid denim, and have spent the last four years perfecting the process. Right now they're raising funds on Kickstarter, but soon, hopefully this summer, they'll be putting denim on your face. Solid. 

MOMENT | Summer Road Trips

As part of an ongoing series on The Reed, we're creating travel guides for destinations all over the world. The first two to launch were a road trip from Boston to Mid-Coast Maine and an Escape to Santa Fe. The idea of the guides is to point out some of the most distinctive and unique spots that help define a place and let you get a real taste of something the destination has to offer, maybe that's an ice cream cone or a spiced hot chocolate, maybe it's a rug shop or the L.L. Bean HQ in Freeport.

The next two guides will launch in just over a week, but I wanted to see if any of you guys were planning road trips this summer or if you've gone somewhere over the summers that you just can't get enough of!

Along with the guides we produced American-made Jungmaven t-shirts ($39) that are super classic and super soft for each destination (New England and New Mexico). We wanted the shirts to be like your favorite summer camp shirt or college tee. Hope you guys enjoy 'em and we'll let you know when the next two travel guides drop!

UNIFORM | Victor

It feels like one fashion trend that may define this decade is well-made basics—that perfect white t-shirt, grey crew neck, and navy hoodie are dominating our closets. Victor Athletics, a new Cinncinnati-based label (from the guys behind Nobel Denim) are churning out the exact pieces we're all craving without the ridiculous price tags. They're not only trying to create quality clothing but earnestly aiming to revitalize micro economies by employing American factories to make their goods. Check out that story here. Victor is now taking pre-orders for their first shipments in July.

GIFTS | Mother's Day @ The Reed

Mother's Day is on Sunday! I'm not saying I forgot, because I know my mom reads this (hi Mom!), but let's just say I didn't know it was this Sunday. So, OK! Guys! If you order a  *SIGNED* Tomboy Style book ($32) for mom (you can customize the note online) by Thursday at noon PST and enter the code MOMTOM at checkout, it'll ship for free (in the US) and we'll throw in a N'East Paper notecard! The first person to use the code will also get a Joshu+Vela Japanese Brass Key Hook. What!?

Done and done.