PRESENT FOREVER is the new go-to source for discovering independent clothing brands, makers and stores from across the globe.
I rarely write about technical wear. This for the simple reason that I feel unable to pull it off. (And by “it” I guess I mean something on the borderline of tech and gorp.) I’ve daydreamed about it at times: how I’d take my And Wander Dyneema© bag, put on my Norma runners, get into my Arc’teryx cargos, Satisfy thermal, Helly Hansen Archive fleece and Goldwin puffer jacket, and just hike along that endless road to nowhere. But in real life? No. Or, to be truly honest: I believe I’ve bought each of these items at one point in the past two or three years — trying them on every now and then, hoping that it will work out this time, only to again conclude that it isn’t for me.
I’ve often wondered whether this sorry conclusion derives purely from premises relating to my own identity: I’m too bookish to be gorp, I’m too much of a stay-at-home to be outdoorsy, I’m too stiff for clothes made for performance, I’m too much of a wool-and-cord person to be wearing polyester. Does this mean I have to become someone else entirely before I can turn my daydreaming into a reality?