Shopping with. . . Michael Williams of A Continuous Lean

By Lauren Sherman
November 17, 2009

Pendleton's signature wool shirts and Native American jacquards at style-making boutique, Opening Ceremony. Mississippi Valley-based work boots brand Red Wing's grey nubuck Trench Protection boots at edgy shop Nom de Guerre. Seattle-based outerwear brand Filson's limited-edition briefcase, in partnership with sustainable clothing brand Apolis Activism.

What do all of these have in common? They're exciting collaborations between 100-plus-year-old classic Americana brands and cool, contermporary companies. In fact, thanks to partnerships like these, many of the blue collar labels that may have lined your grandfather's closet now sit next to designer duds at the world's best-curated stores boutiques. What's more, sudden demand for everything "made-in-the USA" has spurred bidding wars on eBay for both the new versions and old favorites, including items like Woolrich Woolen Mills coats and blankets and Alden shoes.

Followers of the Americana trend read Michael Williams, who documents his life-long obsession with all things red, white and blue on the popular blog, A Continuous Lean. The public relations executive, who co-owns the New York firm Paul and Williams, started the site at the end of 2007 and posts stories daily that American products and images that inspire him. Williams also happens to be a bit of an eBay addict. (For instance, he has a collection of about 70 plaid thermoses from the American Thermos Company—almost all of them acquired on the site.) Here, along with elaborating on his distinct point of view, Williams takes us shopping for unique American goods.

The Inside Source: Why did you start A Continuous Lean?

Michael Williams: I was home for the holidays in 2007 [home is Cleveland, Ohio] and I was, not surprisingly, kind of bored. I started going through my RSS reader and looking at all these blogs; I realized none of them represented my style. There were parts of blogs that I liked, but they didn't fully encapsulate my aesthetic. So I bought a domain and started posting. One of the first posts I did dissected an article from GQ on the band Vampire Weekend. The clothes were very much my style, so I talked about what they were wearing and why I liked it. The post got picked up by the New York Times, and from there I began updating ACL every day. Another big thing that motivated me to start the site was that there wasn't anything for guys who also happen to like clothes. I don't want to read about grills and football; I think that's lame.

TIS: How would you describe your style?

MW: Comfortably masculine, but not overly macho. Rugged and very quintessentially American.

TIS: How much time would you say you spend working on the site?

MW: On average, a couple of hours a day. Although because I have a pr company to run, I usually do most my blog work on the weekends or late in the evenings.

TIS: You were raised in the Midwest. How has that affected your taste?

MW: I grew up in a blue collar family in Cleveland. I've found that with a lot of people who work in fashion, their moms or dads taught them about clothes and style. In my family, these were things that were just never discussed. Being there did influence me, however, because people where I grew up live a sort of simpler life, and I don't mean that condescendingly. There, it's not about finding the next best thing or buying the most expensive thing available; it's about reliability. I can't say I didn't feel weird living there sometimes, though. I was definitely the only person at my high school interested in Savile Row.

TIS: You have a section on your site listing brands that produce goods in the USA. It's very comprehensive. How long did it take you to compile?

MW: Honestly, I put it together in ten hours over one weekend. About 10 percent of the stuff has been submitted by readers, but most of it is my own knowledge.

TIS: What motivated you to put it together?

MW: I have a very serious nature, so I'm interested in the process of manufacturing things: where something is made, why it costs what it does, why certain items are considered better than others. . . When I go into a store and see a $200 shirt that's been made in China, I'm curious as to why I can go to J.Press or Brooks Brothers and find a similar, U.S.-made shirt for half that price. Working in the clothing business has taught me that it's more about margins than cost.

TIS: Your focus is menswear, but you know a thing or two about women's clothing as well. The two categories seem more connected than ever before. Why do you think that is?

MW: Well, I think that women's clothing will always be more trend-driven than men's, which is usually based on heritage and history. But menswear-inspired clothes for women—work wear, military, business suits—are trendy. I'd say about 25-30 percent of the people who read my site are women. I don't talk about women's clothing on the site, but I think that many women are interested in what's happening in menswear.

TIS: You're a regular eBay shopper. What keeps you coming back?

MW: One thing is the breadth of what's available. The core of eBay to me is impatience. If I want something tomorrow, I can get it on eBay. Or I can go to the flea market for 200 days in a row and I might never find it. It's like a dream in that sense. But it also creates a market for things. Before, people often didn't realize the value of things that they were selling to antique stores or at fairs. Now they know because of eBay, and everything I love has gotten more expensive! Although you can still get good deals.

What Michael Williams is Currently Craving on eBay:

1. Mission Beverages Wooden Soda Bottle Crate Box (buy it now price, $59.95)

MW: Originally, I was buying wooden soda and dairy crates for my showroom. Then I found one for my bike, my books and magazines.... You can do anything with them.
http://bit.ly/jTSLT

2. WWII U.S. Army Wood Cot (Buy It Now, $49.95)

MW: I want one of these for my office so I can sleep on it if I'm working late. My office is decorated like a little clubhouse.

3. Vintage Woolrich Plaid Wool Lined Jacket (starting bid, $14.99)

MW: The shell is made of one of the first technical fabrics: 60 percent cotton; 40 percent nylon. It's a pretty iconic 1980s prep style. I think that it's cool. They still sell it [new] in Japan, but not here.

4. Vintage Toledo Metal Furniture Company Drafting Stool with Wheels (buy it now price, $299.95)

MW: I have a stool from this company. Toledo, Ohio has a big history of metal furniture made for offices and schools, and these chairs have a very "1950s cafeteria" look about them.

5. Vintage World War II Era U.S. Navy Wool Blanket (buy it now price, $24.99)

I made my mom buy me a new military blanket for Christmas one year. Then I started searching for them on eBay and found these amazing old versions. I bought one that has the name of the Navy doctor who it belonged to embroidered in cursive. I now have six

**Photo of Michael Williams by Angelo Baque via Flickr.**

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