Week No. 6: I Pledge Allegiance to These Jeans

For a woman, discovering the perfect pair of jeans -- and made in the U.S., to boot -- is akin to finding the Holy Grail. That would explain why my research on this particular American-made product took me an extra week, and could easily take even more time. But, as imperfect as this week's edition may be, it's a start.

Okay. In my closet currently hangs (and usually not for long, as they get a lot of wear) the perfect pair of jeans: Gap brand, "Long and Lean," with a midrise (below the waist, but not of the muffin-top variety), and blessedly long enough for my legs. They have been washed and worn to the perfect level of feel and comfort. And, they were made in the U.S., in December 2004, to be exact. (I know this because Gap tags not only reflect the country of origin, but the date).

Skip ahead a few years. My other favorite jeans are a pair of Gap's "Curvy Flare" style, made in August 2008 ... in Bangladesh. Skip ahead a few more years. October of 2011, to be exact. Gap -- which started out in San Francisco, on a shoestring in 1969, and grew to be an industry behemoth whose four other primary brands are Banana Republic, Old Navy, Piperlime and Athleta -- has announced plans to close over a fifth of their U.S. Gap stores by 2013, due to declining sales ... while simultaneously expanding its operations in China, tripling the number of stores there.

Way to hang tough, Gap. It's all about the bottom line. But here's the real bottom line: You're still the largest specialty apparel retailer in the U.S., but that isn't good enough. Well, then you're not good enough for me anymore, either. Not when you no longer make your jeans here and, further, opt to retail them elsewhere.

When I started this blog, my goal was to present American-made alternatives to items we regularly use. One of the criteria was that these items had to be attractive. Ladies, we know that no matter how durable and affordable American-made jeans are, we are not going to buy them unless they are both comfortable and flattering as well. I love my country, but I am not going to parade around in a pair of "hee-haws."

Behold a company that gets the G.R.A.C.E. award for producing a pair of jeans that meets all criteria: Diamond Gusset. For 25 years, this U.S. company has been MAKING jeans, starting with growing the actual cotton throughout the southeastern United States. The buttons and burrs are from Kentucky and Tennessee; the hang tags, labels and thread from Tennessee; the pocketing from Mississippi; and the leatherette patch from Alabama. Finally, the jeans are stonewashed and sewn in Georgia, not in foreign sweatshops. You can view the assembly of these jeans via this link: http://www.gussetjeans.com/video/Made_In_Blue_Ridge_Georgia/.
These jeans are also unusual in that they feature a diamond-shaped insert in the crotch for better comfort and ease of movement (hence, the "gusset").

While my research did unearth a number of other companies offering American-made jeans, none of them created their products from start to finish in the U.S., and none featured a pair of jeans for under $100, which has been my preferred price point from the get go. The "Backstage" model featured above is described as a lower mid-rise, just below natural waist, straight leg, but not skinny, stonewashed finish, and sells for $59.95. You can find them here:
http://www.gussetclothing.com/wstretch.html. There are three other women's styles available, including a semi-low rise, boot cut model for $63.95.

Diamond Gusset, headquartered in Bon Aqua, Tennessee, also emphasizes that you can "speak with a real person" during normal business hours: M-F, 9-5; and Saturdays, 10-4:30.

I realize that this home grown company, by its very nature, offers a limited number of styles. You may have to live with these jeans for awhile before they become perfect, weatherworn friends. But -- you can't hurry love.

Part II coming soon: Other U.S. brands of jeans, using imported materials.

Week No. 5: Bringing Halloween Home

All of the mounting hubbub about Wall Street occupation and protesting only seems to drive home my initial point in starting this blog: that John and Jane Doe cannot wait for anyone to bail them out. We have to do this at a grass roots level by patronizing our own country's businesses. It may be a little more expensive at times, but then buy less and buy better.

For instance, Halloween is approaching. You could go to the local superstore and pick up a bag of crap to distribute. You could do that, yes. It would be cheap and easy. It would also be thoughtless.

Look -- no one needs to pick up as much candy as they used to because Halloween has long ceased being a holiday where children (like I was once upon a time) stampeded the entire neighborhood, and far beyond, completely unchaperoned. There was a delightful spookiness in knocking on the door of a house whose occupants you knew nothing about, all part of an avaricious quest to overfill your bag with enough loot to last until the following year.

The times, they have long a'changed. Children now only venture out to the homes of well- acquainted neighbors, under the watchful eye of their parents. Or, they bring treats to share with classmates at school. You therefore don't need the endless supply of sweets required in days of old to take care of your share of trick and treaters. Hence, a golden opportunity to buy less but buy better.

Here's what I discovered. Natural Candy Store is a business opened and operated by two sisters and their mom in Concord, California, offering healthy treats for any child or child at heart. The candies are organized into categories so that you can ensure that your selections exactly match your specific needs and wants. If you want candy made in the U.S., you've got it. Gluten or allergen free, check! Candy that can be safely given to children with ADHD, check! Vegan, kosher, fair trade, organic ... it's all there. And for the record, none of the candies contain artificial ingredients, so there's no reason for anyone to feel left out of the holiday fun.

And, while the prices may not be bargain basement priced, the candy is top of the line and at a sufficiently low cost to feed a classroom for under $20.00. The variety is unsurpassed, from fudge to licorice to hard candy to popcorn balls, and then some. There are also baking decorations, natural food colorings, and dessert toppings.

Here's the website: http://www.naturalcandystore.com/

Week No. 4: The only hairbrush you'll ever need

Ironically, it was in my earliest days of newswriting -- when I was barely formed as a human being -- that I penned a column in which nostalgia played a salient role. One of those columns had to do with my love for "men in uniform," that is, the ones who periodically visited my neighborhood while I was growing up. Impeccable in manner and dress, they offered suburban housewives the opportunity to purchase an array of goods from their respective doorsteps. You filled out a card, left it in the chute, and magically, there soon appeared your requested dairy products. On Saturday mornings, we crowded around my mother at the front door, as she selected crullers and jelly-filled donuts from the baker's tray. Afternoons were regularly punctuated by the cheerful call of "Polly Prim!" That signified an exchange of freshly drycleaned garments for ones to be sent off.

This discussion would not be complete without a mention of the Fuller Brush man, who kept our family supplied with well-made combs and boar bristle brushes. No dime store stuff in our house. Of course, cleaning those investments was as regular an occurrence as any other kind of housekeeping.

If you have never had an excellent boar bristle brush, you are missing out on one of life's pleasurable necessities. Recession or no recession, it's time to quit exposing your wallet and hair to cheap, plastic excuses for a hairbrush. A natural boar bristle brush is a joy to use, distributing the natural oils of your hair, facilitating its health and beauty.

The Fuller Brush man may no longer knock on our doors, but the products are still accessible. And here's what you should know about the company. In 1906, Alfred C. Fuller, a 21-year-old entrepreneur from Nova Scotia, decided to begin the first day of that year by starting what eventually became known as the Fuller Brush Company. "From a bench between the furnace and the coal bin in his sister's New England home, young Fuller set out to make, in his own words, ' ... the best products of their kind in the world.'" These products -- which have expanded to encompass numerous household and personal care items -- continue to be crafted in the United States by a company that strives to offer non-toxic, environmentally friendly, and durable goods.

The brush featured above, made of beechwood and natural boar bristles, fits all of my initially stated criteria. It is beautiful, durable, eminently usable, and affordable, offered at the extremely competitive price of $39.99, thereby also keeping it under my preferred ceiling of $100.00.

For more information, go to http://www.fuller-brush-products.com/.

Let there be light!

While visiting my cousin's new home on the Florida Panhandle over my recent birthday weekend, the subject of lamps came up, mostly because she and her husband, newly arrived from Alaska, had not yet located and unpacked all of them. I teased her about the overhead lights making my guest bedroom feel like an interrogation room. However, one of the lamps -- or the base of one, anyway -- that had made its way to 'light of day' and was currently gracing the office/music room, caught my interest. The base was a handsome compilation of smooth charcoal-toned rocks.

In my enthusiastic search for items that are American made, affordably priced, and as attractive as they are durable, I was particularly gratified to happen upon this Midwestern version of my cousin's light fixture. There are 15 different styles, and four sizes, ranging from mini to "Big Kahuna." Crafted from multi-colored rocks that have been endlessly tumbled and tossed by waves on the shores of Lake Superior, the world's largest freshwater lake, these lamps are inherently unique.

Each lamp is signed and numbered by Gail Anderson, an Illinois transplant and professional photographer, who has made her current home in Marais, Minnesota, with her pilot husband, and two sons. I find it quite laudable that Ms. Anderson has found a way to express herself beyond her photography by recycling a natural resource in a way that is both artistic and useful.

And, in my quest to promote products that can be purchased for under $100, I am happy to say that the mini and medium sizes of these naturally beautiful lamps, are priced at $70 and $90, respectively, and include a shade in a complementary light dusty green hue. Although shipping is $12.95 extra for the mini, and $15.95 for the medium, those fees automatically include $100 of insurance.

To read more about, view and order these remarkable lamps, go to http://www.superiorlightsource.com/.

Think Audrey Hepburn, not Carrie Bradshaw.

One of my favorite guilty pleasures is watching HGTV (I do not have cable) while putting in four miles of incline walking on the treadmill at the athletic club down the street. And, my favorite program on that network is "House Hunters," which shows three prospective homes being considered by the featured buyers. Most of the buyers are couples. They typically have a list of must haves, such as a big yard for the dog and kids, or proximity to good schools. But, invariably, right up at the top of that list, is a closet the size of a warehouse for the wife's shoe collection.

I mean, I'm a woman, and I still don't get it. Is there some sort of security in having more footwear than you'll ever have the opportunity to use? Have these Imelda Marcos clones ever put pen to paper and figured out the cost per wear of each pair? Look at the sad lesson learned by SATC's Carrie Bradsaw, who calculated that she had spent some $40,000 on her Manolo Blahnik/Jimmy Choo addiction, resulting in her inability to put a down payment on the apartment from which she was about to be evicted.

My premise in starting this blog is that -- despite the Great Recession in which we find ourselves currently mired -- there are some things that we still need to buy. With that in mind, my goal is to help us find ways to take care of those needs with American-made products, and in so doing, to help fund our own grassroots bailout. Yes, shoes, are among those needs. Only, not a warehouse full of them, and not ones that get such infrequent use that their cost per wear renders them costly duds.

What makes a shoe worth buying?

1. Comfort -- No shoe is worth buying if it causes pain or damage to your feet, no matter how cute.

2. Durability -- No shoe is worth buying if it falls apart due to poor workmanship or materials.

3. Versatility -- No shoe is worth buying if you have little opportunity to wear it.

4. Attractiveness -- No shoe is worth buying if it's ugly. I realize this is subjective. For instance, those 8-inch, multi-strapped, bondage-style heels regularly featured in "Elle" and "Vogue" are nothing to me but a freakish-looking byproduct of misogyny that will eventually lead to inability to walk in your golden years.

5. Affordability -- No shoe is worth buying, even if it meets all of the above-listed criteria, if it puts you into serious hock, i.e., inability to pay your rent or electric bill.


In light of all of the above, I have chosen New Balance's "Aravon Jamie" model as my featured American-made product of the week. With its Vibram NEWFLEX outsole, Primalux comfort cushion, and Dri-lex lining (for sweat control), it's the athletic version of the classic Audrey Hepburn ballet flat. Premium leather upper for additional durability. Croc-imprinted patent leather inserts for additional style. Versatile enough to wear with skinny jeans for casual or with slim-legged pants to the office. The right kind of pant cut is essential. Think slim.

And the price? This comfortable version of a timeless classic -- normally selling for $139.99 -- is currently listed at $49.99 ... with free shipping!

Check out this shoe and others on New Balance's website, http://www.shopnewbalance.com/, and also learn about this company, which bills itself as the only athletic shoe company "that continues to prove high-quality athletic footwear can be produced competitively in the United States." Considering that many other brands are produced in third world countries by workers who are not even paid their own version of minimum wage, I think that even Audrey would approve of this company's version of one of her favorite shoe styles.

Week One -- The Well-Dressed Cook

The purpose of this blog is simple: to inspire Americans to help fund their own economic recovery by focusing their dollars on American-made products.

Don't become further disheartened by listening to any more incessant talk radio chatter about who did what to get this country into its tenuous financial state, or how no one "in power" has any viable solutions to turn it around.

We the people can begin by helping each other with our purchasing power. Most of us are spending less, true. But there are still things that we need -- and sometimes want -- to buy.

My goal: to educate you, every week, about another fine American-made product. My choice for today is based upon 1) my love for cooking; and 2) the prospect of looking like a fashionista at the same time. This form-fitting beauty is hand-crafted in San Francisco, comes with a price tag of $38.00, and can be purchased from Norton's U.S.A., which bills itself as "A Uniquely American General Store," located in Barrington, Illinois. Call: 888-326-7997, or go to their website: http://www.nortonsusa.com/.