So today I stumbled upon my old True Religion design sketches while cleaning out the garage. Man, what a trip down memory lane.
Finding the Box
I was hauling dusty Christmas decorations when my foot kicked this beat-up cardboard box. Pulled it out from under an old lawnmower and practically coughed my lungs out from the dust cloud. Inside were stacks of sketchbooks covered in greasy fingerprints and coffee stains.
Flipping Through the Past
Started leafing through the pages and boom – there they were. Those ridiculous horseshoe back pockets we hand-drew with thick markers. Remember how we argued about putting gold foil on the back patch? Spent three nights straight tweaking just that damn horseshoe curve until it looked “biblical”.
- First reaction : Laughed at how insanely bright the denim wash looked – like someone bleached the jeans under a meteor shower.
- Second reaction: My jaw dropped seeing those early pocket stitch patterns. Totally forgot we’d sewn tiny crosses into the seams.
- Third reaction: Found receipts for $40/yard Japanese selvage denim stuffed between pages. Nearly choked remembering how the factory fought us on using such expensive fabric.
The Realization Hit
Sat there cross-legged on the concrete floor just staring. These weren’t just jeans – every stupid stitch was a middle finger to the whole “premium denim” scene back then. We’d scribble designs on burger joint napkins after bar-hopping! And today’s stores sell knockoffs of our drunken doodles for $300 a pop.
Funniest part? My teenager wandered in holding his phone, pointed at the horseshoe sketch and said “Dad, that’s literally trending on TikTok”. Almost spilled coffee on 2002 me’s masterpiece.
Ended the day sitting in my crusty work jeans realizing something: good design doesn’t come from fancy studios. It comes from being dumb enough to try impossible ideas while everyone laughs at you. Those coffee-stained papers? That’s church right there.
