Photo: New England Shirt Co.
Welcome to the first issue. Where I’m from, a quarterboard is a hand-carved board bearing a name — you’ll see them over doorways all across Nantucket, and a name doesn’t go up on one casually. Same rules here: I track small American makers of rugged prep — handsewn camp mocs, factory oxfords, selvedge, waxed canvas — and every week one maker’s name goes up on the board. Every pick is labeled: 🇺🇸 fully US-made, US-made line (this item yes, the brand’s other stuff no), or disclosed nuance. When a brand quietly moves production offshore, I’ll tell you. That’s the whole deal.
On the board this week: New England Shirt Co., Fall River, Massachusetts 🇺🇸
Photo: New England Shirt Co.
Fall River was once the epicenter of American textile production — they called it the original garment district. Most companies left. One shirtmaker stayed. New England Shirt Company has been sewing in the same mill town since 1933, which makes them, by their own fair claim, the oldest ready-to-wear shirtmaker in America.
Here’s the part almost nobody knows: for decades they’ve been “the shirtmaker’s shirtmaker” — the factory quietly sewing for some of the most respected labels in American menswear, the names you’d pay $250+ to wear. Now they sell under their own label, single-needle tailored (the slow, precise construction that’s the hallmark of fine shirting), for $148–188. Their Bristol oxford at $178 is the best US-made OCBD under $200, and there’s a “Factory Finds” outlet section for the patient.
Photo: New England Shirt Co.
It’s July, so start where they’re strongest right now: the linen camp shirt ($148) or a cotton madras button-down ($188) — mill-town summer shirts from people whose grandparents did the same job on the same floor. The Bristol oxford can be your September order.
Buy first: Linen camp shirt, $148 → newenglandshirtco.com
This week’s picks — built for July
🇺🇸 Camp Moc — Easymoc, Lewiston, ME (~$315-350). The summer shoe, handsewn start to finish in a small Maine workshop — and they just released an America’s 250th edition in Horween natural Chromexcel. Made to order, 2-6 weeks: order now, wear it all August. → easymocs.com
🇺🇸 Heavyweight Cotton Rugby — Columbiaknit, Portland, OR (~$105). Knit, cut, and sewn in the factory that’s long made rugbys for heritage brands charging double — sold factory-direct from a gloriously dated website. The beach-bonfire layer. Full profile coming soon. → columbiaknit.com
🇺🇸 Read Boat Shoe — Rancourt & Co., Lewiston, ME ($288). Handsewn by the family factory that’s been doing it since 1967, lifetime guarantee, outlet section for seconds. The boat shoe the big brands imitate. → rancourtandcompany.com
🇺🇸 Retro Stripe Socks — American Trench, Ardmore, PA ($15-32). The gateway drug of US-made goods. → americantrench.com
US-made line: Painter Pant — Stan Ray Core Classics, Crockett, TX (~$106-125). The summer work pant. Only the Core Classics capsule is still Texas-sewn — the rest of Stan Ray’s range is imported. This is the line to buy. → stanray.com/collections/core-classics
The Sale Wire
The Sale Wire runs every Friday in The Shop — a full edit of American-made goods plus the week's real deals. Here's a taste to start (verified this week; deals move fast, so check before you buy):
🇺🇸 Ginew (Portland) — 30% off (Spring Sale); the Thunderbird Chore Coat rarely gets cheaper → ginewusa.com
🇺🇸 Gitman Vintage (Ashland, PA) — Summer Sale on US-sewn oxfords and madras → gitmanvintage.com
🇺🇸 Stormy Kromer (Ironwood, MI) — a permanent Outlet on Michigan-made wool caps and gear, marked down year-round → stormykromer.com/sale
🇺🇸 Faribault Mill (MN) — the factory-seconds Warehouse is always worth a dig → faribaultmill.com
🇺🇸 Frank's Boots (Spokane) — a standing Seconds Sale collection worth watching → franksboots.com
🇺🇸 Dearborn Denim (Chicago) — not a sale, just the deal: $75 US-made jeans, one of the best everyday-price stories in American denim → dearborndenim.us
US-made line: 3sixteen — 25–60% off previous-season styles; the US-made selvedge denim is the buy → 3sixteen.com/collections/sale
Standing seconds programs (always worth a look): JK Boots warehouse (~30% off), Nicks Factory Seconds, Truman Seconds & Samples, Easymoc Factory Outlet, Rancourt Outlet.
Worth knowing
Maine Mountain Moccasin is winding down — their site announces a final sale coming soon. One less handsewn shop in Maine; if you’ve been eyeing their work, watch for it. Meanwhile Opie Way (Asheville) is fully back after Hurricane Helene destroyed their factory in 2024 — handmade court sneakers, and a comeback worth supporting.
Every item above was verified for country of origin this week. No brand paid to appear. Some links may become affiliate links — that never changes what gets picked.
P.S. Reply and tell me the one item you’ve been hunting American-made. The most-requested thing becomes a future issue.
— The Quarterboard · quarterboard.co · @quarterboardco