3sixteen

OUR ARTICLE

You’ve probably passed by it on East Second Street unaware. Without a determined eye, the intimate space can easily be overlooked as the sun creates a reflective camouflage along the large factory windows. There is no signage, just instructions to buzz numbers 102. Once dialed, you’ll be greeted to the openhearted squeak of an industrial door entering a flagship defined by another set of numbers standing for this emporium of stylistic simplicity, 3sixteen.

Inside feels like an art exhibit devoted to a modern man seeking the highest form of style and function. Stacks of white bricks meet smooth concrete, and wooden shelves serve as platforms for the brand’s collection. The focus here is 3sixteen’s masterpiece, the denim. First and foremost, this is a denim brand and has been since the team turned its attention to developing the finest men’s denim nine years ago. It’s not about making jeans for a specific type of guy, but rather, a blank canvas for every guy to make their own.

pieces offered from 3sixteen are meant to evolve, to age but never feel old. Deep down, isn’t that how we all feel as men?

Hanging single file are different fits and designs conceptualized from the team working with Okayama based Kuroki Mills in Japan to produce a custom fabric. Classic straight, or slim tapered are just a few choices offered in different tones and fabrics made to emulate a specific lifestyle or taste. Our Cyties Pick-up? ST-100xk, a slim tapered cut, in an unsanforized denim that 316 spent years developing.”

Like a collection of mint-conditioned vinyl, sift through the jeans with wandering hands and let go of time as it’s meant to be enjoyed. The shop revels in the standard that committing to a pair of 3sixteen jeans is an intimate process and should be respected, the pair you leave with you will have for life.

3Sixteen has been in the Arts District for several years and witnessed the empty warehouse district evolve into a busy sprawl. As rents in the neighborhood skyrocket, the team stresses a vital notion that independent businesses plant roots and maintain a healthy and committed presence in the neighborhood. Consider 3sixteen a leader of the pack when it comes to survival.

From the Denim to the everyday basics, the pieces offered from 3sixteen are meant to evolve, to age but never feel old. Deep down, isn’t that how we all feel as men? The items we chose to wear can assist in defining our brave spirit, keeping us courageous at heart. 3sixteen is a blank canvas, so go to work. From the creases around the cuff from riding a Triumph down an open road, or a deepening fade from sunlit gatherings on rooftops, let the denim from 3sixteen age with you, and all your endless stories will forever be written in the fabric.

“I want to die with my blue jeans on” — Andy Warhol