MadeWorn

Blaine Halvorson started MadeWorn in 2013, after his first company, Junk Food Clothing, went public and then gangbusters.

Until recently, his wares were only available at Barney’s and privately — for celebrities like one Mssr. Pitt.

The goal with MadeWorn is to provide clothes that harken back to a time when things were built to last.

But Blaine Halvorson, who runs the joint, also wants each custom garment to be shaped and constructed precisely to your liking. And then fade, wear and distress precisely to your liking.

And it doesn’t stop with the clothes. Blaine is creating a lifestyle for you. This is a window into how that’s done.

Visiting MadeWorn is like stepping into an other dimension dreamt up by Edward Hopper and Keith Richards (check the promo video to get an idea).

It’s situated among three ivy-covered buildings connected by a garden of thigh-high wheat, with a model farm house and a barn emerging from the overgrowth.

When we entered, he was sitting at a table beneath a tree stitching labels onto T-shirts.

The music was calming. The air was redolent of smoked birch. The sounds of our city were a distant murmur.

All three of the buildings contain artwork either made or curated by Blaine.

In one building: a life-size schoolhouse modeled after the one in which he was raised in Montana.

Strewn about the property: stuffed animals like the massive giraffe Blaine purchased for $600 from an 80-something taxidermist. It was once owned by the Gambino Family and “needed to go.”

Each building has its own vibe, and the works will rotate as folks purchase the artworks housed within.

Blaine makes the leather duffel bags pictured above out of pigskins taken from a 4H farm. Tattoo artists ink Sailor Jerry-style tableaux on them before they’re tanned, meaning the details and colors will stay rich and true over time.

All of MadeWorn’s fabrics are made in Japan and then cut and sewn on location in Fairfax/Melrose.

They do all of the stone-washing, sandblasting and patching here as well.

The denim is 100 percent selvedge, down to the lining on the pockets, and will fit you like no other pair you’ve ever owned.

Some of the shirts are made with Japanese gauze, which over time wears thin, exposing a second layer beneath that’s made to be shown.

The buttons are hand patinated.

Blaine uses a lot of hemp, which has the tooth of wool but wears lighter — perfect for LA’s climate.

Blaine cobbles shoes and work boots from canvas found in old mine shafts or unearthed from the plows of farmers.

His leathers range from old cowboy chap scraps to hippo hides.

After building the shoes, he buries them in special dirt that leaves permanent stains and antiquing along their uppers. They’re then rubbed clean with oil and hand-worked for a perfect fit.

He guarantees each pair for life.  

Blaine wants to create your entire sartorial persona — right down to your scent (and even your furniture, should you want it).

He makes the scents using herbs, natural oils and birch tar. No chemicals. He’ll also make you a complementary incense for your home.

Blaine works with master fire-arm engravers to hand-tool Rolex watchbands with ornate engravings inspired by Old Western rifles and revolvers.

No two are the same.

He also offers rings made from antique glass eyes and bone-handle knives rendered by Max Poglia, a Brooklyn-based steelworker we’ve previously covered.

You know that bathroom on the Beggar’s Banquet album cover? Blaine’s got an entire room — stained urinals and all — that looks exactly like it.

This is where his faded vintage rock T-shirts and military jackets are displayed.

He has special licensing rights, and uses heavy dyes and fabrics which he then washes and works into a vagabond, vintage state.