GITMAN VINTAGE
Gitman Vintage attunes the refinement of its generations-old factory to a bold and contemporary sensibility. Its history begins with Max Gitman, who opened the Ashland Shirt and Pajama Company in 1932, naming it after the small Pennsylvania mining town in which it was based. Its focus on contracting work for brands and organizations, namely the United States military, influenced the company’s trademark focus on soft, durable shirting that’s built to last. His sons, Alfred and Sheldon, joined the company in 1950 by overseeing separate ends of its 25 step manufacturing process. In 1978, they relaunched their company under the name of Gitman Bros. and began selling directly to consumers. It was during this period that Gitman Bros. differentiated itself by applying adventurous patterns and fabrics to its tried and true silhouettes.
The idea for Gitman Vintage came to Chris Olderbing in the mid-2000s, who was brought into the factory to oversee production for Burberry Sport and made-to-measure shirting. Thom Browne suggested that he look through the company’s archives when he began working with them, which in turn inspired Olderbing to launch Gitman Vintage in 2008. The heritage label adapts classic styles for a more fit conscious consumer, while taking pains to preserve hallmarks of the brand like chalk buttons, double track stitching and its original green grosgrain label. Each season brings a range of colors, fabrics, prints and other details that are a mixture of original and reinterpreted designs from the early years of Gitman’s first in house label. The result is a reliable, yet cheeky and irreverent line of shirting made with a great deal of care.
