There are clothes that tend to reveal themselves on the spot immediately, and there are artifacts that, with time, reveal their soul of themselves. The Raglan Sleeve Bowling Shirt by Absent Findings falls into the second group; it reflects that it is not a statement but is a friend that stays in hard situations. It is that piece of clothing which reflects the essence that it will pick up the beat of the rhythm of wearer. The principle behind this shirt is the design philosophy which Absent Findings revises and revises over and over again; that clothes must be used to serve movement as much as memory without necessarily being spectacle. The Raglan Sleeve Bowling Shirt may seem plain at first glance. But this simplicity is not a lack, but self-restraint. The design is purposeful, intended to bring the piece to be comfortable in a wide range of settings, whether in morning strolls or by the end of the day contemplation.
However, the shirt is characterized by its raglan sleeve, a construction that falls in a single line all around on its neckline to underarm. Such a construction is not just a production of a clean silhouette; it is geometrical as motion. Where a sleeve can be made by traditional shoulder seams to cut the gesture line, the raglan line flows with the body, embracing both stretch and rest. By doing so, the shirt serves activities, as opposed to inert shape, by reacting to natural variations in life
The choice of fabric supports this idea. The birth of the shirt is given through deadstock cotton which is not chosen because of the fashion upscaling but for the essence of comfotable feel and gracefully aging. The cotton is not new the first time around: a touch that is easy to touch, easy to move, easy to breathe, easy to remember. With time the cloth becomes spongy, creases form without much struggle, and the article becomes less fresh and more personal, a garment, however, upon which experience has formed itself, and whose wear has been short-lived. The figure is balanced between casualness and deliberate balance. Neither does it clod, neither does it dangle carelessly. The sleeves and body are made so that they can move freely, as well as present a held body. It is a silent design assertion. It is opposed to extremes, and rather, it finds comfort in what is comfortable, responsible, and humane.
However, more significant than the technical selection is a more invisible force, the emotional intelligence to the design. Absent Findings does not make heavy use of loud graphics and transient trend indicators. The bowling shirt does not demand that we take notice of it, it demands that we touch it. It is a piece of work that makes one think about the way of action of clothing as it can be mixed with the body, the surrounding world, and the internal world of thought.
No shouts about the most resonant clothes, but they make up. In the Raglan Sleeve Bowling Shirt, the design listens and speaks subsequently and leaves the presence of the wearer to surface without being interrupted.
