Sweet soul revue
June 17, 2005 | 12:00am
People have a tendency to underestimate the power of that most basic of casual clothing pieces: the ubiquitous t-shirt. Sure, it’s far from being totally dressy (unless you jazz it up with an obnoxiously large yet fabulous choker), and is, more often than not, permanently banished to the down-low daywear section of your closet. But let’s face it, we love shirts more than we care to admit, particularly ones that are comfy, have unbearably attractive designs, and offer flawless, second-skin fit. The shirts that fly out of the creative closets of Analog Soul pretty much fit the bill.
The brainchild of close friends Paolo Lim, Miguel Naguiat, and Mika Bautista, Analog Soul is a line of limited edition shirts that feature intricate, boldly-colored graphic prints. With designs inspired by music, pop culture, and imagery from the great city of retro-polis, Analog Soul draws its name from the threesome’s common belief that today’s high-tech society can still benefit from old school, DIY-style design, production.
Here’s Analog’s story in a nutshell. In September of 2003, Paolo and Miguel decided that there simply weren’t any clothes around that they’d really enjoy wearing and started talking about designing shirts for themselves. So they did. Friends eagerly snapped them up and asked them to make more. Enter Mika, who insisted that the boys begin mass-producing the shirts under the name Analog Soul. So they did. In the span of a few months, they successfully sold their entire first run of a few hundred shirts.
To date, Analog Soul has released 16 designs for men spread out over three separate collections. Word got to the three that, while lots of the buyers were female, they mostly got the shirts for guy friends because they didn’t fit women properly. Paolo finally spotted an Analog fan wearing a shirt she had ripped and customized to fit. The group responded by releasing a line for girls, Soul Candy, which features pieces with V-shaped necklines, shorter sleeves, and just the right mix of "tight but breathe-y". More than the vibrant, meticulously-illustrated prints, it’s the loving attention put into fabric selection and the pieces’ cuts and styles that really sets Soul apart. All the shirts are made with a comfy, stretchy cotton blend, and few others can compare in terms of fit and just-right snugness.
This month marks the launch of Analog Soul’s third line and Soul Candy’s second. in true Soul style, the new collections feature eight limited edition designs, four for boys and four for girls. Every graphic print is limited to a run of only thirty shirts, and those thirty have every variation in color and design, making for lesser chances of turning up at a rocking event and finding someone in the exact same outfit. Soul Candy is also debuting its line of totes: large pink and beige carry-alls with gigantic versions of Analog’s fun, funky prints.
Analog Soul’s proponents stand as living evidence of the fact that anyone with a great idea, a talent for making pretty little things, and a good dose of research and artistic education can literally live the dream. So go ahead and make those bags you’ve been dying to create. Go ahead and craft little jewels into glittering masterpieces. All it takes is a little bit of ingenuity, some basic business know-how, and a whole lot of Soul.
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