Our Story
“Okay - we’re going to start with these.” A Bronx Tale, The Godfather and Goodfellas - three brand new DVDs suffocated by that mid 2000s plastic wrap - all patiently waiting to be delicately dropped into, and inhaled by, our finicky DVD player.
That week my dad, Allen, exposed me to a whole new world, his world. The culture, turmoil and simplicity of New York in the 1950s and 60s captured all of my interest. I was enamored by the music, the style and startled by the lessons of that time in American history.
That influence never left. My dad and I used to drive to get breakfast on the weekend in his pink Ford Thunderbird - an homage to his aunt’s car in the 1950s - listening to Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Ben E. King. I heard the same stories over and over.
“My dad was a simple guy. He liked to play softball and watch the Dodgers. He was a dress salesman that had two jobs in 44 years.”
“The Pickle Sisters (your grandmother and great aunt) had a shop together. Your grandmother worked the store and Estelle went to the track. Hey, she earned it. She put up the money to open the dress shop.”
I tried to copy it all. I wanted to dress like the kids in The Sandlot and Stand By Me. High top Converse, cuffed jeans, white tees, so on and so forth. I got a job working at a beach club when I was 19, just like my dad. I listened to the soundtrack to A Bronx Tale over and over.
Following in the footsteps of the generations before me, I started working in the clothing industry with my dad. After years as a salesman in New York City, he moved to Los Angeles to launch his own namesake brand.
I tried to be a sponge. I traveled with him to New York, walked up and down 7th avenue between 38th and 39th. It seemed like every other person on the street knew him from his days in the Garment District. Throughout the years of working for him, I realized that I wanted to start my own menswear brand. I collected inspiration images, kept a running list of ideas and constantly tinkered with different concepts.
“The 1950s thing” had to be involved, but how? How do you emulate an era? How do you not be one of these brands that looks like the salespeople are stuck in the wrong decade? There was another component too - I love tennis - another major part of my life that my dad and I share - how does that fit in?
I grew up surrounded by the tennis crew - the subset of friends my dad played doubles with every weekend. I would hear them scream at each other about bad calls, talk shit to each other and shoot the shit while drinking glass bottle cokes after another epic backyard doubles. I wanted so badly to be good enough to get into the doubles game. I’d sit quietly watching waiting to get older so I could compete.
My dad always wore the coolest tennis outfits to play in - never produced by traditional tennis brands. He had a collection of t-shirts, sweatshirts and more from tennis clubs around the country. Growing up, the major companies treated tennis like it was an afterthought. That never made any sense to me. Why would a sport that is so cool, boasts so much history, be relegated to apparel that had no style?
I would thumb through photos my mom took at the US Open in the 70s and 80s. Connors, McEnroe, Villas - these guys were cool. The current brands seemed to have forgotten about the sport. That always had me thinking - why can’t I bring back this golden era of tennis? Can’t we go back to that feeling of when tennis had style? And can we make it less stuffy? Enough with the country clubs, all white outfits, etc., etc.
As I got older, I got better and better. My dad would come to my tournaments - imparting lessons each time. Getting upset when I would lose my temper, yelling at me to “keep your head up!” not just on my serve, but also with my attitude.
These are the experiences that inspired me. It really boils down to one thing - my relationship with my dad. That is the story of YONY.
All the lessons I learned, stories I heard, music I listened to, photos I saw, and tennis matches I forced my way into - these shaped me. My mom spent hours painstakingly making photo albums for every major life event. Inscribed on the spine of the albums read captions like, “The 1982 US Open”, “Tennis 1984”, “Allen’s Childhood”, “‘The Pickle Sisters’ Visit LA”, and the list goes on.
I launched YONY thinking I knew what the hell I was doing. In most areas I didn’t, but I did have a vision - one that was different from all the other “elevated streetwear” brands - it’s hard to put your finger on it, but when you see it you know.
Johnny Schwartz
Founder / Creative Director
Our Fabrics
It doesn’t start and stop with production. Fabrics, buttons, zippers, packaging and many more components are key to a brand and what it stands for. This belief is core to how we make our clothing.
Whenever possible, our fabrics are sustainable and produced in the United States from start to finish. For the materials we source abroad, we’ve worked with our vendors to ensure that our fabrics are made in their country of origin from A to Z. As we grow, we will continue to provide transparency in our supply chain.
© YONY LLC 2024