This Is Not a T-Shirt

Even in streetwear, young brands opt to sell directly to their kids through their online stores. They fail to appreciate, though, how a store’s stocking of your brand acts as a cosign of your product to out-of-reach locales.

What if there was an apparel brand that was so public and honest that you knew everything the people behind it loved and supported, and regardless of whether you agreed with them, you felt as if you could invite them over for dinner?

The only way to get your audience on board with your logo is by showing them how serious you are about it. Commitment!

Today, we still have no idea what we’re doing, plugging different numbers into the combination lock until we get it open. Yet our brand is more profitable and notable than ever. Fifteen years is forever in streetwear, so why is The Hundreds still standing strong? My theory is simple. The Hundreds was never just about clothing. In the pure spirit of... See more

Streetwear, however, is simply the merchandise associated with an attitude.

Nipsey Hussle is not just standing out front of Crenshaw and Slauson now. He’s everywhere, omnipresent, resurrected a thousand times strong through united voices and joined hands across Los Angeles and the earth.

The Hundreds wasn’t the most hyped streetwear brand during these years, but we were uniquely us, and our pride radiated through our results. Our community held fast to us, as they would to an oak tree in a cyclone. And once the storm passed, our brand and its constituents were some of the last ones standing.

We ate, breathed, and shit The Hundreds. It was our life.

We had customers back then, but not much of a following. We printed T-shirts, but didn’t exactly have a clothing line. We did, however, have each other. And we had a mission: to design a brand themed around California culture, complemented by an online magazine that painted the backdrop for our lifestyle. Ben and I wanted to put Los Angeles back on... See more