Rag & Bone

Rag & Bone has one of my favorite origin stories in New York fashion. Marcus Wainwright and Nathan Bogle had no design training when they started in 2002, so they did the most practical thing possible: they found a factory in Kentucky and made jeans. The name is a nod to the English rag and bone man who went door to door collecting what other people threw away, which still feels right for a label built on clothes you wear until they fall apart. Denim is now made in Los Angeles, and it is still where I would begin. The Miramar pieces are the clever part. They look like rigid jeans from across the room, but the denim wash is printed onto soft terry, so the Sofie wide leg and the side stripe pair wear like sweatpants. If you want a real denim feel, the Cam low rise relaxed straight and the Sutton slim cigarette are the classic cuts, and the Phoebe drawstring jeans sit somewhere in between. The khaki Vito canvas trousers and the beaded Iris midi skirt are here for the days you want a break from blue. For the hem question, my guide to shoes with jeans does the math.

Marcus Wainwright described the whole idea as perfect basics with English tailoring and a New York point of view, and the tees are where that gets tested. The Kelly tee comes in a plain crew, a striped polo and a V neck, all in cotton jersey with enough weight to hang straight instead of clinging. The cropped Miramar rugby polo is the playful one, and the Maxine striped shirt is the one I would tuck into a wide leg jean with a belt. For colder weeks, the brushed cashmere Jada sweater, the Lucy henley with its stand collar and the high neck Hazel jumper layer over every tee here. A simple test for any knit: hold it up to a window. If you can see light through the body, it will pill and stretch faster than you want. Pair one of these sweaters with cozy knits for cooler days if you are rebuilding a fall drawer.

The tailoring is the English half of the brand. The Mercer blazer shows up here in wool, corduroy and a printed ponte jacquard, and the Regalia version and the herringbone Lawrence blazer add a little more structure through the shoulder. These are cut to sit over a tee and jeans rather than a suit trouser, which is exactly how I picture them. In our fashion dreams she is walking down Christopher Street, where the first store opened in 2008, in the Penelope biker jacket over a gray sweater. The Militare jacket with leather trim is the bridge between the two moods. If you are choosing one, a leather jacket guide can help you decide between a biker and a bomber shape.

Footwear arrived in 2008, the same year as that first store, and the shoes still lean practical. The Lexi loafer comes in ruched leather and in brown suede, with a soft toe that reads more like a slipper than a stiff penny loafer. The Carter mule loafer is lined in shearling, which is the right call for a city fall. The Spire Mary Jane ballet flat in velvet is the dressy option, and the Joni Chelsea boot and Kai ankle boot will handle the rest of the year. What I would skip is pairing the ruched loafers with a cropped flare; the gathered toe looks best with a straight jean that just grazes the top of the shoe. For more shapes, I keep a list of loafers for women worth knowing.

The small things are where the label gets a little more playful. The Sasha belt in leopard print calf hair and the Cassie suede belt are both made for the denim above, and the reversible Kristie shawl is the piece I would throw over a blazer on a cold morning. The navy canvas Mercer bag is the weekday carryall, and the burgundy Hudson leather bag is the one that adds color to an all black outfit. The Aria watch on a herringbone mesh strap keeps things minimal. Two dresses close out the group: the sleeveless maxi with an asymmetric seam and the Lisbon midi, both simple enough to wear with the same loafers and the same blazer.

My Rag & Bone uniform would be the Cam jeans, a Kelly tee, the Mercer blazer and Lexi loafers, with the Penelope jacket swapped in on weekends. Since Guess and WHP Global acquired the label in 2024, design has been led by Jennie McCormick and Kyle Sweeney, and the focus on real clothes has stayed. If you want to keep going, I also wrote a field guide to denim this year.