Yeah, this is kinda random. I know. But I was jotting down some ideas for some upcoming post and allowed my mind to wonder about the greatness that (is?) was Lemar & Dauley. When I first became aware of what “streetwear” was, this New York based brand was one of the first companies I fell in love with. It wasn’t their clothing that intrigued me–it was what I felt they represented: Young black dudes with dope gear and a certain “devil may care” attitude about their image and style. It was like they knew that their brand was the freshest of them all but were to busy with the business of living life to ever give a shit (I would later learn that the Italians had a term for that: “sprezzatura“).

They oozed an extreme sense of confidence that proved to be down right intoxicating to me in some instances while in others it kinda repulsed me. Because while I loved their confidence and swagger, sometimes I felt like it was a bit too much, ya know? It’s weird because on one hand was praising their moxie while at the same time I resented their cavalier “We’re better than you!” attitude that my Southern sensibilities associated with dudes from up North. However, there wasn’t enough hatred in the world to stop me from adoring their dark aesthetic highlighted by cyan, fushia, and other colors in the pastel family.

It burned my retinas in the most glorious way possible.

Through them I learned how subtle the area between inspiration and biting actually was. Lemar & Dauley teetered on that line ever so gracefully, they had an expert skill at taking someone else’s photos and re-purposing them in such a way that no man would dare tear asunder the masterpieces that came forth. Remember, this was a time in streetwear in which using popular items in pop culture (someones face, logos, branding, etc.), flipping it, and putting your own twinge to it was still a highly acceptable way of creating a collection. So by those standards L&D were some bosses. In fact, they were so respected during their hey day that they even got the opportunity to apply their trademark aesthetic on some sneakers for both Adidas and DC Shoes. They were doing cut & sew before I even knew what that was. Sheeeeeeit, they even had a photo shoot featuring a kid name Cudi way back in 2008. I’m telling you, these dudes had the juice!

In addition to opening my eyes to the entire spectrum of what street fashion could encompass, it was through them that I started to understand the true concept of a brand and how one goes about “branding” themselves. For the most part, Lemar & Dauley used the same colors in every piece of clothing they dropped. Even their different advertising assets had similar colorways, imagery, and product orientations. It was beautiful and as I learned in time, purposeful. Through their work I felt like I was starting to understand why certain brands get categorized as one-hit wonders and why the successful ones stand the test of time. I thought for sure that Lemar & Dauley would be in that long-term section but alas, I was wrong.

Lemar & Dauley was the pinnacle of streetwear to me. The clothing was excellent, their distribution was on point, their branding was impeccable, and their swaggger sprezzatura was above reproach. I honestly really, really miss them. At the time of the posting of this article, their website doesn’t wasn’t running although they do have a somewhat active Twitter account. I don’t know why they put the brakes on their operation but whatever the reason–it sucks. In my mind I like to pretend that they just got bored with the whole process and decided to retire with a bank full of money and tons of honey dips at their disposal though I’m sure the real answer lies somewhere beneath the harsh realities of what the American economy has brought us.

Regardless, Lemar & Dauley signified the best of what streetwear had to offer at the time and gave me hope that I too could become the leader of a successful clothing brand. And while that particular dream has died, my passion for streetwear and fondness for the greatest that was L&D has only grown stronger.