One working guy, a heat press, and a standing 7 a.m. tee time.
Most of what I know about hard work I learned from my old man, who ran a tool-and-die shop on Long Island and kept the same pair of work pants for nineteen years.
I started Blue Collar because I couldn’t find a shirt that worked on the job site and on the back nine.
So I made one. Then a hat. Then a few of the guys at the course started asking how to buy them.
I print in small batches because that’s the only way to stand behind every piece. I start with soft, honest cotton because it wears in, not out. I keep the graphics quiet because the clothes do the talking.
Every piece is printed and pressed right here on Long Island. Run off the press by hand, packed on the same bench, and shipped from a unit off Sunrise Highway.
If you wear something I made until it falls apart, send it back and I’ll make it right. No forms, no runaround. That’s the whole policy.
— Denis
From a garage to a workshop.
The first hundred shirts were printed on a single press in a 240-square-foot garage. The next hundred came faster.
- 2017
A father’s work pants
My old man retires after thirty years in the trades. Hands me his work ethic and the beat-up set of clubs he never had the weekends to use.
- 2022
First batch · 12 shirts
I print twelve shirts in the garage over a single weekend and give every one away to the guys at the course.
- 2024
The brand
I name it Blue Collar Apparel over a beer in the Bethpage parking lot. Register the trademark the next Tuesday.
- 2025
The workshop
The press outgrows the garage. I take a 1,400-square-foot unit off Sunrise Highway. A bigger press, a few more racks, no sign on the door yet.
- July 4, 2026
No. 01 — The Capsule
Our opening capsule launches on the 250th anniversary of the country. Twelve pieces. Limited quantities. The doors stay open after.
- 01Start with soft, honest cotton.
- 02Keep the graphics quiet. Let the wearer be loud.
- 03Print in small batches. Always.
- 04Pay the people who make it more than the going rate.
- 05Repair before replace. Replace before refund.
- 06Photograph it real. Don’t Photoshop the wrinkles out.
- 07Answer every email. Even the angry ones.
- 08If we don’t wear it, we don’t sell it.