I Know A Place: Champ Hammett & Guilty Party

Season 2: Episode 1

Much of my life, I’ve gone through different fashion trends. From my days in elementary school, where I wore nothing but brightly colored sweatshirts like a human Crayola, to my more experimental days in high school, having ripped up Hollister jeans, with a Hot-Topic band tee, and neon green Vans. It takes mistakes, and in my case, catastrophes, to discover your "style." One man in my life who’s always managed the same look, has been my grandfather. All he ever needed was a pair of jeans or overalls, a white tee, work boots, some kind of hat (usually a bucket), and a pack of Marlboro reds. Year after year, he wore the same thing. I don’t know if I’ve ever known him to buy a new pair of pants, while my clothes have always seemed to rip, tear, shrink, break, or go out of style, yet his stayed true and tested. Today, I find that more and more “fashion heads” seem to be dressing in a similar style as my grandfather, such as he did back in the 40s-50s. That period of time is synonymous with classic Americana fashion, such as white tees, heavy denim, military inspired fits, and quality craftsmanship. As times have changed, quality has stayed timeless.
There’s a phrase that I love that goes “stick to the classics, while sticking it to the classics” and there’s a store in Grant Park, Atlanta that carries timeless staples of quality Americana clothing, that have been made a little bit more modern, and their name is Guilty Party. Guilty Party set out to bring their community a place where they could finally find quality denim that’ll last a lifetime, and help others build staple wardrobes that never go out of style. I sat down with one of their founders, Champ, to learn a little more about their story and how they brought their idea to life.

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The Place: Guilty Party
1. What’s the story?
2. What brands will people find here?
3. How would you describe the style here?

What’s the story of Guilty Party?
When I was touring a lot, playing in bands, I stumbled upon a world of denim, more specifically Japanese selvedge denim. I was just really interested in the fact that it gets better as you wear it and that it lasts a long time. So I would just go into stores when we were playing in New York or playing in San Francisco and I'd come home and would always get compliments on the jeans I was wearing, but then I'd have to tell people they could only buy it online. Of course this was back in 2007, so there were only like two shops in the country that had it at the time.
So I just kind of became known as like the jean guy to my friends. I would try to help people buy stuff online and I got friends into it and I kept going deeper, where I was then thinking, “man, I really want to open a shop in Atlanta,” but Atlanta was not one of those markets at the time. It just felt a little too niche and so I shelved the idea. Atlanta to me, goes in two different directions, and it's either kind of sneaker culture or it's more a Southern Ivy prep. There was never a ton of middle ground.
So the idea got shelved for about 10 years until my business partner, Heath, who was on my real-estate team, came to a meeting we had one day and was like, “hey, you're into jeans, what should I buy?” and knowing his personality, where once he goes in on something, he goes hard, I kind of warned him that this can be a slippery slope. So I pointed him at a few shops online, and he finally bought something from a brand we sell here now called Iron heart. Something just clicked for him on these and he's like, “what the f***? This is what I've been looking for and I didn't even know I was looking for it!” 
It was something easy to wear, you can feel the quality, it’s substantial, but you don't feel like you're wearing a costume and you could just implement it into your closet easily. Now, we’ve been in real-estate, so we've helped people during covid who’ve moved from New York, San Francisco, LA, Seattle, and Chicago. People began leaving those cities to come to Atlanta because cost of living was cheaper or their industry was here. So finally, it was just, “let's just do it. The market is coming here now.”
Neither one of us had any idea what we were doing, so we decided to focus on brands that we've had in the past, that we've had great experiences with, that have lasted a long time, and that have never had defects, anything that we feel confident in. These became our pillar brands and we created a space, not necessarily a transactional space, but like a relationship-based space where people can come in and finally touch, see, feel, ask questions, try on, and develop a community around it. I feel like that's what we're doing. We recently just had our one year anniversary on Saturday and the turnout was fantastic. A lot of it was just people we met over the past year. 

What brands will people find here?
Brands that we are super proud to bring to Atlanta for the first time ever, are Iron heart, which is a brand that's super fascinating. It was started by a gentleman named Shinichi Haraki. His whole thing is that he just wanted to ride motorcycles. He was in the manufacturing world, but he just wanted to ride motorcycles, and he wasn't necessarily loving the clothes that you're supposed to wear when you ride motorcycles, such as the usual protective clothing. So he goes and develops a 21-ounce denim, which most jeans that you buy are around 12 to 14 ounces. So they’re fairly substantial, but they're also incredibly soft and comfortable. The whole point was he can wear them and ride, and God forbid, if he lays down the bike, he has more protection. Then as the brand grew and evolved, they started offering heavy denim, heavy flannels, and other apparel, all from Japan.
Then there's Freenote Cloth, which are two brothers out of San Juan Capistrano in California. Their whole thing was they were obsessed with made-in-the-USA clothing. They wanted everything they made to be manufactured and built in the USA.  They pull from a lot of Americana vintage style, but they're also two surfer dudes, so there's some retro beach vacation shirts as well and board shorts. They have a wide array, but everything is super high quality and all built in America.
There's 3sixteen, which is founded by Andrew and Johan. Andrew is in New York, while Johan’s in LA. They've been manufacturing jeans in the US for 20 years, and they've evolved as a brand to offer different kinds of shirting and knitwear. They also just did eyewear. So we're happy to finally give them a proper home in Atlanta to showcase. 
We're the "only Red Wing Heritage" dealer in Atlanta. We also just picked up Alden, which is one I'm super proud of. They’re one of the oldest US-made shoe companies left that started in 1884. 
There's Wythe out of Brooklyn. We've got a local maker called Pentimento and he's actually a really good old friend of mine. One of the most talented people I know. His whole basement is stacks and stacks and boxes and bins of deadstock fabrics, vintage buttons, you name it. He has all these different textiles that he finds interesting, that he just will mix together and create with, whether it be a short-sleeved button-down shirt, or the craziest corduroy patched varsity jackets. Super interesting and very original.
Then we've got RoToTo, and American Trench for socks. We've got Heimat, which is a German knitwear company. We've got Dehen 1920, which has been in the same factory in Portland since 1920. They’re manufacturing super heavy knitwear, cardigans, motorcycle sweaters, and varsity jackets. We have the Flat Head from Japan. It’s all just super cool because nowhere else around us has any of these brands. So we're the spot where people can come, touch, see, and feel it all before they buy.

How would you describe the style here?
So most people would classify it as like workwear. Maybe Heritage menswear, which is true. The jeans that we sell are made on vintage shuttle looms the way Levi's used to make jeans Pre-1970s. A lot of the jeans we sell are based off of silhouettes that Levi's used to make. Our boots, like Red Wing Heritage, are the same mock-toe boots that your grandfather used to wear, made the same way in the same factory in Red Wing, Minnesota. So it would definitely be like more of a heritage menswear store, but I like to think of it as just a good quality store that sells elevated basics. I don't think you come in here, and you buy a full outfit and you leave wearing it. I don't feel like you're wearing a costume. It certainly doesn't look like you're a 1920s railroad worker when you are outfitted head-to-toe. You just look like a dude wearing clothes or lady wearing clothes. It's just elevated basics. They’re timeless, classic styles that, if you were to buy a pair of these jeans, then you hang them in your closet for 10 years, and pull them out 10 years later and wear them, then they're still not out of style. So that's what we try to do, nothing here is a trend. Whether you wear hoodies all day or you just wear one when you travel. A good Oxford shirt, like we have here, is a staple in your closet. So we just want to be the place where a guy can go shop for stuff that he's already wearing, just made better.

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The Person: Champ Hammett
1. Who is Champ?
2. What’s your drum kit and who have you played with?
3. What has been your fashion journey?
4. What’s something you’ve gotten the most wear out of?
5. What’s your perfect T-shirt?

Who is Champ?
I am most proud to be the father to my children. My daughter, Dorothy and my son, Franklin. The husband to my wife, Marisa, like that's who I am. If that's all I'm known for, that's cool with me.
I grew up just outside of Atlanta. I grew up playing drums and got my first drum set when I was six. My dad would bring me to the city to go to drum shops. Honest to God, I think that's why I have such an affinity for brick and mortar retail. There’s something special about pre-internet when you had a catalog. I would just have a catalog of drums and cymbals and I liked to circle them, and was just so excited to look at it. Then when I got to go to a place, and see those things and hear those things, it was even better.
I spent from 2004 to 2015 touring and playing music. So that's what a lot of people know me for is, “oh, you're Champ from Atlanta, the drummer, for different bands.”
I guess to put it in an elevator pitch, I'm a young Georgia kid, punk rock drummer, who doesn't drink, who doesn't smoke, you know, straight edge. Who tries to just do what he likes to do, and find a way to make a living doing it.

What’s your kit and who have you played with?
It's funny you asked me that because a week ago, I bought my first ever Ludwig kit. It's a classic maple, in a black glass glitter sparkle kind of finish. I've just been dialing it in lately, like I just put new heads on it, so it's starting to feel like my kit.
As for the bands, the band that I toured with the most was a band from here called Foundation. I was in this really great band called Brother Hawk. I always said, it's like if Neil Young and Dinosaur Jr. had a baby. I played with another band called Criminal Instinct for a while. I also traveled a bunch with bands not from Atlanta. So I traveled with a band called Have Heart. That took me all over the world, which was super cool. Then there's a band called Shipwreck I played with. Then there’s Bitter End as well. I’m probably forgetting some, but those are the most prominent ones.

What has been your fashion journey?
I'm gonna be honest. I don't find that I'm into fashion at all, but I view clothing and fashion as two different things.
I think as a kid, I was always interested in what I was wearing. I remember when I was five, I just had a favorite green t-shirt and I wanted to wear that every day. I remember I would always wear Chuck Taylor's and I'd always wear one red and one black one, like one color on each foot. I don't know why, I just did. So I always think I cared about what I was wearing, but I was never into like, “have you seen Gucci's new season?” That whole world just still doesn't interest me, but I’ve always cared about what I've worn. I've also just always enjoyed quality stuff. Like I said, I'm a drummer. I always enjoy quality gear. Asking, “what's the gear that resonates with me?” That is part of my voice that I'm comfortable playing. It's the same thing with clothes. It's like, you have this whole world of clothing, and what speaks to me? What is a continuation of my voice? That's how I view it, and what do I feel comfortable in? I've just always felt comfortable in basics. So that's what I've always worn. I've always wanted to look somewhat put together. I care about what I'm wearing, but I didn't necessarily care about what brand it was. I just cared about things like, “Is it nice? Does it fit me well? Is it good quality?” I always enjoyed back to school shopping with my mom, because it's like a refresh of clothing. Who doesn't love that? It was never like, “oh my God, I need to go to school to learn fashion and learn design.” That's not something that interests me, but I do appreciate what others create. So yeah, I guess I've always found myself, when I didn't have a lot of money, and I stumbled upon a few extra bucks, a new pair of jeans would be cool. It's one of those things that I was into and I've always just kind of stayed with it.

What’s something you’ve gotten the most wear out of?
I have a few things. I have a pair of Alden's that were a collaboration with a store that's no longer around. The store was called Context Clothing out of Madison, Wisconsin and they did a boot called the Roy boot. I think I got them in 2011and they're still going strong.
I've got a few pair of jeans that are hanging in the store that I could still be wearing if I hadn't gained weight. I have a couple pair of jeans that are from 2007 that I've worn, busted holes in, repaired them, then worn them more.
I also have socks that I've had for 10 plus years. They're really well made and they weren't even expensive. I think they were actually made in Atlanta. I think it was called two feet ahead, and they're just cotton socks. I was actually wearing a pair yesterday and I realized that I think I bought these in like 2012. Obviously I washed them all the time, hopefully, but I have a lot of stuff like that.
You don't realize how long you've had it until your phone is feeding you memories, and you see a vacation photo and you're like, “s***, I've had that shirt for seven years. I thought I just got it.” So yeah, I have a lot of stuff that's just like been in my closet forever.

What’s your perfect T-shirt?
I think my favorite t-shirt that we stock right now is from Denime, which is manufactured by Warehouse. They’re a loop wheeled t-shirt, and they've got a little bit of heft to them. They're not super long in the body and they're boxy without being too boxy. A pocket tee is what I typically always prefer. The biggest factor besides how it fits in the body, is the neck hole. I like the neck to be snug. If it’s a loose fitting neck in the t-shirt, doesn't matter how the body fits, if it's super droopy around my neck, I'm not gonna wear it. It's just not comfortable for me. The Denime ones are kind of have been checking all the boxes for me. When it's super hot outside and I just want like the lightest t-shirt, I’d honestly say the Pima Cotton shirts from 3sixteen. I think they're fantastic. They're a little boxier, but it's super lightweight, super soft, and when it's warm and muggy outside it's about the best you can do.

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Recommendations:
1. Who to Follow
2. Building a Wardrobe

Fashion account recommendations?
I don't follow a lot of, like, influencers, I guess, but, I follow, the brands we sell because, I think the way they dress is cool. They're piecing, or they're styling their pieces the way they see it in their heads, and a lot of times I can find some takeaway from that on how I would wear it. There is one guy however, that I talk about all the time. He's an Italian fella. Alessandro Squarzi. He is part of a brand in Italy called Fortela. He's one of those people that can wear a double-breasted suit and you're like, “damn, that looks cool.” What I really pull from him though, is he's always wearing a snuff suede tassel loafer, but he pairs it with a beat up pair of jeans and a white t-shirt, and it just works. So, I would say he's my number one. I reference his feed all the time.
Another one is, is Haraki from Iron heart. This dude looks f****** cool and he's just owning it.

How should someone begin building their wardrobe?
I find that most people come in here because they want a good pair of jeans. So I think a good pair of jeans is the easiest place to start. It's also probably the hardest thing to get right because there's a lot of factors that guys just don't think about. That's what we love to do, is figuring out what are you comfortable in. Most guys don't even know the terminology to fit a pair of jeans. If you ask like, “do you like a low rise or a high rise?” Most guys are like, “I don't know what that is.” or they think, “well, I'm definitely not wearing a low rise” because they're picturing jeans in like the early 2000s that were like Britney Spears. So that's part of the fun, is getting people in here, finding one pair of jeans that sounds like what they're looking for and saying, “we're gonna use this as the benchmark. Then I find, cause it's happened to me, I'm probably gonna want a really nice white t-shirt. It's a staple in your closet. If I like this elevated pair of jeans that are so easy to wear, I'm probably gonna like a white t-shirt of that same thought process. I also always love a good flannel. So that was my thing after a good pair of jeans. I wanted a flannel that I could have for years and years, that was my security blanket when it's worn all the time.
So yeah, I'd say start with a good pair of jeans, then a good t-shirt. Then when the seasons change, a good flannel.

If you’re looking to build my grandfather’s wardrobe, then you’ll need to grab your Marlboros somewhere else.