Spring Fresh

It's a lifestyle thing: When you're riding a bike in the rain, you can't wear the precious high-heel shoes or spiffy designer suit. We don't want imports from Italy or Paris; we want something that's locally crafted, ethically sourced, and fairly priced. Influence-wise, there's a real duality here—red flannel was passed down from a time when Portland's biggest achievement was deforestation, and it mingles with techie Nike and Adidas gear.

You won't find any outrageous couture on this page. Here are our favorite items from local designers' spring lines: just practical, well-made and work-ready pieces.

Bridge & Burn

Porteau shirt ($138), Lyra dress ($148)

Downtown design studio Bridge & Burn focuses on limited-run Japanese fabrics. The Porteau shirt has a chambray dobby weave, while the Lyra dress has a smocked waist, natural drawcord neckline and linen polka dot-printed fabric. Bridge & Burn sends products to 16 states and six countries, but at the flagship retail store inside the studio, you'll find all the accessories and pieces right where they were conceived. Feedback from customers goes directly upstairs to the sleek, modern studio where it's integrated into the next round of designs. "We make clean, classic and approachable clothes with an intuitive approach instead of trend-driven approach," says marketer Tayler Worrell. Both of these items are, she says, designed to go "from work to the river, and feeling comfortable doing so."

Warner terry loop short-sleeve T-shirt ($60)

Modern streetwear adapted to the rainy Pacific Northwest. Tabor Made's Ira LaFontaine built his brand to fit an active lifestyle, featuring joggers, specially fit shirts, and fabrics that are made to be worn on Portland's dreariest days. The Warner T-shirt returns from the fall collection with new fabrics, including terry loop and rayon. It's baseball style, cropped on the sides, and the slim fit shows the brand is following where some divisions of streetwear are headed. Call it Health Goth or sport luxury, Tabor Made wants to be ahead of the curve.

The Sedgwick Blazer ($148)

Wildfang's style is all tomboy, but its latest pieces have gone straight to business. Think an androgynous Hillary Clinton. This twill blazer is mostly made of polyester, and features black cuffs and a shawl lapel. "There is nothing more iconically menswear than the suit," creative director Taralyn Thuot says. "A great suit is a wardrobe staple for the modern tomboy, but a perfectly tailored, classically inspired, and wallet-friendly suit for a woman is nearly impossible to come by."

Fanno hoodie ($115)

The Fanno hoodie features a prominent zipper up each side. The simple and well-designed tech stretch polyester fabric repels water. The focus of owner and designer Wookie Fields is on the precise details of each piece. Fields' studio in Old Town is part of a streetwear district that includes Compound Gallery, Kyoto PDX, Upper Playground and Cal Skate Skateboards, all within several blocks. The whole culture of the neighborhood is changing, and Jaefields is designing the look that embodies that change.

Carry-on chopsticks ($70)

So far, Tanner Goods has put out some of the cleanest leather accessories designed in Portland, but it also houses all the labor to produce these skillfully crafted products. The other half of these designs, Snow Peak, makes weatherproof campwear look as fashionable as any hip pseudo-outdoor Portland company, but with the utility its camp-life customers need. The collaboration isn't unheard of, since both of these beard-appropriate woodsman companies front boutique stores in the city with larger out-of-state clienteles. However, these eating utensils aren't your Swiss Army knife's flip-out fork. This pair of chopsticks will more likely be used by a germaphobe for an adventure to Little Tokyo than for a campfire teriyaki cookout.

WWeek 2015