Jason Hue is the sort of cat who knows exactly what he likes. The man behind Thick As Thieves has been around the skinhead scene since the mid-eighties but it took until 2007 for him to start up his tailoring service, specializing in all types of retro styled suits. That’s not to say there’s no interest in more modern cuts and fabrics, but Jason’s heart is certainly in the subculture influenced suits of mods, skinheads and suedeheads.
We recently had a chance to chat with Jason and gain some insight into not only Thick as Thieves back story and history, but also his own. Like many he was initially into the more “severe” skinhead style that had it’s basis in the punk influenced skinhead revival of the late 70’s and early 80’s. Much as the case with ourselves, it only took one compilation to begin his journey into exploring the more classic skinhead look and sounds. It was a soul compilation on cassette that resulted in Jason’s learning excursion on the finer points of the skinhead style. We owe a drink to whoever made that compilation because, although it took a couple of years, one could say that it’s responsible for Thick as Thieves.
When asked about his opinion regarding the “classic” skinhead suit Jason was quick to reply with the well known and well loved three button, high closure suit jacket with ticket pocket and frogmouth pocket trousers. Although feeling as many do that a single vent jacket is more of a classic look, Jason himself prefers a double vent. Cue the “that’s a mod suit” argument! It’s refreshing to see someone with their own opinions though, and we certainly appreciated Jason’s insight.
We had to ask him about the Ivy League influence and just how important it was on what Thick as Thieves produces. At one time they offered a beautiful varsity jacket, showing once again that while it’s a company rooted in skinhead style they’re also not afraid to branch out. Once again Jason was opinionated and insightful, citing a passion for the Ivy Look while also having a desire to not allow it to have an overriding influence on his suits. He certainly appreciates that the Ivy Look has once again gained popularity in mainstream fashion as the availability makes it possible to get good gear at fair prices if you have the eye for the right stuff.
One big question we had for Jason revolved around possibly branching out with the clothing Thick as Thieves provides. We weren’t surprised we are only some of the many people globally that have a desire to see TAT begin to produce shirts. Unfortunately they’ve decided to focus on perfecting what they’re currently doing, suits and a beautiful crombie, rather than enter an already overcrowded shirt maker market. Can’t fault Jason for good business sense, can we?
Jason most definitely never failed to keep our interest throughout the interview. From it we gained an interesting perspective on a rather interesting character, someone with roots much like our own in the skinhead scene and whose journey throughout the scene mirrored ours quite a bit. Opinionated, informed and insightful would be how we could best describe him. And with his company, Thick as Thieves, he is providing a much needed service to the skinhead, suedehead and mod communities by offering bespoke suits at working class prices. We can’t recommended his suits highly enough, they are absolute quality. Beautifully constructed, if you care about the details no amount of inspection will find faults with the suits he creates. The array of fabrics on offer by Thick as Thieves is also world class, with a lovely array of sharkskin being our and Jason’s favorites. We had a suit made by Jason in 2010 and gave him a bit of free reign to design something special. What we received was, without exaggeration, a truly mind blowing suit.
If you’re interested in having a suit of your own made you can reach Thick as Thieves at info@thickasthievesla.com or on their website http://www.thickasthievesla.com.
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