The name of designer Theresa Hughes’ clothing line, Saint November, clues guests into her simple, handmade ethos, in which every pattern has been drawn by hand and every stitch is carefully considered.
“I grew up in a Catholic family, and the saints were iconic. Those stories and images really stuck with me, the beauty of the physical space of the church,” she explains. And November? “I always feel like November is a little overlooked…. It’s really peaceful, and I love to be outside.”
“If there is anything that seems sacred, it’s that experience with the natural world, so I made my own saint. Saint November.”
Located in Santa Rosa’s artsy SoFA District neighborhood, down the block from Spinster Sisters restaurant and the Café Frida Gallery, Saint November is both a small clothing store and Hughes’ design studio, where locals can shop, meet the designer, and get a window into how her pieces were made.
(Erik Castro/for Sonoma Magazine)
Exquisite, small-batch clothing that lasts
Hughes creates exquisite, small-batch, utilitarian tops and bottoms, mostly for women but also for men. She seeks out earthy, natural colors like blue, brown, and taupe, and works primarily in hemp, linen, and cotton. Her unisex chore jacket, for example, comes in a jaunty railroad stripe and was inspired by vintage gleaning coats worn by farmers and working folk in Europe and the U.S. in the late 1800s.
“It’s oversize and rugged to withstand repetitive wear and washing,” she says. “I get a lot of inspiration from old workwear. I am really inspired by utility, things that are beautiful because of their function. There is beauty to be found in things that work well.”
Everything she makes is rough-hewn, artisanal, meant to be worn for years and years—the practical made beautiful. “I want my customers to feel they are buying something they can wear for many seasons, and that it is a worthwhile investment.”
The ‘Johanna’ shirt for women, for example, is made from Japanese cotton and has loose, three-quarter sleeves and a neck button opening that was inspired by a photo of a woman working the docks in 19th-century Ireland. Other pieces include rugged, striped work pants and a simple navy linen slip dress.
A throwback to an earlier time
Hughes’s small Santa Rosa atelier is a throwback to an earlier time—a place where the old and the analog are celebrated. She furnished the space with flea market finds and freebies, repurposing a table from home for a display of shirts and a metal doctor’s cabinet for jewelry from other local designers she admires. Branches cut from a tree in her backyard spill from a tall vase in the shop window, and beautiful trays and containers hold useful bits and bobs. Saint November jackets and tops for sale are hung on neat, Swedish-style wooden racks.
The back half of the space is her creative zone, where she cuts out pieces on a wide worktable and sews on a vintage Japanese industrial sewing machine. The wall is lined with bolts of fabric sourced from Japan and India. Cardboard patterns and white muslin sample pieces hang on a handcrafted metal pole, and scissors stand at the ready on a magnetic rack more commonly used for chef’s knives. All in all, the effect is part studio, part chic boutique, with a beautifully rendered but down-to-earth feel.
From large brands to custom projects
A native of Ohio, Hughes had a rural upbringing, all family farms and split rail fences. As a child, she dug clay to make dolls, fashioning tiny outfits out of paper towels. She learned to sew in her early 20s while studying fashion design and pattern making in San Francisco.
After graduation, she spent the next 15 years working as a professional pattern maker for large manufacturers in the Bay Area—“mall brands,” as she puts it, like CP Shades as well as smaller lines like Bryn Walker. She even did a short stint as the pattern maker for a line of underwear from motorcycle maker Harley-Davidson.
When the patternmaking work started to slow due to factory closures and a rising tech industry, Hughes freelanced, then got involved in custom sewing projects, at first primarily for brides. But a writer friend suggested that she explore clothing projects that would be worn more than once—a suggestion which echoed Hughes’ own beliefs about durability and timelessness. She branched out, creating Saint November.
As business grew, she found that online sales gave life to her old-fashioned creations and allowed her to connect with the type of customer who identifies with her small-batch ethos, which she admits can be “pretty niche.” “In a way, the internet is an equalizer. You can be seen. It allows me to have a voice.” Others find her through her SoFA District storefront. Or they recognize her work from when she used to sell at Bay Area pop-ups and craft shows.
Inspired by classic, humble workwear
There are advantages to staying small and keeping that personal touch. Recently, a man came in asking for a chore coat, but the ones she had in stock had arms that were too short. “I told him to go down the street and get a cup of coffee, and I’d lengthen the sleeves.”
Hughes revels in the unique, the small, and the handmade, showcasing not only her own designs, but also jewelry and crafts from other local designers. And she is beginning to offer some specialty design and sewing classes. Fans can check for details on those on her website later this spring.
Meanwhile, she’ll continue to be inspired by the classic, humble workwear of days gone by. “Don’t you want to hear about how inspired I am by Levi’s 501s? They’ve become a cultural icon, and they’re still selling after a hundred years… It was a functional thing. A whole culture was built around it.”
“That is a lot of value to give to a simple garment. I draw a lot of inspiration from that.”
Saint November. 320 South A St., Santa Rosa. saintnovember.net