1998 · age 13 · Founder

Uglywear

I was thirteen. I was tired of wearing what everyone else wore, so I started a clothing line called Uglywear, with nothing more than an idea and a phone book.

The whole thing was customer-designed: you picked the garment, the colour, the logo, the slogan. Anti-brand by name — where ugly people find ugly clothes. Order forms went out at school, I collected the cash, and a garment-maker I found in the Yellow Pages sewed everything.

About fifty orders came through. The order slip read: You owe Jason. Your order should be ready in anywhere from 2–10 weeks. This is not guaranteed.

Nobody asks a thirteen-year-old for a mass-customized clothing line. That was rather the point.