(DENIM)

CONTEXT

Co-owners Ryan Huber, Sam Parker, and his brother Ben opened this Midwestern haven for premium-denim hunters in 2005. “There’s no competition for us around here,” says Huber, whose devoted clientele ranges from hipsters to high-end restaurateurs. Inside their minimalist space, near Madison’s capitol building, 350-pound tree stumps act as display tables for jeans from hard-to-find labels Atelier LaDurance, Imperial, and Edwin, as well as non-denim pieces like Filippa K button-downs and Karen Walker sunglasses. Don’t miss their selection of “eco-denim,” including selvage jeans from Kicking Mule Workshop, woven on old-style shuttle looms with organic cotton and natural indigo dyes. The result? Jeans with clean edges and thicker fabric that, unlike many of their fraying, dashed-off contemporaries, improve with age and leave you with a clear conscience.

113 King Street, Madison, WI; 608-250-0113;
www.contextclothing.com