What a House Owes

It is easy to write that a garment is crafted, considered, or made with respect for the artisan. These sentences cost nothing and mean nothing, and every house in the category has published them.

The harder discipline is to claim only what can be shown. If a piece is embroidered by hand, there is a photograph of the hand. If a fibre is certified, there is a certificate with a number on it. If a piece is made to order, that is stated before the sale rather than discovered after it.

This has consequences.

This has consequences. It rules out a great deal of language that would be flattering, and it makes some pages shorter than they would otherwise be. A short page that is true is worth more than a long one that is merely unfalsifiable.

It also means the House will say when something is not yet ready, rather than dressing a gap as a forthcoming announcement.