How Lip Service Clothing became Lengendary

Introduction
Make a statement with your clothing. That is what Drew Bernstein had in mind before he began his company Lip Service. His story is both interesting and inspirational. Fueled by his punk background and realized through hard work and ingenuity, Lip Service has grown into the popular company it is today. The following tells the story of how Lip Service came to be.

In the beginning
Drew started out his music career playing with the bands America’s Hardcore and Crucifix. With great experiences and connections behind him, by 1984 Drew found himself band-less and working a menial job cleaning up after construction sites.
A friend of his offered to provide him with some side work pitching samples of clothing to buyers. He quickly found a niche, quit his construction job, and dedicated his attention to selling clothing. His creativity soon helped him create big ideas.

A big idea
One day he proposed an idea of making leggings with prints on them. Until then, leggings were mostly solid, so offering prints would be a novel idea. He made 200 pairs of his pants (with the infamous skull & crossbones seen to your right) and they soon became hot items on Melrose and up the Pacific Coast. The leggings were just the catalyst to other ideas that soon formed and became popular.

By 1985, Drew was doing well and more ideas came to him. Designers were looking for stretch jeans, and he delivered the Lip Service Stretch Jeans. Business was moving and so was Drew. He got out of his parents house and moved into a warehouse. In three years, he had opened three retail stores and a hired a few people to help him with business. With hard work and a couple of breaks, Drew became more popular…

Friends in high places
One day Izzy Stradlin from Guns ‘N’ Roses was perusing through the warehouse and found a jacket that he thought would be perfect for their frontman, Axl Rose. Soon after, pictures were all over the press with images of Axl wearing Drew’s jacket. This got Lip Service a lot of publicity and more attention.

Still going…
About twenty years later, Lip Service is still growing strong. The company does all of the work themselves and stay close to their punk roots of inspiration. Their clothing can be found all over the world and worn by those who appreciate the independent, idiosyncratic style.
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