Marine designer creates clothing for all

For Alphonso Jones, one size definitely doesn't fit all.

Respect for individual expression led Jones, a Marine corporal stationed at Cherry Point, and former Marine Nydrew Brown to create Living By Standards Clothing Co., a brand that breaks ranks with fashion industry uniformity.

"Different people wear clothing different ways," Jones said. "We want clothing that people can wear any way they feel comfortable."

Living By Standards launched the first of its custom shirts in March 2007. Jones, the vice president, and Brown, the label's president, collaborate on the designs and pay an Ohio-based company to manufacture the threads. Brown is attending a school for recording artist management in Tampa, Fla.

Seven designs on men's T-shirts, polo shirts and women's babydoll tees comprise the current LBS line, but Jones said he hopes to add baseball caps and jeans for men and women as the business grows.

"We see ourselves as a cross between upscale and urban," Jones said. "We have a lot of everything, and our designs aren't necessarily tailored to a certain person or a certain group."

Living By Standards has engineered a gritty allure all its own. Shirts feature bright splashes of color, clusters of squiggles and shapes and imagery representing the designers' philosophy.

One design showcases the label's motto, "Swagger by the pounds" encircling the letters LBS in bright hues of orange, red and yellow.

"Your swagger is just the way you carry yourself," said Jones, explaining the word doesn't have to have a negative connotation. "You can have a swagger of just representing yourself."

Another shirt features a sprawling red tree with the words "Product of my environment." Jones said the design has a positive message.

"You are who you surround yourself with," he said. "If you surround yourself with troublemakers, you are going to be seen as a troublemaker. It's perception."

Pink ribbons representing support for breast cancer patients dominate the label's latest design, which is available on black and white T-shirts for men and women.

The shirts are being sold for $25 each with a pink wristband, and 25 percent of proceeds will be given to the Susan G. Komen Foundation's North Carolina affiliate group. They are available in New Bern at Shopper Go Crazy in the Rivertowne Plaza and by online order.

Jones said Living By Standards plans to design and sell shirts to benefit various charities.

"The reason we chose breast cancer first is because it's a cause that's very dear to me," he said. "My sister has been diagnosed with breast cancer and is currently fighting it. We feel that we should do our part to contribute to something that's greater than us."

The LBS vice president works as a data networking specialist in the Marine Corps and recently returned from his second deployment to Iraq. He said being overseas has helped him to appreciate his blessings and fueled his inspiration to create new designs.

Living By Standards uses the social networking site MySpace to sell its clothing online at www.lbsclothing.com, and Jones said a traditional Web site is in the works.

He predicts success for his business as it adds new designs and finds more Havelock-area stores to sell the clothing.

"We see this happening - as crazy as some may think this is - in the next couple years," Jones said. "We're hard workers, we work until we drop, and we have a great product to put out there that can stand behind itself. We see ourselves growing. It's not a possibility, it's a definite."