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20-Year-Old Norwalk Man Creates Clothing Line Inspired By Connecticut

NORWALK, Conn. -- Philip Post, the 20-year-old founder of Dertbag clothing, says he didn't know if he would graduate high school but he was certain he would open a store.

Norwalk resident Philip Post.

Norwalk resident Philip Post.

Photo Credit: Submitted

In fact, he did both. That was two years ago. And so far, the Norwalk resident's Bridgeport shop, with its bold colored T-shirts, is thriving. 

It all sprung from illness. 

Post has Crohn's disease and said working on other things kept his mind off his health problems. He was homeschooled but also went to Green Farms Academy in Westport for middle school and Norwalk High for high school.

Post said he missed most of his senior year because his mom was hospitalized for 12 weeks. (She is disabled and also has health issues.)

By then, however, he already had a thriving online business and was ready to open in the Arcade in Bridgeport.

"I remember doing a heat-transfer shirt when I was in sixth grade," he said. "I taught myself how to print off YouTube and by trial and error."

Trial and error, it turns out, is his motto. Everything since then, he said, has happened that way. At age 11 and 12, he was making shirts and experimenting with colors and processes. By 14, he had customers from all over the world.

By 16, he had his first collection. 

He describes Dertbag, which has a street creed, skateboarding vibe, as an organic and natural reflection of what he sees around him. Connecticut inspires him.

"I like using pretty colors with a harsh theme," he said. "That's how I see Connecticut. People think it's full of country clubs but I try and to show the juxtaposition."

It's partly why he chose Bridgeport for his store. "It's a paradox," he said. "My clothes are expensive -- $36 for a shirt and $115 for pants -- but people come."

Dertbag -- he came up with the name when he was hospitalized -- is his "distorted reality."

"In a sense I had to create my own reality to keep going," he said. 

Next up for Post: traveling and doing more pop-up shops. He's already done a bunch, including one in Japan.

He's also busy working on his fall collection, which includes cut-and-sew options and custom fits.

"I don't want to be doing T-shirts forever," he said. "I like to dive into something I don't know and come up with a whole new direction.

"If folks go left, I go right. That's dertbag."

Dertbag is at 1001 Main St., No. 21, Bridgeport, and online at www.dertbag.us. There is no phone but the store is usually open Tuesday through Saturday from noon to 5 p.m.

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