Amoroso’s rolls out a streetwear line with Jimmy Sweatpants, a former Philly skateboarder

If your wardrobe is in knead of some serious Philly cred, you can now rise to any occasion with a line of Amoroso’s streetwear that’s designed to make you look like a real bread winner.

Because if there’s one thing Philadelphians love, it’s repping the city in ways that confuse outsiders and delight locals. We can’t explain why someone would create a streetwear line inspired by a bread-and-roll company. We can only wonder how it took this long.

The JSP and Amoroso’s Extra Collection is a collaboration between Amoroso’s, former Philly skateboarder-turned-designer Jimmy “Jimmy Sweatpants” Gorecki, and the Extra Market in Los Angeles.

The limited-edition collection, which will be released Friday, includes shirts, hats, sweatsuits, and even a skateboard. The products feature Amoroso’s logo, the company’s catchphrase, “Philly born, Philly bread,” and its mascot the “Roll Man,” who wears a top hat and boxing gloves ’cause he fights fancy.

Gorecki, 40, is a Norristown native who grew up skateboarding at LOVE Park and eventually turned pro. In 2012, he segued from skateboarding to fashion design and founded his own L.A.-based streetwear company, Jimmy Sweatpants, or JSP.

Despite living on the West Coast, Gorecki — who grew up with Amoroso’s rolls in the cupboard and now gets them shipped to his home in L.A. — said it’s important for him to incorporate his Philly roots into his work.

“I’ve always felt a real obligation and responsibility to double back and work with the people and things in Philly that raised me,” he said. “I wouldn’t be here if not for LOVE Park and the skaters that are there.”

Last year, Gorecki collaborated with Vans on a sneaker design inspired by LOVE Park, but the Amoroso’s collection may be his most Philly endeavor yet.

“This is about as Philly as it gets, for sure,” he said. “Amoroso’s is an indescribable part of the DNA. They’re just so engrained into the fiber of this city and the fiber of its people.”

Amoroso’s, which is currently based in Bellmawr, N.J., has been making rolls and bread in the Philly area since 1904. Their products are renowned in Philly — where a roll can make or break a cheesesteak or hoagie — but why?

When Twitter users were asked that question, responses ranged from “It’s da wooder” to “It’s the Goldilocks of rolls. Not too soft. Not too hard. It’s just right,” and “Because once Philly attaches to something they never let go.”

Cheesesteak purveyors across the nation also proudly advertise their use of Amoroso’s rolls as a way of gaining street cred with in-the-know customers. Amoroso’s currently ships to all 50 states, according to executive vice president Jesse Amoroso, the fifth generation of his family to helm the company.

“Multiple times a week my mom, myself, or my dad will get a text, email, or call from someone that they were in some town in Anywhere, USA, getting a cheesesteak and the restaurant had our name on the menu or board,” Amoroso said. “We never had any visions of grandeur in that respect but that’s been an enjoyable benefit.”

JSP and Amoroso’s Extra Collection all began when Gorecki partnered with Jamie Story — a fellow skateboarder and designer who owns the plant-based restaurant Extra Market in L.A. — to create a vegetarian cheesesteak last year.

Yes, Gorecki knows how that sounds and yes, his Philly friends have already sufficiently razzed him about it. It’s the yeast they could do.

“My friends said, ‘Really, Jimmy? L.A. is really changing you out there, isn’t it?’” he recalled. “I expected that and I received it almost as a compliment.”

Gorecki told Story their plant-based “chicken” cheesesteak would have to be comparable to Ishkabibble’s, and they both agreed that Amoroso’s rolls would be a key ingredient.

The vegetarian cheesesteak was a hit (because L.A.) and it started conversations about a clothing line between Gorecki, Story, and Amoroso, who has followed Gorecki’s work for some time.

“We never imagined people would want to wear something with our name and logo on it, but Jimmy’s vision gave us the excitement to do it,” Amoroso said. “I’ve known about JSP, so to do something like this, we’re humbled and proud to be associated with it.”

The three men collaborated on the designs and used Amoroso’s photo archives, advertising campaigns, and delivery trucks as inspiration.

“You can spot those trucks from a mile away,” Gorecki said. “There’s something so cool and classic and beautiful about them.”

And when it came time to shoot promos for the collection, Gorecki flew back to Philly to make photos and videos outside of his favorite cheesesteak shop, Dalessandro’s, which serves its products on Amoroso’s rolls.

The “extremely limited” JSP and Amoroso’s Extra Collection — Gorecki said he only produced 50 pieces in each color, including bread-beige — will be available online at JSP’s parent company’s website, standardissuetees.com, beginning at 1 p.m. EST Friday.

The line will also be available at Lapstone & Hammer’s brick-and-mortar location in Center City and at the Extra Market in L.A.

“I can’t wait,” Amoroso said. “I made the mistake of rocking a sample set and I’ve now got family members, friends, and colleagues upset with me wondering when they can get their hands on it.”