🍂 It's Wednesday. We're out here snatching up gourds and ignoring the outside temperature.

• If you made it out to the Axios Social Club last night, thanks for taking part! We'll be at the next one, assuming we're not both simultaneously laid up with the flu!

☀️ Today's weather: Sunny. High 78, low 54.

🎤 Sounds like: "I Fought the Law" by Dead Kennedys, who play Roseland Theater tonight.

Today’s newsletter is 1,022 words — a 4-minute read.

Chart-topping country singer Shaboozey, K-pop star J-Hope and "Love Island" winner Bryce Alakai have all been spotted wearing Portland menswear brand Bare Knuckles this year.

Why it matters: Nearly a decade in, Bare Knuckles has quietly grown from a side project between the two longtime Portland retail pros into a fashion-world favorite.

• It's the fit and feel that are obsessively considered by owners Jacob Keller and Cole McBride: basics like washed jeans, boxy graphic tees and studded leather loafers.
• While the brand remains largely direct to consumer, Keller told Axios the business has grown rapidly year over year, cultivating a large customer base in New York and Los Angeles.

Catch up quick: Keller and McBride met while working at downtown menswear boutique Machus in 2016.

• Handling clothes all day became an informal education in how they wanted to make things differently.
• "You kind of realize like, 'Oh man, I wish this was like two inches shorter. I wish that this hat fit this way. I wish that this shirt had this wash,'" Keller said.
• The pair had a friend who owned a factory in LA and started making samples that year. They launched Bare Knuckles in 2017.

The vibe: Like many kids who grew up in Portland, Keller and McBride were vintage shop connoisseurs, copping '50s-era workwear and worn leather goods. So that's where they started with Bare Knuckles.

• Before producing a single piece, they search for an existing silhouette they'd actually want to wear.
• Then, they tweak the proportions and put them through a cycle of enzyme and stone washes, sprays and rinses that make the clothes feel worn‑in from day one.
• "Anyone can just go pick up a brand-new shirt anywhere," Keller said. "I want ours to feel a little different."

The result is relaxed and refined — bombers that hit right at the belt line, crinkled crimson lambskin leather blousons and wide-legged buttery denim.

Zoom in: Wholesale has been a new frontier.

• So far, their line is in independent department stores like Frances May, Chicago's Notre and WISM in Japan, with potentially more — and maybe even a brick-and-mortar of their own — on the way.

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A committee of regional leaders quietly endorsed new goals to reduce homelessness last month, giving the region firm targets for the first time in a decade.

Why it matters: Some 18,000 people were experiencing homelessness in Multnomah County as of May, a number that has climbed in recent years.

What's inside: The committee endorsed a plan to bring homelessness down by 10% in two years.

• To do that, they'll need to house more than 12,000 people in that time, per the Oregonian.
• The committee also aims to increase affordable housing, reduce the number of people becoming homeless and shorten the time it takes homeless people to find housing.

The committee — made up of local elected officials and housing experts — voted 4-1 to adopt the goals, with Mayor Wilson casting the sole "no" vote.

• Wilson called the goals a "good starting point," but said the committee was "not moving at the pace that the emergency needs," per the Oregonian.

How it works: The goals are possible, officials said, largely because of the county's relatively new data collection system that was put in place early last year.

• "That's never existed before," Jillian Schoene, head of the Multnomah County Homelessness Response System, told the O. "Now we have the tools in place to make truly data-driven decisions."

Yes, but: The city of Portland has recently started more aggressive enforcement of 120-day stay limits at some of its long-term shelters, forcing some residents back onto the streets.

What's next: The new goals are expected to be incorporated into Multnomah County's homelessness dashboard soon.

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🪧 Hundreds of angry parents and staff members protested at the Portland Public Schools board meeting last night, venting their frustration over the district's plans to close up to 14 schools in the city. (The Oregonian)

🚗 The I-5 southbound closure near the Rose Quarter hasn't snarled traffic quite as badly as feared, with commute times roughly doubling and neighborhood congestion leveling off midway through the five-week project. (OPB)

🍦 Cue the ice cream wars: Salt & Straw sued Ruby Jewel for breach of contract, alleging the fellow Portland ice cream maker plans to stop producing its Tacolates despite a three-year manufacturing deal that runs through February 2028. (Portland Business Journal)

💰 Downtown developer and auto magnate Jeff Swickard donated $100,000 to Gov. Kotek's re-election campaign, adding to more than $220,000 he's donated to Oregon candidates and PACs this year. (Willamette Week)

🎶 Beloved indie venue Doug Fir plans to come out of retirement in February — possibly sooner — at the former Le Bistro Montage space, according to a liquor license filed this week. (The Oregonian)

If you're searching for signs that spooky season is here, look no further than Davis Graveyard in Milwaukie.

• The over-the-top Halloween display comes from homeowners Jeff and Chris Davis, who have grown the graveyard every year since 1996.
• Look closely and you'll find familiar headstones — Ruth Bader Ginsberg, Meatloaf and Dolly Parton, among them — but don't miss the more obscure, like I. Emma Ghost, whose "soul still walks the Earth."

If you go: The Davis Graveyard (8703 SE 43rd Ave, Milwaukie) will host an open house Sunday from 11am to 5pm.

• A full calendar of events — including when to catch sound, fog and lighting effects — is here.

🥳 Meira is on the mend and cracking open a Coke Zero to celebrate, even though she should still be drinking tea.

👻 Kale is planning a pumpkin purchase.

This newsletter was edited by Geoff Ziezulewicz.