After NBC4 spotted Nationals outfield Bryce Harper wearing a 51st State t-shirt in the locker room yesterday, on the eve of the D.C. primary and the kick-off of the constitutional convention, we got excited.

But not more excited than the creators of the shirt, Bailiwick Clothing Company.

“My first reaction was s-h-i-t, you know?” says JC Smith, who co-owns Bailiwick with his brother Jeffrey. The Made in D.C. company designs and produces their products in the city.

Bailiwick has a connection with the Nats, and sends along t-shirts to the team. This isn’t the first time Harper has donned their apparel. The league MVP wore the company’s 202 shirt along with his now-famous “Make Baseball Fun Again” hat on Opening Day, after hitting a home run and helping secure a team win.

Harper wearing the Bailiwick on Opening Day “really put us on the map,” says Smith. The tee “sold out after he wore that on opening day. Our online store was flooded and even crashed for a bit. The best problem to have, right? Sales skyrocketed then and haven’t really looked back. Even after yesterday, we got a nice flood of sales for the 51st state shirt.”

And while Smith would love to see other area athletes, like John Wall, wear some Bailiwick merch, he says his favorite spottings are the spontaneous ones. “Just seeing someone wear a shirt when I’m grabbing coffee is still the biggest kick,” he says. “It’s a stranger that just likes your clothes.”

Next up for the company is new shirts for summertime, including more colors of previous shirts and some different styles, including more tank tops. “People want more tank tops,” says Smith.

Bailiwick will have a pop-up store this weekend at Logan Hardware.

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