“Making things in Japan in the Japanese way” In recent years Samurai have been tackling the enormous challenge of reviving and growing an ancient strain of cotton in Sasayama city, Hyogo prefecture with the aim of producing high–quality clothing that is “100% Made in Japan” from seed to fabric to finished garment. With the generous help of the local community this dream is becoming a reality, and since 2020 they have been releasing denim and cut–and–sew items that contain a percentage of our own hand–harvested, local organic cotton. Although this is by no means an easy project, they are committed to forging ahead without compromise, and we will pass these lost techniques on to future generations while also continuing in the invigoration of the area itself. Click image to read more
Probably the most iconic jacket from Engineered Garments It was in the very first collection that we ever bought twenty years ago and from memory it has been in each and everyone since.Initially it has the feel of a blue collar workers jacket especially when created in simple fabrics like ripstop and denim and there is the top stitching on the front yoke along with other stitching details often found on workwear and military garments to allow for greater durability. Probably the most distinctive feature is the removable buttons, fastened to the body of the jacket with metal ringlets ,designed for factory workers who may not have had the time or skill to sew on replacement buttons.On closer inspection there are some interesting details that are more associated with a more sartorial garment like the peak label and two piece sleeve.The Bedford jacket is the embodiment of Engineered Garments and Daiki Suzuki.Military and workwear with many hIdden sartorial details.
Tender has its roots in antique workwear and machinery, especially from the Great British Steam Age. An important face of Tender’s English–made clothing is the nurture which is put into the clothes: in their research, design, manufacture and wear. Tender’s goal is for the owner to live with their clothes, wearing them hard, but respecting their provenance and the stories they have to tell. Click image to read more.
Clayton Wax Jacket by Daiki Suzuki Daiki Suzuki of Engineered Garments fame is also the creative director at Baracuta and has over seen a collaboration between these two iconic British brands which have been manufactured by Barbour in their iconic wax cotton…Click image to read more
The original “SAS SMOCK” was issued to the British Special Forces, SAS (Special Air Service) , SBS (Special Boat Service) and the SOE (Special Operation Executive) in the early 40s and was a pull–over your head coat that featured two large pleated chest pockets along with two lower large bellow pockets, a drawstring hood, hem and waist. Manufactured in a printed brown and and green splintered camouflage wind proof fabric and oversized in shape for obvious practical reasons. During the later years of the war it was also the garment of choice for many snipers from regular British regiments….. Click image to read more
Andover Massachusetts is a small town in the North East of the USA and probably took it’s name from early European settlers who came from around Andover Hampshire in England. In 1948 Charlie Davidson opened a small store in Andover Massachusetts called the Andover Shop which primarily served the needs of the local Phillips Andover Academy along with carrying quality mens “trad style” clothing. In in 1953 he opened a second store in Havard square Cambridge Massachusetts which is home to the Famous University Harvard. This store served the satorial needs and wants of the college students along with Miles Davis Chet Baker, Stan Getz and countless others Jazz greats. Many famous and influential figures of the 20th and 21st century were also customers of this store….. Click image to read more
The Loiter Jacket “An informal Sports Coat” There was a time when a man would wear a dark suit during the week and then a brown suit at the week–end. During the 60’s and 70’s the week–end suit started to be replaced with a more casual style jacket known as a sports coat … Click image to read more
Historically the footwear of choice of Indigenous Americans and later adopted by many trappers, traders and European settlers. True moccasin construction is a skill with very few companies left that can create it in it’s genuine form, especially in it’s spiritual home Maine, U.S.A. Even more rare are those that create moccasin construction using hand stitchers. Here you see the human hand at work and the beauty of the irregularities of their craft. “The beauty of the imperfect” … Click image to see more