Trucker Hats – Putting the Cap in Capitalism

We take a look at the history and social context of Trucker Hats, the mesh-backed cap that often makes the wearer a walking billboard.

David Shuck

In the history of humans wearing clothing, there have been thousands, if not millions, of unique garment styles created for a variety of purposes: to protect from the elements to comfort and soothe, to aid in self-expression, to name but a few. Yet I can think of none more shrewd and more alienated from any of those than the Trucker Hat.

Yes, I’m talking about the “good ol’ boy”, Larry the Cable Guy, Ashton Kutcher in Von Dutch, that you can smell the stale Budweiser and Marlboro smoke on from across a Goodwill. In my opinion, it is not a garment. It is a parasite masquerading as a hat to turn its wearer into a walking billboard at the smallest possible expense to its maker. And I think that’s why they deserve our respect and admiration.

Dawn of the Deere

In the 1960s, developments in plastics and polymers meant manufacturers could develop a hat made entirely of petroleum byproducts—a thick foam in the front, a plastic mesh in the back for breathability, and an adjustable plastic snap in the back for sizing.

These hats were significantly cheaper to produce than their wool or cotton counterparts, but the real genius was that — unlike the natural fiber twills in the other hats — the foam was uniform enough to screenprint on—something that was much, much cheaper than embroidery and much more widely available. Suddenly, anyone with a screen and some emulsion could put their logo, company name, or anything else across a wearer’s forehead. The crown of a trucker hat was even taller than a normal hat to fit more advertising real estate.

A 1970s vintage John Deere promotional hat with a local farm equipment shop included. Image via HatsForward.

It was the perfect promotional item: cheap to produce, cheap to print, and one size fits all. Companies made them and just gave them away as a marketing expense. Trucker hats were first known as “gimme hats” because they were originally given away for free.

The style caught on in rural communities because the earliest adopters were agricultural supply companies, most notably John Deere, who has produced an order of magnitude more hats than they ever have of tractors.

Dad got a tractor and junior got a hat. Image via Pinterest.

Soon every “Fred’s Feed Supply” and “United Silo Construction” would have their own branded cap to hand out to every farmer in their territory.

But what was even better than a walking billboard? A driving one! Trucker’s became the ideal target for trucker caps because your ad could criss-cross the country and be seen by your target audience wherever its wearer went.

Jerry Reed as Cledus aka “Snowman” wearing a CAT promotional hat in the 1977 film “Smokey and the Bandit”. Image via Universal Pictures.

Popularity amongst truckers and farmers gave the hat a distinctly blue collar edge, a “working man” image that celebrities and rockstars began to take on for themselves.

Later era Steve McQueen in a CAT hat. Image via People Magazine.

Tom Selleck in the 1980s TV show Magnum P.I. Image via eBay.

Sam Shepard in John Deere. Image via The New Yorker.

But the most shrewdly capitalist hat in history had yet to make its final play:  making people pay to wear the ad!

Going Von Dutch

In the early 2000s, the cultural forces of hip-hop, pop punk, and skaters combined in an ironic appreciation for the trucker hat’s older, blue-collar image. Everyone from Pharrell Williams to Ashton Kutcher to Lindsay Lohan was wearing a new era of trucker hat that transcended the local feed and tractor supply store. They instead said things like “Teenage Billionaire” or “Material Junky” or “Drama Queen” and were often worn slightly angled off the head for some reason.

Ashton Kutcher wears a trucker hat at a New York Knicks game in 2003. Image via Getty Images)

If there’s one name though, that’s more associated with truckers than Johnathan Deere, it’s Von Dutch. Von Dutch is a fashion brand founded in the early 1990s named after the posthumous artist Kenny Howard. French designer Christian Audigier managed to popularize the brand in the early 2000s by putting trucker hats on any celebrity he could

Paris Hilton, Madonna, Justin Timberlake, Jay-Z, and Britney Spears were all often spotted in Von Dutch caps. But these weren’t gimmes, VD truckers could retail for up to $125.

Britney Spears in a Von Dutch cap in the early 2000s. Image via Von Dutch.

A current manufacturer of trucker caps estimates the front of a trucker hat will be “seen 3,400 times over its useful life.” I have no idea how they calculated this number, but this is an incredible return, even in today’s advertising market. The average cost of a Google-served web ad is a little over $3 per one thousand views. If you took the hat at the same metric, it would earn over $10. And a trucker can currently be bought for $2.50 on Shein, a 4x return, and who knows how cheap they get wholesale.

The fact that it’s a hat is secondary. It’s a lure just useful enough for people to put the ad on their heads. If an advertiser could get away with shaving away the brim or any other feature that serves the wearer, they definitely would.

If you would also like to get an ad on your dome, there are a plethora of vintage options available on Etsy and eBay. If you’d prefer to shell out to rep some brands from our corner of the fashion niche, here are a few options:

RRL

RRL Logo Trucker, available for $85 from STAG.

Papa Nui

Papa Nui Original Ship’s Cap, available for $110 from Iron Heart.

Russell Mocassin

Russell Trucker, available for $35 from Russell Moccasin.

Gallery

Donald Glover truckin’ for donuts.

Tom Hanks as Forrest Gump in Bubba Gump hat.

Daniel Kaluuya in Nope.

Dean Stockwell in Paris, Texas.

Fred Ward and Kevin Bacon in Tremors

Like this? Read these:

The Lowdown on Loafers – From America to Norway and Back Again

Bucket Hats – From Ireland to Gilligan’s Island

/ Fade Friday /

Fade Friday – Naked & Famous Okayama Spirit Easy Guy (8 Years, ~20 Washes w/ Hot Dry)

The Okayama Spirit line from Naked & Famous pays homage to Japan’s selvedge denim capital: Okayama. The series features the brand’s unsanforized, shrink-to-fit loomstate selvedge denim, woven in Okayama with irregular slub yarns in a mid-to-heavy weight 16oz construct.

This well-worn pair of  N?&F Okayama Spirit Easy Guy comes courtesy of Nate over in Kauai, Hawaii. Over the course of eight years, the jeans have been shrunk, worn, torn, and washed, with only periodic use. Despite the intermittent wear cycles, the fabric shows a high fade response, driven by its weighty makeup and irregular slub yarns. The jean has taken on a bleach-blue, sun-fade wash shaped by frequent washing and Kauai’s tropical climate. While considered unconventional, this pair has been machine-washed and hot-dried — a lot —producing an even, all-over fade with pronounced yarn twist. As seen at the cuffs, the roping comes from the twisting and warping of the cotton yarns as the fibers expand and contract over time. The knee holes have been carved by everyday movement, which, in this case, is getting in and out of Nate’s Kei truck.

Originally presented in their raw, untouched state, Nate’s Okayama Spirit jeans show how consistent wear and care allow the denim to take on a spirit of its own.

/ New Releases /

The Deville’s in the Details With This Indigofera Printed Seersucker Shirt

Indigofera‘s Deville Shirt in printed seersucker is the Cadillac of summer short-sleevers. Made with a quintessential warmer-weather fabric, you get textured breathability. But unlike your average cotton seersucker, which might feature a striped design if any, Indigofera sends it with a vibrant ikat-leaning all-over print that pulls you all the way in.

Perfect as a statement piece to break up a more subdued rotation, adding color has never been breezier. The Deville comes in a relaxed fit with 2 flap pockets and a camp collar, and is finished with cateye shell buttons.

Available for $279 from Iron Shop Provisions.

Schott NYC’s 538 Mechanic’s Jacket Is For Those Who Think They Can’t Pull Off a Leather

From Schott NYC comes a leather workwear jacket that won’t look like you’re cosplaying The Wild One…or a laborer at the ship yard.

Known simply as the 538 Mechanic’s Jacket, this masterclass in ‘less is more’ features a semi-nubuck cowhide body with goatskin leather collar. The result is a beautifully matte appearance that almost resembles waxed cotton fabric. As for the design itself, this thing channels the 1930s-1950s through a tasteful medley of touchpoints. Pairing a metal shank button-up style with deep ‘d’ pockets, and the ol’ ball chain zip accented single welt chest pocket, this is what jacket-based dreams are made of.

Made in the USA and closed out with a chambray lining and old school neck tag, the 538 gives you a universally wearable jacket that will only get better with age. And it comes to you courtesy of the quintessential American leather jacket company. You’re welcome.

Available for $995 from Franklin & Poe.

Studio D’Artisan Kakishibu-Dyed Sashiko Denim Cap

One hat, two traditional Japanese textile techniques, a multitude of fades. That’s what you get with Studio D’Artisan‘s Kakishibu-Dyed Sashiko Denim Cap.

The denim on display features an indigo warp and a persimmon-dyed kakishibu weft, the latter of which is echoed in the kakishibu yarns used for the sashiko stitch. That reinforcing stitch is peppered across the whole cap, adding instant Japanese flair that Studio D’Artisan always packs into its products. Perhaps more importantly, though, the use of kakishibu throughout the cap introduces a new dimension of patina, as it will fade differently to the indigo-dyed components. Just imagine the fades. No seriously. Apparently, thinking hard enough can create sick whiskering.

Closed out with a curved brim and adjustable strap, this 6-panel hat is the perfect dome topper for any discerning denim head.

Available for $85 from Brooklyn Clothing.

/ Weekly Rundown /

• Can Lee Reclaim Its Cool? – WWD

• 72 Hours in Austin with Huckberry Co-CEO Andy Forch – Huckberry

• Introducing the Crown Northampton Unlined Sneaker Collection – Crown Northampton

• The Young JFK: Not Ready for the Big Time – Ivy Style

• Through the Echoes – Rhythmic Tones

• HAVEN Spring/Summer 2026 Process – HAVEN

• The Art of Shoemaking – Bridlen Shoemaker

• The Only 3 Logger Boot Brands Left in the Pacific Northwest – Built to Fall

• Ep 68: The Rise of Resale – Jeansland Podcast

Sales Shortlist – May 14

“Kool Jeans”

Sales

• Iron Heart

• Lost & Found

• Redcast Heritage Co.

• Franklin and Poe

• Tellason

• Grant Stone

• Stag Provisions

• Clutch Cafe

• Iron Shop Provisions

• Cultizm

• HAVEN

• Blue in Green

• Devium USA

• Brooklyn Clothing Co.

• Oak Street Boot Makers

• American Trench

• Independence Chicago

• Brooklyn Tailors (15% extra off final sale items with code FINAL15)

• Blue Beach Denim

• Cockpit USA

• Namu Shop

• Kiriko

• REVOLVR Menswear

• Corridor NYC

• Railcar

• 3sixteen

• Vestis

• Unbleached Apparel

• Drew’s Boots

• Bather

• Companion Denim (sample sale)

• Left Field NYC

• Loyal Stricklin

• Rooney

• Shockoe Atelier

• Manready Mercantile

• Shwood Eyewear

• Caswell Boot Co.

• Unmarked (sample sale)

• Billykirk

• Tanner Goods

• Hatchet Outdoor Supply Co.

• DSPTCH

• Bridge & Burn

• Triple Aught Design

• TENDREL

• Gamine Workwear

• Grown & Sewn

• Rhythmic Tones

• Delikatessen

• MAPLE

Jeans & Pants

• ts(s) 3 Tuck Baggy Pants Stripe Cotton/Wool Stretch Cloth Navy $433 $310

• Randy’s Garments 7-Pocket Jean Washed 13.5oz Cotton Charcoal Cone Denim $261 $183

• The Flat Head 14.5oz 3009 Tapered Straight $315 $200

• Levi’s® Vintage Clothing 1947 501 Jeans Holcomb Wash $340 $230

• Levi’s Vintage Clothing LVC 1947 501® Jeans Organic Rinse $312 $218

• Levi’s Vintage Clothing LVC 1966 501® Jeans Dark Indigo Rigid $312 $218

Shirts & Tops

• Unbleached Apparel 6.1oz Long Sleeve Heavyweight T-Shirt $40 $29.99

• Bather Shaggy Leisure Shirt $185 $130

  • Cloud

  • Whale

• Beams Plus Hem Line Cardigan White $264 $185

• Beams Plus Full Zip Popcorn Pattern Navy $350 $245

• Heimat Textil Signal Sweater – Kelly Green $285 $199.50

• Devium Balboa Striped Short Sleeve Shirt $155 $114

Outerwear

• Beams Plus Car Coat Aged Fake Leather Black $602 $422

• Pherrow’s 25W-P1168DJ Deck Jacket Alpaca Faded Navy $552 $441

Footwear

• Grant Stone Garrison Boot Natural Waxed Commander $395 $298

All About Linen – From Flax to Fabric

We take a look at linen, the world's strongest natural fiber and how it's grown, woven, and turned into some of the hardiest garments around.

Mads Jakobsen

The word linen has been so generalized and co-opted that it’s often difficult to sort out what it actually means. Beyond what Elton John wants you to lay him down in sheets of, linen is a natural plant fiber that people have been using for thousands of years. You can find it in thread, shirts, sheets, embroidery, and pretty much any other type of woven fabric.

Linen is often mistaken for other fibers and misconstrued as something itchy you only wear to summer weddings, but we’re here to brush away those misconceptions and educate you on the wide world of linen fibers.

What is Linen?

Flax plants via The Modern Dane

Linen is a bast fiber, which means it comes from the inner part of the plant. In linen’s case, that’s the flax plant.

The word linen comes from the Latin word for flax, linum. The linen fiber is not to be confused with bed linen, although the two are connected. Linen’s association with bedding and the origin of the word comes from the fiber’s close association with throws, bed sheets, and ropes since ancient times.

Various linen fibers. Image via Fiber Seal.

Linen, as a fiber, looks very similar to hemp, and the two can be hard to distinguish from each other without a microscope. The two share a lot of the same properties, too, although hemp is known to be a little darker and have poorer elastic recovery than linen.

Linen has a beautiful, natural color, varying from ivory to ecru, tan, and grey.

General Properties of Linen

Microscopical appearance of various vegetable fibers. Image via Google

• One of the strongest natural textile fibers: Linen is generally stronger and more durable than cotton, making linen fabrics hard-wearing and capable of lasting for decades with proper care

• Eco-friendly life cycle: flax typically requires less water and fewer pesticides than conventional cotton; linen is also recyclable and biodegradable

• Soft hand: linen is often stiff or textured at first, but softens noticeably with wear and washing*

• Structurally sound fiber: Linen garments tend to hold their shape well due to the fiber’s low elasticity

• Launders well and can maintain color effectively when properly dyed and cared for

• Naturally resistant to irritation and often suitable for sensitive skin

• Naturally low-static

• Good moisture absorbency: linen can absorb up to 20% of its weight in moisture before feeling damp**

• Highly breathable and thermoregulating

• Low elasticity, which contributes to both durability and wrinkling

• Time- and labor-intensive extraction process (from plant to usable fiber)

* Vintage linen is highly valued for its exceptionally soft hand feel, which develops gradually through repeated use and washing.

** Wool can absorb more moisture than linen, while cotton’s absorbency varies depending on the weave and finish. Linen dries relatively quickly and becomes stronger when wet, whereas wool weakens somewhat with saturation.

Linen fibers are generally thicker and stiffer than cotton fibers, so linen fabrics usually have a lower thread count than cotton fabrics. However, thread count alone is not a reliable indicator of quality, particularly when comparing different fiber types. Despite its lower thread count, linen is widely valued for its durability, breathability, longevity, and comparatively low environmental impact, which often contributes to its higher price point.

Linen has, since ancient times, been associated with comfort and freshness due to the fiber’s high breathability, moisture-wicking ability, and suitability for sensitive skin. It’s naturally low-static, which explains why it doesn’t cling to the body and tends to attract less lint and dust than many other fabrics. Linen is also a temperature-regulating natural fiber, like silk, due to its breathability and moisture management. This helps the body stay cool in warm weather and comfortably insulated in cooler seasons.

The low-static and skin-friendly nature of linen means that many people find it especially comfortable to sleep in. Less so today, but linen has long been considered a status symbol, and given the fiber’s extensive range of functional benefits, it’s no surprise that linen is largely associated with luxury. Some prestigious and expensive hotels make use of linen bedding, though high-quality cotton remains common in luxury hospitality as well.

Softness & Longevity

Antique linen sheet dating from the late 19th century. Made from fine linen and intricately embroidered with floral motifs. Image via Fleur d’Andeol.

Unlike cotton, linen takes a long time to soften up. High-quality linen sheets can require years of use before they develop their characteristic softness and subtle sheen. Cotton, on the other hand, has a much softer hand when comparing freshly woven fabrics.

But good things come to those who wait, as linen sheets can often last for decades, whereas cotton sheets generally have a shorter lifespan, depending on their quality and care. The wrinkly nature often associated with linen is due to the fiber’s low elasticity and initial stiffness. Once worn and washed many times, linen becomes softer and more fluid, though it still wrinkles more easily than cotton.

How is Linen Grown?

Flax plants used for linen. Image via Osca Ironing.

Flax plants are one of the few crops still grown in Western Europe, with production concentrated in France, Belgium, and the Netherlands, and total fibre flax cultivation typically covering over 100,000 hectares, depending on the year and reporting method. The growing cycle of flax is short, with only around a hundred days (roughly 90–120 days) from sowing in March–April to harvest in July.

How Are Linen Yarns Made?

Inside L.A Liniere in Bourbourg, France., a staff member checks the flax. Image via AFP.

Although the growing cycle of flax is short, turning the plant into linen fabrics is generally a time-consuming process. The process naturally varies depending on the farmer or mill, but most of the process is fairly well regimented. 

1. Harvesting Flax: Flax plants are harvested by pulling them from the ground. Most crops are mowed down, but pulling preserves the full length of the bast fibers that run from root to tip. The harvested flax is bundled up and left to dry before the next phase.

2. Retting: This key step exposes the flax to moisture in a controlled rotting process. This loosens the pectins binding fibers from the woody core of the plant (the shive). There are many ways of retting, with the main types being ‘dew retting’, where flax is spread in fields and exposed to moisture and microbes over weeks; ‘water retting’, where the stems are dunked in water tanks for a faster and more controlled breakdown; and industrial retting, which typically uses enzymes to control the breakdown and produce uniform fibers.

3. Breaking & Scutching: The woody core, aka the shive, is crushed to make it easier to remove. The broken shive is scraped away, leaving coarse fiber bundles.

4. Hackling: The bundles of fibers are drawn through progressively finer combs to align them and remove short fibers. This yields long, smooth fibres suitable for high-quality linen yarn. The short fibers (tow) are used for the coarser yarn, which is typically made into hard-wearing fabrics in garments and upholstery as well as thread (e.g., for sewing leather goods).

5. Spinning: Flax fibers are spun into yarn in a process similar to cotton and wool. They are typically drawn into ribbons, plied to a consistent thickness, and wound onto cones. Fine line yarn is usually wet-spun with heated water to swell the fibres and produce a smooth, glossy finish, while coarser “tow yarn” is dry-spun for a more irregular, textured appearance. Before being woven or knitted into fabric, the yarn is carefully inspected and typically quality-checked again after spinning to ensure consistency and strength.

For an easy-to-view breakdown of how flax becomes linen yarns, check out this video by Rob Stephens. Industrial applications will vary, but the principles remain largely the same.

Flax retting via Marina Skua

A Brief History of Linen

Patterned ancient Egyptian linen. Image via NoBell.

The use of linen in thread and rope has been known to man for more than thirty thousand years, which long predates the use of wool. By 3000 B.C., at the latest, humans found a way of weaving the thread into textiles. The coarse fibers were spun into yarn and were used by Egyptians for sails, whereas the finer, more expensive linen would be used for high-priced tunics and such. It’s claimed that Egyptians even used linen as currency.

One of the oldest woven garments known to man: a pleated linen shirt from the Egyptian Tarkhan dynasty, dating back to 3000 BC. Image via The Archaeologist.

In North Africa, Egypt, and Sudan, it was common to wear linen, whereas it was common to wear wool in West Asia, Greece, and Germany. In Roman times, however, it was common for Europeans to wear tunics made from linen, typically worn underneath their wool robes. This is why linen, in the Western part of the World, became associated with underwear (the word lingerie derives from the French word for linen: lingin) and the white color in underwear also comes from linen, which is naturally “light”. The Islamic Empire preferred linen (and cotton) over wool as well.

Hand coloured engraving depicting Irish linen making, William Hincks, 1791. Museum no. 28813:6. © Victoria and Albrt Museum, London

In Europe, it’s been a tradition to pass down dresses, sheets, and other types of linen cloth as an heirloom from generation to generation. This also denotes linen’s long-lasting properties as well as the high quality associated with the fiber. Linen was the fabric of choice up until the Industrial Revolution in the eighteenth century, when the cotton of North America won out due to the technology of new spinning machines that made cotton manufacturing more affordable.

How To Care For Linen Goods

Laundering Linen – How to Wash Flaxen Fibers

Made from the long fibers of the flax plant, humans have been using linen for over six thousand years.

Is Linen Sustainable?

Linen cloth via Linen Me

Producing linen is often described as an eco-friendly process, meaning its life cycle can have a relatively small ecological footprint compared to cotton, particularly in European systems. This is due to several aspects, such as the longevity of the linen fiber, and the generally lower use of water, pesticides, and fertilizers in growing flax compared to conventional cotton production; although impacts vary depending on farming and processing methods. Also, by-products of flax – flax seeds, oil, straw, lower-quality fiber – are used in producing a wide range of products: from linoleum, soap, healthy oil to paper, insulation, and cattle feed. Flax seeds, for one, are very popular nowadays in both food and nutrition contexts. Normandy and Belgium are some of the best places to grow the flax plant due to the cool climate, high humidity, and fertile soils suited to fibre production.

However, as with cotton, its finishing processes that typically harm the ecological credentials of linen. Bleaching, dyeing, resin treatments (for “wrinkle resistance”), and certain coatings can introduce chemicals that slow degradation or increase environmental impact during production and disposal.

There is also a growing emphasis on traceability and certification in the linen industry. Labels such as European Flax® and Masters of Linen are used to verify that flax is grown in Western Europe and that processing occurs within defined European supply chains. OEKO-TEX Standard 100 is also commonly used to certify that textiles have been tested for harmful substances, although it does not certify origin or exclusivity of sourcing.

Linen Today

Blluemade’s Indigo Linen Jacket (well, almost – 91% linen, 9% polyamide). Image via Blluemade.

Given linen’s rich history and long range of positive features, it’s easy to think of it as a somewhat overlooked fibre in mainstream fast fashion contexts—especially when compared to synthetics and cotton blends that dominate the contemporary garment industry. As previously mentioned, linen has a bad name for wrinkling easily as well as being tough to iron, although in modern fashion this is increasingly reframed as part of its natural texture and relaxed aesthetic rather than a flaw.

Linen demand has shown steady growth in recent years across certain premium and European textile markets. It is frequently incorporated into blends such as linen–cotton and linen–viscose, which soften the hand feel, reduce wrinkling, and improve drape or stretch. At the same time, finishing techniques such as enzyme washing and garment washing are widely used to make linen less rigid and more comfortable from first wear. This reflects a broader revival of linen in contemporary fashion. Many brands are increasingly focused on improving their sustainability profiles, and linen, being a natural fibre, is often positioned within marketing narratives around low-impact or ‘natural’ materials, even though its overall environmental performance still depends heavily on processing methods and supply chain choices

Quality brands that regularly use linen include:

• Blluemade

• Bather

• James Coward

• Delikatessen

• Tender

• Heimat

• GUSTIN

Linen Products You’ll Want To Use Forever

Coherence Abiquiu Western Shirt Aerocloth Linen

Available for $450 from Clutch Cafe.

GUSTIN #499 Beast Linen 5 Pocket – Natural

Available for $159 from GUSTIN.

Delikatessen Strong Shirt in a Light Blue Bohemian Summer Linen

Available for $203 from Delikatessen.

Delikatessen Cuban Collar Shirt in a Steel Blue Rich Structured Italian Oxford Linen

Available for $228 from Delikatessen.

Arpenteur Fox P High Density Linen

Available for $458 from Lost & Found.

11.11 / eleven eleven Indigo Camp Collar Shirt – Dark Indigo

Available for $410 from Blue in Green.

3sixteen Vacation Shirt Linen – Almond

Available for $220 from Franklin & Poe.

American Trench Irish Linen Ballcap

Available for $68 from American Trench.

Bather Espresso Linen

Available from $150 from Bather.

Like this? Read these:

Brimming With Quality – A Guide To Japan’s Heritage-Centric Hatmakers

The Three Tiers of Sweatshirts: Entry, Mid, and End Level

How To Store Your Quality Clothing

A deep-dive into the fundamentals of storing your hard-earned, quality clothing properly, focusing specifically on hanging and folding.

James Smith

Here at Heddels, we aim to buy less and buy better, with longevity and timeless style at the heart of our product choices. But buying better doesn’t necessarily mean that your quality goods will last forever. You have to help them along the way by caring for them with the same love and care you put into sourcing them. And a key element of that care is storing them correctly.

Awkward creases, funny smells, unwanted pests —and even sun damage — there’s a host of things to consider when choosing where to keep your garments when you’re not using them. In this article, we’re going to look at the fundamentals of storing them properly, focusing specifically on hanging and folding.

Before we get into it, a quick disclaimer: everyone will have different ways of doing things, whether it’s folding your favorite pair of jeans or conditioning your beater boots. And that’s totally cool. The goal of this piece is to share our guidance on storing your quality goods. And if you’re already a clothing care-bear, then hopefully this piece will help to refine and reinforce your knowledge. With that, let’s get into it. 

A Word On Sunlight

Image via No Maintenance

When choosing where to store your garments, be mindful of sunlight ingress. Long periods of exposure to the sun, especially if the garment is damp or wet, can lead to fading or ‘sun bleaching’. Even sun-fading over time can form a charming part of a garment’s patina, but a small splash of it just looks plain awkward.

In wardrobes and drawers, sunlight isn’t an issue. But on open rails, coat hooks, and racks, you do need to be mindful. Garment bags will help combat this, but if storing on a rack, hook, or shelf, just switch up the positions of your garments so they’re not getting the same constant exposure.

A Word on Hangers

Brooklyn Tailors Standard Wooden Suit Hanger, $12 from Brooklyn Tailors

A fundamental part of storing clothing is investing in some decent hangers to keep your clothes elevated. We don’t mean go crazy, price-wise, just some solid wooden hangers that won’t snap and end up in landfill like their plastic counterparts. Not only are they more durable and less likely to bend or break (which means the item of clothing keeps its shape for longer), but they’re just flat-out better looking.

Our editor James stands by IKEA’s wooden coat hangers, which are under $5 a piece, but you can also pick up some solid wood jawns like the Brooklyn Tailors hanger above, which is made from a gorgeous solid birch with a brass hook. 

Avoiding Smells and Pests

Guys, just because you wash your denim infrequently doesn’t mean it has to smell. That goes for all your clothes, too, by the way. There are some really simple and inexpensive things you can incorporate into your care routine to keep your garms smelling fresh and free from pests, even if they haven’t been washed for months (you sick, twisted denim head). 

The Power of Cedar

Cedar chip sachets and Cedar , available from $5 on Etsy, and Cedar Clothes Storage Blocks, $13 at NorthPointLumber

Firstly, drawer fresheners. Unbelievably cheap and long-lasting, these little bags of cedar chips, or even lavender, are a fool-proof way of making your clothes smell great whilst in storage. All you need to do is stick them in your drawers and replace them every so often. They also help to repel insects, termites, moths, and whatever else lurks in the depths of your living spaces.

Moths are a common pest when it comes to clothes storage. Clothes moths have evolved to get their sustenance from Keratin, a protein in animal-based fabrics like wool, silk, feathers, and fur. So they love attacking your woolens, and even your sweats if they’re desperate for something to chew on. If you’re hanging the majority of your clothes, hanging some cedar blocks one the same rail will naturally deter clothes moths whilst making your clothes smell like the great outdoors.

Room Tags

reTaw Room Tags, $25 at Canoe Club

If you hang your clothes on an exposed rail, room tags are an inexpensive method of making the room that your rail sits within smell wonderful. There’s no need to spend hundreds of dollars on soy candles. Why not drop $25 on some inconspicuous retaW room tags instead? Cheap, eco-friendly, and effective. 

Denim

Now, I know what you might be thinking: you want your denim to be worn in and to fade beautifully. We all do – that’s partly what brought you here, right? Well, mistreating your denim isn’t going to help in the fade department, even if it is durable.

Hanging Denim

Japanese denim is almost like a piece of art. And what do you do with art? You hang it up. The easiest and potentially most optimal way to hang jeans properly is to get yourself a few good quality straight-bar hangers with dual clips (pictured above) and hang the denim vertically – no folds. 

If you’ve got some decent hanging space, you can also invest in some S-shaped hangers or pattern hooks. Putting these through the center-back belt loop of your jeans will allow them to drape naturally and minimize the risk of crease lines if you’re leaving them stored for a while.

Pattern hooks via Imogene + Willie, similar available at JamesTailoring (left), and S-Shaped Hangers, $8.99 from Amazon (right)

For something more robust, Redcast Heritage produces iron jeans hangers, which you can pick up from them directly

Redcast Heritage Iron Jeans Hanger, available for $34 from Redcast Heritage.

But perhaps you don’t want to have to buy some trouser hangers, or maybe your wardrobe is vertically challenged, so the denim hits the floor and crumples when you try to hang it straight. That’s totally fine. There’s another way of hanging jeans and casual trousers, which readers who work in the retail space will be familiar with. I don’t believe it has a technical name, so for this article, I’m just going to refer to it as the ‘retail hang’. It’s essentially a hanging fold. To spare you my trying to describe this method in writing, here’s a video exhibiting the technique. 

Folding Denim

You don’t have to hang your denim. It’s not going to spontaneously combust if it’s folded, and not all of us have massive wardrobes or rails, so sometimes folding is optimal from a space conservation perspective. 

Folding denim is simple. Fold in half widthways (waist forward or back, it doesn’t really matter) so that one leg is neatly covering the other leg. Then grab the hems, bring them up to the knee area mid-way up the jeans, then fold what you have left in half: 

If you’d like to avoid creases altogether when you’re folding and save even more space, consider rolling your denim. 

Shirting

Momotaro 10 oz. Pique Indigo Dyed Shirt via Corlection

Shirting is perhaps the most important garment category when it comes to proper care and storage. While a mildly creased shirt might not look that bad aesthetically, it can sometimes give off the wrong signals and lead to an awkward silhouette. 

Hanging Shirts

Images via Corridor NYC

Coat hangers are a good choice for button-downs, but straight hangers with no lumps or bumps for the fabric to catch on also work. If you do hang your shirts, I do recommend buttoning every other button. Buttoning the shirt will help keep it from wrinkling and the shape from distorting, and you’ll also prevent the shirt from falling off the hanger and generally looking pretty untidy in your wardrobe. Make sure you button the shirt after it’s on the hanger to prevent the collar from stretching out, though. 

According to luxury hanger producer Lou Hansell, the width of the hanger should not surpass the width of the shirt shoulders when it comes to formal shirting. But with most hangers being 17″-18″ wide, it’s best to just go for the coat hangers if you have the storage space. 

Folding

Folding shirts that aren’t flannels isn’t really recommended. In most scenarios, you should hang your shirts if you can. If you’re low on space in the wardrobe and only drawers are available, you can do it, and here’s how.

Image via Nimble Made

Steaming

With that, we need to touch on ironing and steaming. If you’re choosing or having to fold your button-downs, chances are you will need to get some creases out before wearing them. 

A clothing steamer with favorable reviews, $49 at Walmart

Let’s just get this out of the way real quick: steaming is generally better than ironing. Why? It requires less space than a fully-fledged ironing board, less setup, and is overall just a faster, gentler method of getting creases out of your garments. All you have to do is put your garment on a hanger and get to steaming out the creases. 

Garments with heavier fabrics, like woolen overshirts and 10 oz.-plus denim, will probably need an iron to get all the niggles and creasing out. But for anything lighter than that, steaming is the way forward. Steaming is far less likely to damage delicate fabrics because they’re not as hot, and the heat isn’t as concentrated in one area. 

Sweaters

Howlin’ Mohair sweater via Lost & Found

The soft and pliable nature of wool and other knitted fabrics means they need a pretty decent storing situation. We’ve all seen creased-up, crumpled knits in a vintage store that have been neglected so much that not even an industrial steamer can save them.

Hanging Sweaters

Coat Hanger, $2.99 from IKEA

Just one golden rule, here — use a coat/knitwear hanger. Strong and robust with gently sloping, rounded shoulders and non-slip features. Failing to use the correct hangers when hanging your sweatshirts may result in a severe case of shoulder nipples. While not life-threatening, shoulder nipples (yes, that is indeed the technical term) can be really annoying and cause your garment to become misshapen.

Shoulder nipples occur when a hanger is too structured, too narrow, or square, and the two outer points of the hanger dig into the fabric of the shoulders. The fabric essentially gets used to the hanger being there and molds around it, creating a bump in the fabric. The longer the garment is left on the hanger, the more pronounced the bump becomes. Coat/knitwear hangers are more optimal because they mimic the natural drape of the garment on your shoulders, meaning no digging into the fabric, and no nipples. Good times all ’round. 

Shoulder nipples. Image via 614Now

As wool is one of moths’ favorite things to munch on, be sure to put your woolen sweaters in garment bags when not wearing them for more than a couple of days and deploy some tactical cedar to keep them away.

Folding Sweaters

Image via TODAY

Folding sweaters is similar to shirting, but we like this method from Samantha Okazaki of TODAY.

Images via TODAY

Sweatshirts 

Image via HINOYA

Sportswear. Who the hell folds and hangs sportswear, right? Us. Loopwheel sweats can cost anywhere between $150-550, so you best believe I’m looking after them properly. 

Ultimately, sweatshirts can be hung or folded. Again, it depends on several variables, like how often you wear the sweatshirt, how much space you have, and, quite frankly, how much you care. Whatever you decide to do, here are some useful tips and tricks to help you get the most out of your sweatshirts. 

Hanging Sweatshirts

Image via Stuf-F

Sweatshirts fall into the knitwear category, and knitwear needs coat/knitwear hangers. 

Folding Sweatshirts

Images via Tempo Design Store

I have a ton of sweatshirts, and I wear them pretty much every day, so folding is easier for me. There’s no special technique when it comes to folding a sweatshirt optimally, though. Simply lay it flat facing away from you, fold both arms into the center, then fold the sweater in on itself — just like the shirt diagram in the shirting section above. You can also double up on step 3 to make the finished fold smaller and save space. Alternatively, you can use the method from the Sweater section above, which may be useful for particularly heavyweight sweatshirts. 

T-shirts

Image via Self Edge

Contrary to popular belief, t-shirts — especially high-quality, loopwheeled t-shirts produced by the likes of Warehouse & Co., and The Flat Head — are technically knitwear, and therefore, should be treated as such. Lightweight knitwear, yes, but knitwear nonetheless.  

Corridor Pima T-Sirt Hanging on a coat hanger via Corridor NYC

A lot of the guidance given in the sweatshirts section should be applied here, but you can use a straight hanger if it’s nice and smooth, with no cut-outs or bumps intended for the small straps on womenswear. Knitwear hangers are optimal, as exhibited by Corridor above, but they do take up more space due to their curved shape. 

If your wardrobe is heavily centered around basics like t-shirts, we’d suggest hanging them to keep them in prime condition. If you don’t have the space, folding is totally fine. Again, we would advise folding in the same way as guided in the shirting section above. Here’s that diagram again for convenience. 

Image via Nimble Made

Jackets and Coats

ts(s) Solotex Poly Stretch Corduroy Bomber Jacket via Namu Shop,

We’ve all got a few different coats and jackets for different styles and weather needs. In the colder months, they’re typically the garment that’s most exposed to the elements, so caring for your jackets and coats is crucial to preserving their lifespan and handsomeness. 

I think it’s fair to say that, unless you have a packable down coat, you shouldn’t really be folding your jackets and coats. Therefore, we’re going to skip folding and move straight to hanging, focusing on the different types of jackets and coats. 

Hanging Coats & Jackets

Firstly, the denim jacket. Denim is a pretty durable fabric, so the likelihood of getting shoulder nipples from a regular hanger is low. Pretty basic guidance here, but just hang up your denim jacket as you would normally. If you’re lacking space in your wardrobe, consider getting a standalone coat rack or cop a coat rack bar. 

11 Oz. Black Oxford Garment Bag, available for $35 from Division Road Inc.

For raincoats, macs, trenches, and other high-quality, expensive coats, consider a regular high-quality walnut wooden hanger, or a coat hanger. Again, this’ll help to preserve the shape and stop the inner lining from getting damaged. Alternatively, if you’ve spent a good few pay cheques on a coat from Coherence, for example, you may want to invest in a foldable garment bag like this one from Division Road Inc. Pretty inexpensive for something that’s going to fully protect your coat. You wouldn’t store a Rolex in a napkin, would you? The same principle applies here. 

11 Oz. Black Oxford Garment Bag, available for $35 from Division Road Inc.

Similar to shirts, I highly recommend fastening both jackets and coats before you hang them up. They tend to be heavier, and therefore, more likely to fall off the hanger if left unsecured. 

Down Coats & Jackets

For down coats, follow the above guidance, but incorporate some moth-repelling measures into your storage, as clothes moths feed on the keratin found in feathers and down. 

Formal Trousers

Ah, the dress pant. Now, you might be thinking: you just hang it up like you would a pair of jeans, just with a little bit more care and flair. Wrong. Don’t do that. Dress pants are a whole other beast. Due to the nature of the finer fabric, and the fact that dress pants often have a crisp crease running down the center of each leg, dress pants must be hung up in a particular way. 

Dress Pant Hanging Guide via The Art of Manliness

There are a few variations of doing it, but my favorite, and the one I’ve incorporated into my own folding routine, is from the Art of Manliness. Luckily, the Art of Manliness has been kind enough to provide its readers with a beautiful illustration and step-by-step guide to keep dress pants dressy. 

A Final Word

Like I said previously, everyone is going to have their own way of doing things. This guide is by no means definitive, and you don’t have to follow the above to the letter. The key is just being conscientious and looking after the garments you’ve worked hard to purchase in the first place. Once you have that down, the rest will fall into place.

Like this? Read these:

How To Break in a New Pair of Raw Denim

The Do’s and Dont’s of Breaking In a New Pair of Leather Boots

/ Fade Friday /

Fade Friday – LVC 1966 501 Rigid (2.5 Years, 14 Soaks, 40 Washes)

LVC’s 1966 501® model is a revival of the jeans that helped spark Japan’s denim reproduction movement, and Reader Shawn has put this pair through the kind of heavy wear that makes all the trouble of faithfully reproducing historic clothing worthwhile.

Originally produced from 1966 to 1971, the “Big E” 501® marked a key shift in construction. This period introduced bar tacks at the rear pockets, replacing the original copper rivets at high-stress points. While those rivets served cowboys and miners well, they became notorious for damaging car seats and furniture over time. As early as 1937, Levi’s began covering the back pocket rivets to address complaints about scratching. By 1966, improved construction methods allowed Levi’s to replace them entirely with bar tacks.

Worn for competition in Cultizm’s first fade contest, these LVC 1966 501® saw over 2.5 years of consistent wear through hot Missouri summers. Notably, the jeans feature a handful of DIY sashiko-style repairs, the result of enduring daily wear while tending the grounds at Shawn’s job. Shawn has also documented the progression of the denim over time, showcasing the results of consistent wear and washing. With over 40 washes and 14 soaks, the jeans have developed a light, worn-in blue that’s so characteristic of mid-century Levi’s. The honecombs and whiskers may not be the boldest, but Shawn tells us this pair, more than anything, was an indigo-colored learning curve:

You can keep up with Shawn on Instagram

/ New Releases /

GUSTIN’s Featherweight Broken Twill Won’t Break The Bank

While some folks will endure raw selvedge denim all year ’round, others can’t even fathom buttoning up a pair of five-pocket jeans once temps breach 75°. If you fall into the latter category, or you simply want a pair of super lightweight jeans, GUSTIN has opened pre-orders for a broken twill denim that weighs in at an unbelievable 6 oz.— at an equally unbelievable price.

Though, don’t be fooled, the price and weight don’t mean these aren’t a high-quality pair of jeans. They have the classic raw denim look, created through a bright indigo warp and a white weft, loomed with a broken twill weave. First introduced by Wrangler back in 1964, broken twill combines both right-hand and left-hand twill, alternating them at every two warp ends to create a zig-zag pattern. This helps to stop the fabric twisting after being washed, as there is no weaving bias in either direction.

Gustin is offering this strong but light fabric across their full range of jean fits — vintage straight, straight, slim, skinny — for production and delivery in August, so they’ll be your best friend come the hot months of summer.

Cut and sewn in California, they cost just $79 a pair if you back the crowdfunding campaign — so you won’t be breaking a sweat, or the bank.

Available at GUSTIN for $79.

KATO Introduces New Wide-Leg Fit: The Pail

Together with

We’ve been anticipating KATO‘s contribution to the world of wide-leg jeans and their newly launched fit—the Pail—looks to be worth the wait. Fresh out of KATO’s LA factory, the Pail has landed in 4 different fabrics covering both 100% cotton raw selvedge and the brand’s popular 4-way stretch selvedge.

The Pail in Indigo Raw 14 oz. 4-Way Stretch Selvedge

The Pail is a loose, straight cut with a mid-high rise. Roomy without entering anti-fit territory, it can be stacked for a true baggy affair, or cuffed at the hems for a cleaner break. However you plan to rock them, you need to choose your fabric first. If you want to go raw with a bit of a helping hand in the comfort department, the KATO’s Indigo Raw 14 oz. has you covered with 4-way stretch innovation that provides unrivaled mobility in the selvedge realm, all while retaining the look and fade-potential of a standard raw denim. If you prefer a 100% cotton raw jean, look to the 12.5 oz. Natural Slub Indigo, woven with slub yarns for an organic, uneven texture. At 12.5 oz., the Natural Slub comes stiff enough to set some heavy creases in for future fades but light enough to rock during the warmer months.

Raw Natural slub 12.5 oz (left) vs. Brian Rinsed Natural Slub (right)

If you’re leaning towards a wash, there are 2 washed versions of the 12.5 oz. Natural Slub Indigo Pail. The ‘Brian‘ had a rinse and some light distressing for softness and texture, while the ‘Lou‘ has been heavily washed and faded for a vintage, lived-in fade right off the bat.

‘Lou’ Washed Selvedge

Whichever pair you choose, each is cut and sewn in LA from Japanese selvedge denim, woven on vintage Toyoda shuttle looms. They also come fitted with an all-new button fly, exclusive to The Pail, which features acid-washed laurel wreath buttons in homage to the Pail’s vintage inspirations.

The Pail is available at KATO starting at $248.

Stand In An Empty Field in HINOYA’s Exclusive Sun Surf Scarecrow Shirt

This quintessential summer shirt is here, and it features a scarecrow wearing a sweet shirt itself. Who would have thought? Well, Sun Surf, clearly.  Reproducing Hawaiian shirts from the 30s-50s, their deep archive of thousands of original shirts means they can cook up the most faithful remakes possible, and sometimes they’re weird—in the best way.

Originally manufactured by “Surf Riders Sportswear”, this latest creation features an extremely unique motif that looks great from afar and even better up close. Made from a faithful rayon Kabe Crepe, this all-over print shirt features two camouflage chest pockets and bamboo buttons. Unlike most Hawaiian shirts in the game, the fact that this number is long-sleeved gives it even greater distinction. Closed out with a spread collar, whether you go rockabilly style or approach it through a modern lens, it’s no Dan Flashes, but I think it will have to do.

Available exclusively at HINOYA for $195.

oRslow’s Linen 40s Coveral Is Built for Flaxen Fades

Linen is considered to be one of the oldest textiles in the world, but it’s taken the denim game until 2026 to serve up a linen coverall of this caliber.

That’s right, Japanese heavyweight orSlow has made a lightweight linen denim version of their WWII 40s coverall so we can stay decked out in denim all year long. Custom-milled in Japan for orSlow using indigo-dyed 100% linen yarns, this 9 oz. fabric uses the classic 3×1 twill weave of denim but with the breeziest fibers in the game.

The coverall itself is based on an original WWII US coverall that was dug out of orSlow founder Ichiro Nakatsu’s extensive vintage collection. Like with all of the brand’s garments, it retains faithful nods to the original, with even the stitching being done to 1940s’ specification, including a ghost tag on the back. Donut buttons and a total lack of external branding complete a clean, historic look that will keep you fading all summer long.

Available from Vestis for $560.

Sugar Cane Rounds Up Western Shirts in Washed Herringbone

In menswear, plaid flannels and Western shirts are everywhere. But how often do the two join forces to create a secret third thing: the western flannel?

Not to be confused with the Western omelet, Sugar Cane‘s Washed Herringbone Check Western Shirt in Green and Red is a great transitional option when summer feels like spring and vice versa.  Made from a lightweight herringbone check for a perfectly broken-in look and feel from the first wear, you’re going to feel like you skipped the 6-month ranch hand side quest to get to where it’s at. Done up with a western front and back yolk, this Sugar Cane special is finished with mother-of-pearl snap buttons and a double-stitched construction. Pair them with your favorite raw jeans for an updated Travis Bickle, without the descent into madness.

Available from Brooklyn Clothing for $201.

Fade All Summer Long with Iron Heart’s Cotton/Linen Chambray Shirting

There’s not much to complain about with warmer weather, but having to pack up some of your heftier shirts might just be one thing. Though Iron Heart is here to save the summer by releasing two of its two core shirts in a breezy 7 oz. Cotton Linen Chambray.

These are two iconic shirts, Iron Heart’s take on the classic Western shirt and equally classic Work shirt, decked out in a special Indigo-drenched fabric. The 7 0z. Chambray is a blend of 65% cotton and 35% linen; constructed from an indigo-dyed warp and a light grey linen weft. This is about as close to denim a plain weave can get, and it will fade like one, too.

The Western shirt is a proper Western shirt. We’re talking contrast stitching, flap chest pockets, snap buttons, and, of course, traditional pointed yokes. Meanwhile, it’s Work-ready counterpart has everything you’d expect from a quality Work shirt: chest pocket with pen slide, triple-stitched seams, and side seam gussets with a chainstitch run off. Built to last like all of Iron Heart’s wares.

Made in Japan, these are the perfect shirts to keep your indigo veins pumping all summer long.

Both are available from TENDREL, $375 for the Western shirt and $350 for the Work shirt.

/ Weekly Rundown /

• Kontoor Brands to Divest Lee as Wrangler and Helly Hansen Drive Growth – WWD

• Maurice Malone Launches Denim Workshop in Brooklyn – WWD

• NASA Ivy – Easy on the Ivy

• Trump’s Latest 10% Tariffs Declared Unlawful by US Trade Court – Bloomberg

• Bangladesh US Cotton Tariff Deal | Apparel makers to seek clarity on US cotton tariff deal – The Daily Star

• Jeff Bridges resurrects the WideluxX camera and it’s now available for pre-order – Acquire

• In-depth – Why pressure determines how much leather shoes stretch – Shoegazing

Sales Shortlist – May 7

“Heart Shaped Fades”

Sales

• Iron Heart

• Lost & Found

• Redcast Heritage Co.

• Franklin and Poe

• Tellason

• Grant Stone

• Stag Provisions

• Clutch Cafe

• Iron Shop Provisions

• Cultizm

• HAVEN

• Blue in Green

• Devium USA

• Brooklyn Clothing Co.

• Oak Street Boot Makers

• American Trench

• Independence Chicago

• Brooklyn Tailors (15% extra off final sale items with code FINAL15)

• Blue Beach Denim

• Cockpit USA

• Namu Shop

• Kiriko

• REVOLVR Menswear

• Corridor NYC

• Railcar

• 3sixteen

• Vestis

• Unbleached Apparel

• Drew’s Boots

• Bather

• Companion Denim (sample sale)

• Left Field NYC

• Loyal Stricklin

• Rooney

• Shockoe Atelier

• Manready Mercantile

• Shwood Eyewear

• Caswell Boot Co.

• Unmarked (sample sale)

• Billykirk

• Tanner Goods

• Hatchet Outdoor Supply Co.

• DSPTCH

• Bridge & Burn

• Triple Aught Design

• TENDREL

• Gamine Workwear

• Grown & Sewn

• Rhythmic Tones

• Delikatessen

• MAPLE

Jeans & Pants

• Tellason Sheffield Cord Pant Mid Rise Straight Taper $210 $169

• Tellason Field Pant $215 $172

• Randy’s Garments Utility Pant Dark Olive Super Twill $198 $99

Shirts & Tops

• Unbleached Apparel 5.3oz T-Shirt $30 $15.99

• Bather Bandana Camp Shirt $150 $60

  • Terracotta

  • Lake

• Bather Frost Corduroy Leisure Shirt $170 $85

• John Gluckow Sailfish Shirt Navy $275 $137.50

• Gitman Bros. Vintage Independence Work Shirt Navy Cotton Tweed Check $325 $159.25

Outerwear

• South2 West8 Piping Jacket – Boa Jacquard – Beige $605 $302.50

• Battenwear Canyon Shirt Jacket Navy Corduroy $345 $172

Footwear

• Oak Street Bootmakers Camp Boot $448 $313

  • Natural Chromexcel Reverse

  • Brown Chromexcel

  • Natural Chromexcel

Together With

The Lowdown on Loafers – From America to Norway and Back Again

The simple bucket hat has come full circle from stuffy country wear to military issue to hip hop icon, and beyond.

James Smith

Depending on who you ask, the loafer has any number of plausible origins. These vary from Iroquois moccasins, Norwegian fishing shoes, or most likely, some combination of the two. However, the loafer, upon its arrival in the U.S., made an undeniable splash, typically among the fanciest and wealthiest contingents of society.

From murky beginnings to clear-cut commercialization, the loafer and its various cousins have come to symbolize a kind of leisure and comfort reserved for those most fortunate. In more recent years, however, its acceptance in high-end fashion has had an ironically democratizing effect, making the shoe a menswear essential and putting it on the feet of even Average Joes.

The Origin Stories

Teser shoe. Image via Pinterest.

The origins of the loafer are confounding and contradictory, but there is certainly a Norwegian connection. The Aurland region of Norway is often considered to be the birthplace of the modern-day loafer. Still, these narratives largely disregard the Native American influence on the shoe that came to be considered the modern “Penny Loafer.”

Teser shoes, much like the ones seen above, had been worn in Norway for a very long time. When, at the turn of the century, many Norwegians began adopting a more formal and English style of dress, some more traditional communities clung to their old ways.

Wildsmith Model 98 (bottom) via Wildsmith

One theory attributes the creation of the loafer to Wildsmith shoes of London in 1926, who had been asked to design a shoe for King George VI: the Model 98 (pictured below). This theory is plausible when one considers the frequent angling trips made by English royalty to Norway. If, as is often explained, Englishmen began occasionally wearing Teser shoes during their trips abroad and bringing them home, did Wildsmith really create the loafer, or just copy the Norwegian Teser shoe?

The original Aurland Shoe, via GeoAtlas

Nils Tveranger, an Aurland native, began designing shoes at a very young age. At just 13, he traveled to North America to learn the craft of shoemaking in Boston, returning to Norway at age 20. Despite his Stateside training, his first edition of the Aurland shoe (pictured above) was a purely Norwegian creation; it had laces, a raised heel, and greatly resembled traditional regional footwear. It was marketed under the brand “National” before being reformulated by Tveranger.

Making the Aurlandskoen. Image via National Library of Norway.

His second effort was far more loafer-y. In 1926, he patented his new Aurland shoe, which featured a gathered moc-toe, low heel, and no laces. Tveranger’s loafer design would have certainly been in circulation by the time Wildsmith designed their version. Regardless of who copied whom, neither of these designers would have made a loafer without Native American influence.

Sadly, there are no images of the Tveranger’s 2nd Aurland Shoe, but heritage Norwegian brand, ‘Aurlands’, uses this image to illustrate the silhouette.

Tveranger, who we shall assume invented the loafer, was greatly influenced by his sojourn in the U.S., particularly by the Iroquois moccasin, with its signature gathered toe stitch. The fact that this detail was not included in any version of the Aurland shoe before Tveranger’s trip to study art and history in the States is incredibly important.

Pair of moccasins by Iroquois Confederacy of the Six Nations, c. 1875-1900, via Powerhouse.

/ In Partnership with Meermin /

Occasion Ready, Always: Meermin's Black Cap Toe Oxford

You only need one formal shoe, and it's a Black Toe Cap Oxford. And while we're not specialists in formal menswear, anyone who is will tell you just that. Whatever the occasion, a Black Cap Toe Oxford keeps your formal outfits grounded in timeless precision.

Meermin's Classic Cap Toe Oxford is made using some of the finest boxcalf leathers available, in addition to vegetable-tanned cowhide heels and insole. Goodyear-welted construction means these properly made and resoleable, keeping them on your feet for the wedding, the vow renewal, and everything in between. If the event matters, cap it off with Meermin's Toe Cap Oxford.

Get yours today at Meermin for just $215

The Loafer Comes to Stay

Bass Weejun ads. Image via Gentleman's Gazette.

Regardless of how it came to have its signature design, the loafer, once invented, made a splash. In the years between the World Wars, members of the so-called "Lost Generation" found themselves incorporating exotic fabrics and designs into their wardrobes. The Norwegian loafers were an obvious hit with them, and the first of these shoes began trickling back to America.

Esquire builds the hype. Image via Esquire.

Esquire noticed the "Norwegian peasant slipper" abroad and the sudden appearance of similar slip-ons at many of the country's trendiest locales during the summer season of 1934 and '35. Retailer Roger Peet and representatives of the magazine contacted shoe brand G.H. Bass with a business idea. Despite apprehension by the owner, John R. Bass, the new shoe arrived in 1936, now named the "Weejun" (as in Norwegian). Worn by intellectuals abroad and resort-goers at home, the loafer was a far cry from anything resembling peasants' shoes.

Vintage 'Weejuns' ad via PORT.

Bass's most important addition to the loafer was the addition of a crescent slot on the leather band across the upper. Rumors abound about why people first started putting pennies in these slots, but one of the more plausible reasons out there is that people started by placing dimes for phone calls in their shoes, but switched to copper pennies for purely aesthetic reasons.

Ivy Style. Image via Teruyoshi Hayashida and Powerhouse Books

The loafer's next step was taken on college campuses. The postwar college students in the U.S bonded with the comfy, no-frills loafer. Although worn by privileged students in acclaimed universities, this was a more humble moment for the loafer. College students, no matter the era, are notoriously frugal; loafers were cheap and held up well. But things changed when these college students grew up and took their places in some of the most powerful industries of the nation.

Alden's tassel loafers. Image via castleberry.

The 1950s saw more and more loafers slip onto famous feet. The first significant addition to the loafer since its arrival in the States was the tassel. Hungarian actor, Paul Lukas, sought someone to reproduce a favorite pair of tassel shoes he'd found while abroad, and it was ultimately Brooks Brothers and Alden who rose to the challenge, collaborating on the design of the above shoe. The first wave of these shoes arrived in 1952, at which point they were often two-toned and popular among Hollywood's hip set. The simple version above was first carried in 1957 at Brooks Brothers stores across the country.

It wasn't long before tassel loafers took on a new meaning. By the 1980s, they came to pejoratively signify elitist politicians, lawyers, and businessmen. The New York Times's history of the tassel loafer recalls its trajectory from weekend- and vacation-wear to becoming a fixture in the lobbying world of Washington, D.C. In fact, right-wing French voters took to wearing tassel loafers in the 80s to signify their distaste with socialism and their lust for American capitalism.

Loafers are Fashionable

Driving Shoe 1963. Image via lbardi.

The union of Norwegian and Native American design had birthed the original loafer, but its evolution had been symptomatic of uniquely American kinds of class and industry. However, two new members of the loafer family were of more European origins.

In 1963, Gianni Mostile patented the above driving shoe. It had many of the characteristic details of a loafer, with one notable exception: the outsole. Instead of leather, this shoe came balanced on rubber "pebbles," which gave better grip on the pedals of Italy's newest generation of cramped yet sporty little cars. The driving shoe's connection to the glamorous new Italian sports cars and their debonair drivers gave them an allure that belied their unconventional design.

Horsebit Gucci Loafer. Image via Ivy Style.

Gucci, when designing his own interpretation of the loafer, added a unique detail: the horse bit. This newest detail made the shoe a fashion must-have, but also fully cemented its place among the one percent. Guccio Gucci — who worked at the Savoy Hotel in London as a young man — knew how important horses were to the upper crust. This equestrian imagery had sway with the wealthy men who already wore loafers, but who also wanted something slightly gaudier to show off.

Meermin 514578 Horsebit Loafer, available for $220 from Meermin.

The Final Say

Esquire magazine. Image via Esquire.

Few items of clothing have become so synonymous with power and prestige as this deceptively simple little shoe. Though it draws heavily from Native American footwear, the loafer was thoroughly whitewashed, and its Scandinavian ancestry emphasized by Esquire and GH Bass upon its arrival in the U.S. With minor exceptions, this shoe was worn by the leisure class: first in Florida resorts, Hollywood red carpets, and then D.C.

And because the loafer was primarily about leisure, many industry insiders were initially skeptical that it could succeed. John H. Bass went on record saying: “I didn’t think this type would go over, for it looked like a house slipper to be worn outdoors." The shoe was impractical, but that was its power. It was comfortable and laid back, and its inclusion in boardrooms was just as much about ease of wear as it was a subtextual F-you to those whose work requires laces.

In many ways, the history of the loafer is the antithesis of your average Heddels story. Unlike Levi's or Red Wing, the loafer was never really a practical shoe. Although it had practical applications in the distant past, the style of shoe that Esquire first spotted on vacationers was an affectation and remained so.

High-Quality Loafers Available Today

Grant Stone Traveler Penny Loafer

Available for $412 from Grant Stone.

Alden Penny Loafer

Available for $708 from Franklin & Poe.

Meermin 501040 Penny Loafer Shell Cordovan

Available for $345 from Meermin.

Yuketen Moc Ischia

Available for $630 from Clutch Cafe.

Grant Stone Horsebit Loafer

Available for $395 from Grant Stone.

Alden Tassel Loafer

Available for $708 from J. Press.

Like this? Read these:

The Brannock Device – A Better Way to Measure Feet

The Hawaiian Denim – All About Palaka Check

Blowout: Mount Vernon Mills President Bill Rogers Gives White Oak’s Looms a New Life

Mount Vernon has acquired the illustrious White Oak Draper X3 looms and is ready to resurrect American selvedge for good.

James Smith

For the past decade or so, there has been one white whale (or rather a pod of white whales) among raw denim fanatics. Their course has been followed with great interest since they left their home in North Carolina to move to Louisiana, and now they have relocated again to Georgia.

I am, of course, referring to the Draper X-3 shuttle looms, the forebearers of American selvedge denim from the late great Cone Mills White Oak plant in Greensboro. I got to speak with Bill Rogers, the president of their new home at Mount Vernon Mills, where the looms are operational once again, and expected to ship their first rolls of American selvedge denim in just a matter of weeks.

We discussed the history of American denim milling, why it’s still important to make fabric in the USA, and why Mount Vernon has what it takes to keep these looms running well into the future.

Listen on the embedded player above or subscribe for early access on the following platforms. And if you like it, please subscribe and review.

• Spotify

• Apple Podcast

• Podbean

If you have any questions about this week’s pod, or suggestions for topics you’d like covered in the futre, email us at blowout@heddels.com

Like this? Read these:

Blowout: On the Lookout for Watch Caps

Blowout: The Gory Details Behind GORE-TEX

/ Fade Friday /

Fade Friday – Samurai Jeans S710XX-DMO (8 Years, 6 Washes, 1 Soak)

These special Samurai jeans come courtesy of reader Aldo over in Indonesia. Samurai has long been regarded as grail-level denim, known for its bold fade patterns and extra-thick slub yarns. This model is a collaborative edition between denim purveyor Denimio, which uses Samurai’s 16 oz. Geisha raw denim, Wabash pocket bags, and tonal “fade-in” arcuates.

Samurai weaves its Geisha denim using exceptionally thick slub yarns, giving the fabric a dense, burly texture synonymous with the brand. Originally rope dyed a dark indigo, years of wear, sun exposure, and humidity in Indonesia have brought out a soft blonde-blue fade in Aldo’s S710XX-DMO. The aging process highlights the irregular yarns, creating a consistent raised texture throughout. Through consistent everyday wear, the jeans have yielded extra-crisp honeycombs, whiskering, and a patinated leather patch. Those fade-to-reveal arcuates have poked through nicely, too.

Aldo wore this pair through college, on hikes, and on motorcycle tours for nearly a decade, giving the denim its lived-in character. Notably, the jeans have never been repaired despite the years of heavy wear, a testament to Samurai’s durable construction, something that was recently questioned by Fabricaterialist. I guess 50,000 Samurai fans can’t be wrong.

/ New Releases /

Go Natural with Freenote Cloth’s Latest Modesto Jean

Most selvedge denim that takes over a year to develop will catch our attention here at Heddels, and the 13 oz. Natural Rinsed Denim on Freenote Cloth‘s Modesto Jean is no different.

Harking back to one of the first fabrics the brand used when it was founded back in 2013, Freenote’s co-founder Matt travelled from their base in LA to Okayama to work with Kuroki Mills on this special denim. The exclusive warp yarn, dyed 100% natural indigo, is paired with a beige-tinted weft that provides a beautiful tone, reminiscent of deadstock. Compounding the vintage vibe is the fact that the fabric is left unsinged, which means, not to get overly technical, it has a slightly fluffy, hairy texture to it — really recreating what vintage denims would have felt like.

The Modestos themselves are a classic wide-straight leg jean with a relatively high rise. Weighing in at only 13oz are great for year-round wear, but arguably perfect for summer with their easy fit and post-sewing rinse that softens them up from the first wear. Made in the USA, they have all the bells and whistles that make Freenote Cloth jeans what they are: custom rivets and buttons, a 2-piece waistband, 1/8″ double needle accents, and vintage Japanese herringbone stripe pocket bags.

Available for $325 from TENDREL.

Shirting to Rely On: Iron & Resin’s Chambray Collection

Together with

Lighter, less complex—but just as useful—chambrayis denim’s younger indigo brother that we’re all secretly rooting for.  Rooted in shirting rather than 5-pocket jeans, chambray began its life as a plain weave fabric in 15th-century France, but earned its stripes as workwear in a rapidly developing North America. 70 years before it would be enshrined in menswear through its use inUS Navyuniforms, chambray was formally endorsed by the American workforce in places like theUS Farmer’s Bulletin:

Chambray’s balance of durability and breathability saw it transcend its utilitarian roots, becoming an ideal 4-season shirting fabric for everyday life. Nearly 100 years later, we still look to chambray for handsome yet reliable shirting, evident in California tastemaker Iron & Resin‘s yearly deployment of the breezy blue cloth.

If you want to get into chambray for the first time or diversify your options, Iron & Resin’s chambray collection has you covered. For a classic dual-pocket work shirt, you can button up the Fairmont Shirt, crafted from 4.5 oz. chambray with hardy, triple-needle felled stitching on critical areas: shoulders, arm pits, and sides. If you want something with a touch more pizazz and Americana charm, Iron & Resin delivers two Western Shirt options with its long-sleeved Glider Shirt—made from the same 4.5 oz. chambray as the Fairmont—and the Badwater Shirt, a short-sleeved Western made up in an ultra-soft washed chambray.

Light enough for warmer days but tough enough to follow you into fall, each Iron & Resin chambray features contrast stitching, a branded neck label, and a lock loop for easy storage.

Available at Iron & Resin from $85.

Whitesville Drops Henley Versions of Its 2-Pack Tees

When I bought my first 2-pack of Whitesville tees over 7 years ago, I never thought they’d be as popular as they are now. People came for The Bear, but stayed for quality and comfort, and now they sell out everywhere, all the time. Building on this success, Whitesville has extended its 2-pack range with these new Henleys, which I’m sure will sell like hot cakes, too.

Made on antique loopwheel machines from the same 7 oz., 20-count combed yarns as the OG 2-pack, Whitesville’s henleys offer the same uber-soft cloth that scored highly in our T-shirt review, but with a three-button henley placket that gives them their own flavor and even more vintage style.

Available in black and white, the Whitesville 2-Pack Henley features contrasting sewing thread and tonal catseye buttons. Just remember to size up one as standard, and size up 2 if you want to be able to wash them hotter/more regularly

Available while stocks last for $65 at HINOYA.

/ Weekly Rundown /

• WWII Levi’s Jacket Sets World Record – Antique Trader

• Growing a Better Cotton Future in Pakistan – Levi Strauss & Co.

• Consumers Won’t See Tariff Refunds. Smart Retailers Will Turn Them Into Price Cuts – Forbes

• Kingpins to Launch New Trade Show Format in Los Angeles – Sourcing Journal

• Burnt by life, tannery workers cling to survival in Savar – BD News

• “It Starts In The Mountains” – An Interview with Yamatomichi founder Akira Natsume – Outsiders Store UK

Sales Shortlist – April 30

“Dark Side of the Warp”

Sales

• Iron Heart

• Lost & Found

• Redcast Heritage Co.

• Franklin and Poe

• Tellason

• Grant Stone

• Stag Provisions

• Clutch Cafe

• Iron Shop Provisions

• Cultizm

• HAVEN

• Blue in Green

• Devium USA

• Brooklyn Clothing Co.

• Oak Street Boot Makers

• American Trench

• Independence Chicago

• Brooklyn Tailors (15% extra off final sale items with code FINAL15)

• Blue Beach Denim

• Cockpit USA

• Namu Shop

• Kiriko

• REVOLVR Menswear

• Corridor NYC

• Railcar

• 3sixteen

• Vestis

• Unbleached Apparel

• Drew’s Boots

• Bather

• Companion Denim (sample sale)

• Left Field NYC

• Loyal Stricklin

• Rooney

• Shockoe Atelier

• Manready Mercantile

• Shwood Eyewear

• Caswell Boot Co.

• Unmarked (sample sale)

• Billykirk

• Tanner Goods

• Hatchet Outdoor Supply Co.

• DSPTCH

• Bridge & Burn

• Triple Aught Design

• TENDREL

• Gamine Workwear

• Grown & Sewn

• Rhythmic Tones

• Delikatessen

• MAPLE

Jeans & Pants

• Tellason Ladbroke Grove – Slim Tapered Selvedge Organic Natural Indigo Jeans – 14.5 oz. $285 $228

• Randy’s Garments Cargo Pant Olive 6.5oz Cotton Ripstop $198 $99

• Randy’s Garments Utility Pant Dark Olive Super Twill $198 $99

• Randy’s Garments Utility Pant Black Super Twill $198 $99

• Tellason Gustave – Slim Tapered + Black Selvedge Jeans $275 $175

Shirts & Tops

• Unbleached Apparel 6.1oz Long Sleeve Heavyweight T-Shirt $40 $29

• Bather Dawn Afterglow Camp Shirt $150 $80

• Bather Night Afterglow Camp Shirt $150 $80

• Bather Artichoke Waffle Leisure Shirt $185 $130

Outerwear

• 3sixteen Country Jacket Waxed Nylon Black $520 $360

• ROGUE TERRITORY 15oz Lined Indigo Supply Jacket $545 $472

Together With

Bucket Hats – From Ireland to Gilligan’s Island

The simple bucket hat has come full circle from stuffy country wear to military issue to hip hop icon, and beyond.

James Smith

From Irish countryside walks to the wildest of raves and almost everywhere in between, the bucket hat is an accessory that has sat upon the heads of people from all walks of life for over one hundred years. Whether it’s form or function, there is no questioning the lasting appeal of the bucket hat and its presence in popular culture.

But just how did the bucket hat make the leap from a functional rambling lid to street fashion and couture?

What is a Bucket Hat?

Soundman Bucket Hat via Clutch Cafe.

A bucket hat is a piece of headwear with a full 360-degree, downward-sloping brim. The crown of a bucket hat can vary in shape, size, and structure, and often features functional ventilation holes. Some wearers like to bend or fold the brim upwards to change the aesthetic of the bucket hat. The ability to do this is often dictated by the rigidity of the brim, which can vary with different styles.

Beginnings of the Bucket Hat

An Australian child wearing a tweed bucket hat in 1917. Image via State Library of Queensland.

The first bucket hat first appeared in early twentieth-century Ireland as a functional piece of headwear for outdoorsmen. Originally constructed from durable wool or tweed cloth, Irish farmers and fishermen favored the bucket hat because of the high lanolin content in the wool, which made them water-resistant. Countrymen and ramblers soon embraced the bucket hat—then known by many as the “Irish country hat” — because in addition to its water-resistant properties, it was easy to wash and store in a jacket pocket.

Vintage Irish Tweed Walking Hat via Waterhollow Tweed.

Bucket Hats in the Military

American soldiers wear HBT 1941 “Daisy Mae” hats while laying cable lines in 1943. Image via Eagle Clan.

The practical and durable qualities of the bucket hat led the U.S. military to introduce them during World War II to shield troops’ heads and eyes from the sun, preventing heat-related illnesses and glare while aiming firearms.

Denim and navy twill variants were issued to the U.S. Navy. Dubbed the “Daisy Mae”, these bucket hats featured a regular-size crown with an extended brim for heightened functionality in monsoon season. The forties also saw the Israeli armed forces utilize a soft-crowned hat with a wide brim similar to the Daisy Mae.

A vintage denim Daisy Mae from WWII. Image via Pinterest.

The bucket hat received a slight makeover in the sixties, leading the U.S. military to introduce the “Boonie Hat” during the Vietnam War. Also known as a “Giggle Hat”, the boonie was initially issued to the Green Berets special forces, but it was soon adopted by other units and even soldiers of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam.

Daisy Mae in action, along with other U.S. Military Denim Working Uniform Goodness. Image via May Club.

The Boonie is highly similar to the bucket hat, with the main differences being a flatter crown, stiffer brim, and the inclusion of extra features such as loops of fabric, “branch loops” around the crown, which were designed to hold leaves and shrubbery that could serve as camouflage. Troops would often salvage old camouflage and sew it onto their boonie hats.

American special forces wearing boonie hats in Vietnam. Image via Masta.

By 1967, the U.S. Army was issuing boonie hats as a standard. These hats were constructed from a wind-resistant cotton poplin, complete with a concealed mosquito net. These boonies typically came in generic olive drab or camouflage prints such as tiger stripe.

/ In Partnership with Meermin /

Occasion Ready, Always: Meermin's Black Cap Toe Oxford

You only need one formal shoe, and it's a Black Toe Cap Oxford. And while we're not specialists in formal menswear, anyone who is will tell you just that. Whatever the occasion, a Black Cap Toe Oxford keeps your formal outfits grounded in timeless precision.

Meermin's Classic Cap Toe Oxford is made using some of the finest boxcalf leathers available, in addition to vegetable-tanned cowhide heels and insole. Goodyear-welted construction means these properly made and resoleable, keeping them on your feet for the wedding, the vow renewal, and everything in between. If the event matters, cap it off with Meermin's Toe Cap Oxford.

Get yours today at Meermin for just $215

Fashion and Popular Culture

Gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson. Image via Konbini.

Just like so many classic garments and accessories, the military use of the bucket hat saw this piece of utilitarian headwear influence the world of fashion. By the mid-sixties, bucket hats had been embraced by civilians and celebrities alike. Bob Denver’s character in the mid-sixties sitcom “Gilligan’s Island” famously sported a khaki bucket hat throughout the series, and the esteemed American journalist and author, Hunter S. Thompson, became known for regularly rocking a white cotton bucket hat.

Run-D.M.C. on the set of their music video “My Adidas” in 1986. Image via Def Jam.

The sixties also saw ladies of the Mod subculture wear adaptations of the bucket hat that featured much longer brims and elongated crowns to house their bouffant hairstyles.

The eighties and nineties saw the bucket hat gain popularity through the cultural movements of hip hop in the United States and raving in the United Kingdom. By this point, many sportswear labels produced bucket hats, and famous rappers such as Sugar Hill Gang’s Big Hank, LL Cool J, and Run DMC championed buckets by labels such as Adidas and Kangol.

Run-D.M.C. on the set of their music video “My Adidas” in 1986. Image via Def Jam.

This urban connection resonated with the ever-growing rave scene in England, leading bucket hats to become almost synonymous with the Rave, Drum N Bass, and Jungle movements.

Liam Gallagher in a bucket hat via Wall Street Journal.

Bucket Hats Today

Daisy Mae Bucket Hat styling via Bronson Mfg. Co.

Bucket hats are still widely produced today, and boonie hats are still issued and worn by armed forces across the globe. In terms of fashion, bucket hats have gained more and more popularity in recent years in line with the revival of eighties and nineties sportswear and the ever-growing interest in military styles.

They have a strong presence in rap and streetwear culture, with brands such as Stussy, Supreme, and W)Taps producing bucket hats and boonies in many of their spring/summer collections. Japanese label OrSlow has produced a reproduction of the forties military Daisy Mae bucket hats in a variety of fabrics.

Top Quality Bucket Hats & Boonies

While you can pick up a bucket hat from almost any clothing retailer, here are some of our picks for mindfully crafted, top-quality bucket hats, each with a point of difference.

Kiriko Made Reversible Bucket Hat

Available for $85 from Kiriko Made.

Soundman

Available for $115 from Clutch Cafe.

American Trench

Available for $60 from American Trench.

The Real McCoy’s Jungle Hat

Available for $170 from Clutch Cafe.

Cableami French Linen Bucket Hat

Available for $145 from Brooklyn Tailors.

Like this? Read these:

The Brannock Device – A Better Way to Measure Feet

The Hawaiian Denim – All About Palaka Check

Together With

TCB Jeans, The “Two Cats Brand” – History, Philosophy, Iconic Products

We look at the Japanese brand that's been Taking Care of Business by producing top-quality vintage-inspired denim goods for over a decade.

James Smith

There’s no doubt that the modern denim industry is leaning heavily towards slimmer cuts, innovative fabrics, and all manner of bells and whistles when it comes to the five-pocket jean. If anything, the new wave of raw denim brands offering the myriad of heavily tapered jeans with buckets of slub and nep has arguably expanded the denim scene to a wider audience. But there will always be some of us who appreciate denim in its classic form. And for those people, TCB Jeans offers a beacon of hope.

TCB has become a mainstay in the Japanese denim scene, offering a wide range of time-honored jeans, jackets, and other garments, all inspired by early-to-mid twentieth-century workwear. We’re delving into the history, philosophy, and iconic products of TCB, all of which are intrinsically linked to its founder, Hajime Inoue.

/ In Partnership with Meermin /

Occasion Ready, Always: Meermin's Black Cap Toe Oxford

You only need one formal shoe, and it's a Black Toe Cap Oxford. And while we're not specialists in formal menswear, anyone who is will tell you just that. Whatever the occasion, a Black Cap Toe Oxford keeps your formal outfits grounded in timeless precision.

Meermin's Classic Cap Toe Oxford is made using some of the finest boxcalf leathers available, in addition to vegetable-tanned cowhide heels and insole. Goodyear-welted construction means these properly made and resoleable, keeping them on your feet for the wedding, the vow renewal, and everything in between. If the event matters, cap it off with Meermin's Toe Cap Oxford.

Get yours today at Meermin for just $215

TCB Jeans History

Hajime Inoue via Japanalogue

Born in Hiroshima, Hajime Inoue got into denim in the 90s, attending junior high school. A passionate baseball player, Inoue immersed himself in other elements of American culture. While looking for clothes for himself, he found that the only inspiration he had was magazines that were channeling the American denim boom that was sweeping Japan at the time.

The generation before Inoue had to source actual vintage articles of American denim, but Inoue was able to access the stellar reproduction denim that was beginning to emerge across Japan. Inoue recalls this in an extensive interview with Japanalogue:

Inoue worked in a small atelier in his hometown of Hiroshima, but wanted a job that channeled his passion for denim. He headed north to Kyoto, where he got a job as a salesman in a heritage menswear store called Porky’s. After doing this for a few years, Inoue decided that what hr really wanted was to make jeans. After quitting Porky’s, he headed for Okayama, Japan’s denim capital.

Porky’s in Kyoto, via Denim Manila

Upon arriving in Okayama, Inoue used the phone book to ring local factories and sewing shops for employment opportunities. With no sewing experience, the only job Inoue was offered was maintaining and repairing vintage sewing machines in a local factory. It so happened that the factory manufactured jeans for a very famous American brand, and the work he was doing saw him repairing and maintaining old Union Specials. Work in this factory eventually dried up as the denim company moved production to another location, so Inoue left.

After working in sales for a number of years, Inoue still found himself unfulfilled. He noticed that sewing as an industry was in serious decline across Japan, and worried that if he was ever to fulfill his dream of producing jeans, there would be no one to sew them. With this in mind, Inoue took the gamble of opening his own sewing factory in 2007. Located in Kojima, the factory eventually had all of the necessary machines needed to produce the jeans that Inoue had aspired to make since a teen.

Hajime Inoue and cat via Medium

Inoue christened his factory TCB – standing for Taking Care of Business. However, when thinking of concepts for his own brand of jeans, Inoue was influenced by Levi’s moniker of Two Horse Brand. A lifetime admirer and owner of cats, Inoue thought about his two cats at home and realized that TCB could also stand for Two Cats Brand. Thus, TCB Jeans was born.

TCB Philosophy

Hajime Inoue in an Okayama Denim mill via TCB

TCB products are inspired by American Workwear from the 1920s to 1970s. Although TCB’s iconic 50s and 60s raw denim jeans are direct reproductions of archetypal Levi’s 501s from those eras, Hajime Inoue states that no garment he produces is an exact replica, and usually the design process involves taking cues and details from two or three vintage articles. The result is something faithful and original, with the brand’s playful cat branding keeping things down to earth.

TCB cat motifs via vIGGiou riou on. Superfuture

Special attention is paid to ensure that garments will age and develop an authentic patina that is comparable to their vintage counterparts. The brand only uses proprietary fabrics, custom loomed in Okayama based on vintage samples. For example, Inoue searched high and low for the perfect fabric for his 50s and 60s jeans before discovering that Zimbabwean cotton provided the most authentic charm he was looking for in terms of fade, puckering, and color evolution.

All TCB Products are sewn in the TCB factory by passionate and skilled craftspeople. The brand uses rare machines by Union Special, Reese, and Singer, which provide the vintage construction required to meet the TCB philosophy.

TCB Fades via Milled

Iconic Products

In addition to denim goods, TCB offers a strong range of apparel and accessories, which includes shirting, overalls, aprons, and hats. The brand opened its webstore in early 2020, offering worldwide shipping across the full TCB range. All of the iconic denim goods discussed below make use of rope-dyed indigo yarns, woven into proprietary selvedge fabrics by Japan’s Shinya Mills. It’s also worth noting that the majority of TCB’s denim is unsanforized, but the finished garments are one-washed to remove most of the shrinkage.

50s Jeans & Jacket

A TCB fan favorite is the brand’s 50s denim duo, consisting of a trucker jacket and five-pocket jeans, both based on archetypal Levi’s articles of the 1950s. The 50s jacket is rendered in classic Type II style with dual chest pockets and pleats running adjacent to the button placket, while the jeans are a reproduction of Levi’s 501s of the 50s, featuring a regular straight leg with a medium rise.

For this duo, TCBs uses a custom 13.5 oz. selvedge denim woven by Shinya Mills using 100% Zimbabwean cotton. Both garments feature a red selvedge ID, custom TCB hardware, and TCB-branded paper patches.

Available for $238 (Jacket) and $233 (Jeans) from Redcast Heritage

Slim 50s Jeans

Made from the same proprietary fabric as the standard 50s Jeans, the slim 50s do exactly as they say on the tin. They take all the details and cues from the standard 50s Jeans and incorporate them into a tapered-leg fit.

Available for $217 from Redcast Heritage.

60s Jeans & Jacket

Just as the aforementioned 50s denim range is inspired by the 1950s, TCB’s 60s Jacket & Jeans look to the following decade.

The trucker jacket in this instance is inspired by early issues of the iconic Levi’s Type III, featuring the classic knife pleats and dual chest pockets (and no hand warmers). The jeans are based on Levi’s 501s from the 1960s, which were slimmer through the leg than in previous decades.

TCB’s 60s denim is 13.5oz. unsanforized raw selvedge, woven in Okayama from 100% San Joaquin Valley cotton. It has a slightly lighter tone than the 50s denim, with the white weft being more prominent. This duo features a pink selvedge ID, custom TCB hardware, and a branded two-cats paper patch.

Available for $249 (Jacket) and $243 (Jeans) from Redcast Heritage.

TCB 40s Jeans & Jacket

40s denim is TCB’s reproduction of WWII Levi’s selvedge denim. Woven from EMOT (Eastern Memphis, New Orleans, and Texas) cotton, it weighs in at 14 oz. per square yard and utilizes hard-twisted yarns for authentic texture and fading. Woven on Toyoda shuttle looms, it has a cream colored weft to compound the vintage look, and a salmon pink selvedge ID.

TCB 40s Jeans are a faithful reproduction of the Levi’s S501XX, produced during WWII. This means a straight leg cut, high rise, and ample room in the thighs and calves. Meticulous attention has been paid to the details of the OGs, from the signature wonky back pocket stitching to the steel laurel wreath buttons and more.

Just like the jeans, the TCB 40s jacket reproduces Levi’s’ WWII Type I Jacket.  The cut is more relaxed and boxier compared to the brand’s 50’s jacket, with a shorter length and wider armholes. It comes complete with the archetypal singular flap-less patch pocket, exposed copper rivets, and rear cinch.

Available for $275 (Jeans) and $275 (Jacket) from Redcast Heritage.

30s Jeans & Jacket

TCB’s 30s denim is a 12.5oz. raw selvedge fabric woven from 100% Memphis cotton. The Jeans are based on 1930s five-pocket jeans with a relaxed fit, medium-to-high rise, and period-correct details like a crotch rivet and rear cinch-back buckle with exposed rivets.

Inspired by the classic Levi’s Type I denim blouson, the TCB 30s Jacket features all the hallmarks of Levi’s’ earlier blouson, such as the singular chest pocket, pleats that run adjacent to the button placket, and a cinch back adjuster at the waist.

Both 30s pieces come complete with a deerskin patch, yellow selvedge ID, and custom iron TCB buttons.

Available for $275 (Jacket) and $280 (Jeans) from Redcast Heritage.

* TCB’s 30s Denim is scheduled for discontinuation in 2026, so if you like what you see, act before it’s too late!

20s Jeans & Jacket

TCB’s 20s Denim is a 12.5 oz. selvedge woven by Shinya Mills 100% Memphis cotton. The 20s Jeans are inspired by a set of 1922 Levi’s 501s, featuring a straight leg fit with a high rise and fairly roomy thighs. They also feature suspender buttons around the waistbands, and a wide white selvedge– both hallmarks of denim from this period in the early 20th century.

The TCB 20s jacket follows Levi’s Type 1 jacket silhouettes from the 1920s. It features two-piece sleeves, as opposed to the one-piece sleeves on the 30s Jacket, and features a rounded pocket flap.

Jeans available for $243 from Redcast Heritage, Jacket available for $198 from Okayama Denim.

Seamen’s Jumper and Trouser

The TCB Seamen’s products are faithful reproductions of 1940s US Navy uniforms. The fabric is a lightweight 10 oz. denim with a grey weft that helps to provide a beautiful, deep blue tone, which is peppered with snowy white neps.

The ‘Jumper’ features roomy pockets at the waist, a shawl collar, and US Navy anchor buttons with metal ring reinforcements. The trousers come in a wide-leg fit with a high rise and two rear pockets. Both garments come with ‘TCB’ and the corresponding size hand-stencilled on with white paint.

Available for $175 (Trouser) and $203 (Jumper) from Redcast Heritage.

Like this? Read these:

How To Break in a New Pair of Raw Denim

The Do’s and Dont’s of Breaking In a New Pair of Leather Boots

Giveaway – Win $900+ Worth of Bags & Clothing from Bleu de Chauffe

If there’s a season made for travel, discovery, and embracing the outdoors, it’s summer. Whether you’re a seasoned nomad or planning escapes around a 9-to-5, dependable, well-crafted gear is essential—pieces you connect with through travel and use. Enter Bleu de Chauffe, a world-class bagmaker blending heritage design with modern sensibility to create a range of top-tier bags and high-quality apparel, made for the long haul.

We’ve partnered with Bleu de Chauffe and fellow publications Valet Mag, InsideHook, Stridewise, The Bengal Stripe, Denimhunters, and Fabricateurialist to offer you the chance to win a solid selection of bags and apparel. Worth over $900, the prize pack consists of:

• Meline Tote Bag

• Léon Messenger Bag

• Melo 48H Tote Bag

• Raw 50 Sweatshirt

• Heavyweight Champion T-shirt

That’s three distinct bags—a Meline Tote for daily use, a Léon Messenger for secure, everyday carry, and a 48H Tote for long beach days or impromptu getaways—alongside Bleu de Chauffe’s flagship Heavyweight Champion T-shirt and Raw 50 Sweatshirt. Each piece is made in Aveyron in the South of France, ensuring artisan quality from the first cut to the final stitch.

To enter the giveaway, all you have to do is drop your email on this page before April, 27 2026. The one lucky winner will be notified by email and have 24 hours to confirm their shipping and size information. All entrants will be signed up for all partners’ newsletters, from which you can unsubscribe at any time.

Enter today for your chance to win this considered set of pieces, built to move seamlessly from everyday routines to open-ended travel.

Together With

/ Fade Friday /

It’s not often we see jeans so thrashed that there is more negative space than actual fabric. But in the case of Andrew’s grandad Harry, we should just be happy they exist at all. Found while cleaning out his house, this 1970s relic is as much a piece of art as a pair of hippie shorts. Once known as a pair of Levi’s 501s, these shredders were chopped along the way to keep up with the summer months and a warm climate. And maybe a growing trend of DIY anti-fashion.

With the indigo almost 200% wrung out and featuring frayed edges at every turn, these shorts have lived many lives, with each patch adding pops of color and a layer of storytelling. With an inseam that literally could not go up any further, denim heads, your summer inspiration has arrived.

/ New Releases /

MAPLE & Apapacho World Tool Up a Marble Palace for Your Jewelry

MAPLE and Apapacho World have joined forces for a second collaboration, this time unveiling a jointly designed jewelry box carved from gorgeous Rosa Tepeaca marble sourced from Tepeaca, Puebla.

Crafted from a 250kg block of the naturally durable Mexican marble, each piece has unique white and grey veining imbued in the dusty rose stone, ensuring no two boxes are exactly alike. Designed with both function and luxury in mind, the box includes two movable ring holders for customizable storage, while the underside is finished with both brands’ logos.

Based in Mexico City, Apapacho World is a design house that honors Mexico’s rich cultural heritage through cleverly designed pieces. Specializing in natural materials such as clay, marble, and volcanic rock, the Apapacho studio utilizes a co-op of 5 crafting families across Puebla and Michoacán to inject their modern designs with traditional techniques. Their project with Canadian jewelry powerhouse, MAPLE, brings precious metals and stones together while celebrating age-old Mexican crafts that deserve our attention.

Available at MAPLE for $212.

/ In Partnership with Blue Beach Denim /

ONI’s latest drop is its 15 oz. Ishikawadai selvedge. Ishikawa-dai is a vintage Japanese-made ring-spinning machine, said to be the oldest cotton-spinning machine still operating in Japan. Cotton is ring-spun all over the world, but no other spinning machine can produce yarns like the Ishikawa-dai. Compared to the latest machines, Ishikawa-dai spins at a slower speed of about one-third, resulting in lower productivity, but also a rich, natural texture.

ONI’s Ishikawadai denim puts rope-dyed Ishikawadai yarns through a specialized loom to create a totally unique selvedge denim. This isn’t just a matter of craftsmanship, but of extreme patience: in today’s Japanese denim industry, production is booked onto these looms at least 24 months in advance. Because every loom is running at capacity daily, a sold-out run can take up to 3 years to restock.

Weighing in at 15 oz. per square yard, this mid-to-heavyweight fabric utilizes Ishikawa-dai yarns in both the warp and weft—with the warp dyed a bluey-green shade of indigo reminiscent of old world denim. You only have to look at the close-ups to see how special this fabric is; it retains a distinct ‘ONI’ feel without any hyper-slub or nep. The Ishikawadai is available across a range of ONI jean cuts from slim-straight all the way to extra-wide, with some options featuring 2% stretch for the comfort crew. In addition, there is a duo of denim jackets: a traditional Type 1, and a ‘Type 0‘ silhouette based on late 19th century blousons with dual pockets at the hip. Each piece is made in Japan and comes with custom-branded ONI hardware and a demonic natural leather waist patch that echoes the teal hues of ONI’s Ishikawadai denim.

Shop ONI Ishikawadai Denim at Blue Beach today

Slide Into Paraboot’s Bahamas Mule

/c

It’s amazing when a piece of clothing can conjure up a sense of place. French footwear pioneers Paraboot‘s Bahamas Mule does just that — luxurious holidays on the French Riviera.

From the front, the Bahamas look like a classic loafer— moc toe, black leather— but around the back is where things pivot. Well, because there is no back. This means you can just slip these on to meander out to the terrace for an aperitif, and slip them off to hit the beach. If Central Europe isn’t on the cards, these will do just as well at upgrading your stinky Bostons to something more sophisticated.

Wherever you’re wearing them and whatever you’re wearing them for, the Bahamas are classic Paraboot quality. Made in Spain, they are constructed using a Blake stitch, a technique invented in 1858 by shoemaker Leeman Reed Blake, also known as through-and-through stitching, which gives the shoe flexibility and lightness. Unlined and unbuckled, these might just be the perfect summer shoe, sockless or not.

Available for $288 from Lost & Found.

Satisfy Running Made Jorts Digital

When the run club is at 12 PM, but Country Fest is at 1 PM, you’d think a wardrobe change is in order. Streetwear adjacent running darling Satisfy Running begs to differ. Their 5″ Inlined Shorts in Digital Denim are insane. No way around it. But like washing your jeans in the ocean or not washing your jeans at all, who says that’s a bad thing? Made from their PeaceShell fabric, which is famously not denim, with your eyes closed, you’re stepping into some of the best athletic shorts money can buy. With your eyes open, it’s simply impossible to get over how much these look like faded jeans.

From the worn seat and whiskering at the lap down to the faux wallet fade with a blown corner, these shorts do not mess around.

Available for $337 from Lost & Found.

OMTC Renders Western Shirt in Handwoven Madras

Ivy and Western are two of the biggest influences on rugged menswear today, and Original Madras Trading Co. has tied them together in the neatest of packages with No107 Western Straight Collar Long Sleeve Shirt: a classic Western shirt decked out in equally classic Madras check.

The No107 takes everything we all love about Western shirts— contrast-stitched yokes on both the front and back, dual chest pockets, and the all-important pearl snap closures—and decks it out in a summer-ready, breathable madras. Madras takes its name from the former name of the city now known as Chennai, where it has been produced for over 400 years. OMTC’s fabrics are still made in the city, where its woven on handlooms by their skilled weavers.

Westerns and madras are unique entities in their own right, so the No107 will be your best friend all summer long — worn tucked into some cowboy-appropriate denim or open over a crisp white T. The best thing? Madras is known for its “bleed” when washed, which is down to the traditional dyes used, so it will look better summer after summer.

Available in 3 beautiful, distinct patterns from OMTC for $195.

TCB’s Cat Head Jacket Has Us Purring

TCB Jeans has finally released the perfect chore jacket for the cat lovers among us. Actually, it might just be the perfect chore jacket for the chore jacket lovers among us, too.

This isn’t some furry-adjacent fur chore jacket; it’s a faithful rendition of a 1930s Duck Head original. The Kojima-based brand stumbled upon the right reference piece and studied it closely to build the Cat Head Jacket to exacting specifications, including a rare chain-stitched neckband that TCB had to recreate using specialist machinery to match the original as closely as possible. Elsewhere, there are plenty of nods to its near-century-old ancestors: green bar tacks and buttonholes, standout buttons, and even the animal-inspired branding, flipped from a duck to the brand’s favourite four-legged friend — after all, TCB does stand for the “Two Cats Brand”.

The fabric stands up to the Union Special construction, too. Its textured, neppy surface is a result of a mix of yarns that have been rope-dyed in indigo for an outstanding depth of colour. It’s sanforized and given a single wash before being made, so you can concentrate on fading it rather than worrying about it shrinking on you.

Available from Franklin & Poe for $250.

Freenote Cloth’s Yorba Shirt Is for the Well-Dressed Alley Rats

Get all your pin pals together, Freenote Cloth has scored a turkey with this trio of Yorba shirts.

For the Yorba, Freenote Cloth has looked to an oft-underrated part of vintage Americana, the bowling shirt. But, being Freenote, they’ve also elevated way above those old rayon numbers. In keeping with the originals, the Yorba has a nice boxy fit with an era-correct Universal zip up the front, corozo fisheye buttons on the waist cinch, and tasteful hits of contrasting fabric throughout, across the sleeve cuffs, chest pocket, and, most excitingly, on the full-length back pleat.

Not satisfied with just 1 ace fabric, Freenote has decked the Yorba out in 3 different ones: a navy herringbone with white detailing, a white herringbone with navy detailing, and a maroon corduroy with ecru detailing. The herringbones have a nice weighty texture, whilst the corduroy is a yarn-dyed rayon corduroy blend, and they all weigh in at 5oz. Not that that any of this makes the choice any easier, as they’re all perfect fabrics for these mid-century delights. The only thing they’re missing is complementary pomade.

All 3 colours are available at Franklin & Poe for $260.

Sun Surf Releases Palaka Check Work Blouson Under Historic ‘UNION SUPPLY’ Label

We’re far from trend forecasters, but we have to admit, we saw Palaka Check on the horizon. We explored this old Hawaiian workwear fabric in our article The Hawaiian Denim – All About Palaka Check, and the unique workwear fabric has started showing up here and there since.

With roots in the Hawaiian Sugar Cane industry, Sun Surf — a brand built on Hawaiian shirts — should honor Palaka Check with this US13487 Palaka Plaid Shirt Blouse. In fact, this shirt is actually based on workwear issued by The UNION SUPPLY Company – a label that Toyo Enterprise/ Sun Surf has the rights to. Japanese-born Yasuda Kayoji founded UNION SUPPLY in 1922, and actually supplied Palaka check work shirts in the early-to-mid-20th century. Cool, right? The Toyo Enterprise Empire is forever growing.

Made in Japan, the US13487 Palaka Plaid Shirt Blouse is made from 100% cotton Palaka check fabric, which comes unlined and sewn into a vintage work-blouse silhouette. It comes fitted with a single chest pocket and contrasting white shell buttons — keeping things simple and letting that Palaka plaid sing.

Available for $390 from Clutch Cafe.

/ Giveaway /

Giveaway – Win $900+ Worth of Bags & Clothing from Bleu de Chauffe

If there’s a season made for travel, discovery, and embracing the outdoors, it’s summer. Whether you’re a seasoned nomad or planning escapes around a 9-to-5, dependable, well-crafted gear is essential—pieces you connect with through travel and use. Enter Bleu de Chauffe, a world-class bagmaker blending heritage design with modern sensibility to create a range of top-tier bags and high-quality apparel, made for the long haul.

We’ve partnered with Bleu de Chauffe and fellow publications Valet Mag, InsideHook, Stridewise, The Bengal Stripe, Denimhunters, and Fabricateurialist to offer you the chance to win a solid selection of bags and apparel. Worth over $900, the prize pack consists of:

• Meline Tote Bag

• Léon Messenger Bag

• Melo 48H Tote Bag

• Raw 50 Sweatshirt

• Heavyweight Champion T-shirt

That’s three distinct bags—a Meline Tote for daily use, a Léon Messenger for secure, everyday carry, and a 48H Tote for long beach days or impromptu getaways—alongside Bleu de Chauffe’s flagship Heavyweight Champion T-shirt and Raw 50 Sweatshirt. Each piece is made in Aveyron in the South of France, ensuring artisan quality from the first cut to the final stitch.

To enter the giveaway, all you have to do is drop your email on this page before April, 27 2026. The one lucky winner will be notified by email and have 24 hours to confirm their shipping and size information. All entrants will be signed up for all partners’ newsletters, from which you can unsubscribe at any time.

Enter today for your chance to win this considered set of pieces, built to move seamlessly from everyday routines to open-ended travel.

/ Weekly Rundown /

• Luxury Handmade Sneakers Made in England: What to Look For – Crown Northampton

• Levi’s Sued by Labor Group on Eve of Shareholder Climate Clash – Sourcing Journal

• How Timberland lost everyone’s trust in 6 months – Rose Anvil

• How Slovenian Brand What Happened Makes Custom Packs for Mountain Pros – Field Mag

Whitesville 2-Pack T-Shirt Review

Our comprehensive review of the Japanese-made Whitesville 2-Pack T-Shirts. We check out the construction, detailing, fit, and more.

David Shuck

This review is a piece of our Great White T-Shirt Review series, in which we tested nearly two dozen plain white t-shirts to help you understand what’s on the market today. In it, we tested for qualities like fit, construction quality, fabric density, shrinkage, and see-through-ness, amongst many others.

I wrote a review of the Whitesville 2-Pack T-shirt a full three years before The Bear brought the entire internet out of the woodwork in search of The One Tee to rule them all. The way it was made back then is the same as it is now, solid. But like the Norwegian arcade game of Ballbreaker, you can’t just waltz up to this Japanese tee and expect it to behave in the same way as its American counterparts.

Read on for our full review of the Whitesville T-Shirt, including how to size it, how it wears, how to care for it, and most importantly these days, where to find it (spoiler: buy it from Japan at Hinoya for half the price of Western retailers). Unlike the other reviews in our Great White T-Shirt Review, our editor, James, has pitched in with his experience of these in-demand tees.

By The Numbers

• Fabric: 100% cotton

• Made in: Japan

• Postwash Fabric Density: 1.54g/LI (Midweight)

• Postwash Total Weight: 161g

• Construction: Tubeknit

• Size Large Postwash Measurements (inches):

  • Front Length: 23

  • Pit to Pit: 21

  • Shoulder to Shoulder: 18

  • Hem Width: 20.5

  • Neck Width: 6.25

  • Sleeve Length: 7.5

  • Sleeve Height: 8.5

• Sizing Recommendation: Size Up

• Shrinkage: 1.64%

• Weight Loss: 3.59%

• Price Per Shirt: $31 – $50

• Available at:

  • Blue in Green for $80

  • Franklin and Poe for $95

  • Redcast Heritage for $91

  • Brooklyn Clothing for $99

  • HINOYA for $64

  • DeeCee Style for $115

  • Clutch Cafe for $115

Fit

The Whitesville fit is tighter, shorter, and distinctly 60s. The collar rides up higher than every other tee in an old-school way that’s fun but takes some getting used to. If you’re a person who chafes at turtlenecks, maybe reconsider because this one is definitely a neck-hugger.

Otherwise, it fits small, to the point where I didn’t wear this tee out too much because it felt restrictive and revealing. Sized up, I imagine it would be great, but not in its current state. If you wear a medium, try the large. This tee harkens back to a bygone age of smaller people than we are today…or it’s just sized for the Japanese market, which is explicitly one letter size down from North America.

Sized Correctly:

Our editor, James (6 ft, 193kg) wearing XL.

Fabric

The Whitesville fabric is near perfection.

It’s light and soft, and has a satisfying amount of give and resilience to the knit. It also feels heavier than it is. It’s advertised as “Heavyweight,” but its fabric density is just off the mark by the standards of our test. I’m not complaining, though; it’s a close second to Merz B. Schwanen (oddly enough, the other niche t-shirt Carmy wears on The Bear) for my favorite fabric of the test. It’s super soft and conforms to the body with wear.

The sheerness test is passable, but nothing to get excited about. Your nipples and tattoos will preserve their modesty.

Construction and Details

The construction is excellent, which is no surprise for a product made by the Japanese parent company Toyo Enterprise (Sugar Cane, Buzz Rickson’s, etc.). The tee is tube knit, and the stitching is in this slightly off-white grey/tan color that contrasts nicely with the brilliant white of the shirt.

The one notable feature, at least the one the packaging wants to point out, is an extra layer of cotton tape to solidify the collar in place. Collar stitching is often the first point of failure in t-shirts, so this development speaks well for the longevity of this tee.

If I had any gripes, it’s that the overlocking didn’t catch all of the extra fabric on the sleeve hems and that the collar ribbing is sewn together in a big stiff plug of fabric on the left-hand side, which can make for kind of an annoyance if you’re wearing this as an undershirt.

Shrinkage

Whitesville T-shirts tend to only shrink in length and sleeve length. The image above and the table below compare two Whitesville T-shirts in size XL, belonging to our editor, James. One is new and unwashed, the other has been worn for around a year, washed regularly on 30 degrees, and dried on a heated airer.

The Verdict

David:

I really liked this shirt and was kinda bummed that the sizing is small to the point that I couldn’t wear it regularly. If you’re looking for a shirt with that real 60s prep character that might have fallen off the pages of Take Ivy (or the back of a brow-beaten chef), Whitesville is your brand, just make sure you size up.

James:

Unlike David, I sized up because I’m smart. But even with a size up, these are slim-fitting shirts designed to emulate trim-fitting mid-century undershirts. That said, I’m not in the best shape of my life, and these are still flattering, hugging what little biceps I have and giving enough room in the chest and shoulders to drape nicely. I own 6 Whitesville 2-Pack tees, and use them chiefly as undershirts or as the only layer on super hot days. The shorter length means they never hang below the hem of a shirt, which is always useful if you don’t tuck in your tees.

Consider if:

• There are pennies in your loafers

Avoid if:

• Even an extra layer of reinforcement tape can’t keep your collar in place

Available at:

• Blue in Green for $80

• Franklin and Poe for $95

• Redcast Heritage for $91

• Brooklyn Clothing for $99

• HINOYA for $64

• DeeCee Style for $115

• Clutch Cafe for $115

Like this? Read these:

Tilden Jeans Review – The Best One Can Get

Review – HAVEN Logan Hybrid Jacket GORE-TEX WINDSTOPPER® 2L Ripstop / Primaloft®

Giveaway – Win $900+ Worth of Bags & Clothing from Bleu de Chauffe

If there’s a season made for travel, discovery, and embracing the outdoors, it’s summer. Whether you’re a seasoned nomad or planning escapes around a 9-to-5, dependable, well-crafted gear is essential—pieces you connect with through travel and use. Enter Bleu de Chauffe, a world-class bagmaker blending heritage design with modern sensibility to create a range of top-tier bags and high-quality apparel, made for the long haul.

We’ve partnered with Bleu de Chauffe and fellow publications Valet Mag, InsideHook, Stridewise, The Bengal Stripe, Denimhunters, and Fabricateurialist to offer you the chance to win a solid selection of bags and apparel. Worth over $900, the prize pack consists of:

• Meline Tote Bag

• Léon Messenger Bag

• Melo 48H Tote Bag

• Raw 50 Sweatshirt

• Heavyweight Champion T-shirt

That’s three distinct bags—a Meline Tote for daily use, a Léon Messenger for secure, everyday carry, and a 48H Tote for long beach days or impromptu getaways—alongside Bleu de Chauffe’s flagship Heavyweight Champion T-shirt and Raw 50 Sweatshirt. Each piece is made in Aveyron in the South of France, ensuring artisan quality from the first cut to the final stitch.

To enter the giveaway, all you have to do is drop your email on this page before April, 27 2026. The one lucky winner will be notified by email and have 24 hours to confirm their shipping and size information. All entrants will be signed up for all partners’ newsletters, from which you can unsubscribe at any time.

Enter today for your chance to win this considered set of pieces, built to move seamlessly from everyday routines to open-ended travel.

Sales Shortlist – April 16

“What fades can they possibly be earning jumping over bonfires?”

Sales

• Iron Heart

• Lost & Found

• Redcast Heritage Co.

• Franklin and Poe

• Tellason

• Grant Stone

• Stag Provisions

• Clutch Cafe

• Iron Shop Provisions

• Cultizm

• HAVEN

• Blue in Green

• Devium USA

• Brooklyn Clothing Co.

• Oak Street Boot Makers

• American Trench

• Independence Chicago

• Brooklyn Tailors (15% extra off final sale items with code FINAL15)

• Blue Beach Denim

• Cockpit USA

• Namu Shop

• Kiriko

• REVOLVR Menswear

• Corridor NYC

• Railcar

• 3sixteen

• Vestis

• Unbleached Apparel

• Drew’s Boots

• Bather

• Companion Denim (sample sale)

• Left Field NYC

• Loyal Stricklin

• Rooney

• Shockoe Atelier

• Manready Mercantile

• Shwood Eyewear

• Caswell Boot Co.

• Unmarked (sample sale)

• Billykirk

• Tanner Goods

• Hatchet Outdoor Supply Co.

• DSPTCH

• Bridge & Burn

• Triple Aught Design

• TENDREL

• Gamine Workwear

• Grown & Sewn

• Rhythmic Tones

• Delikatessen

Jeans & Pants

• Wythe Deck Pant – Dusty Purple $388 $271

• Tellason Ankara – Straight Leg Selvedge Jeans – 19 oz.$290 $190

Shirts & Tops

• Gamine Workwear Downeast Sweater $290 $199

• Grown & Sewn Walsh Work Shirt – 6 oz Rinsed Chambray $306 $187

• Unbleached Apparel 5.3oz T-Shirt $30 $15.99

• Freenote Cloth Thermal LS Picante $125 $75

• Wythe Moleskin Pearlsnap Shirt $188 $131

  • Olive

  • Alpenglow

• 3sixteen Mechanic Shirt Ivory $242 $121

• Gitman Bros. Vintage Long Sleeve Button Down Dark Brown Thin Wale Corduroy $275 $134

Outerwear

• Mister Freedom Campus Blouse Mattock $550 $468

• Tellason Denim Jacket – Selvedge Denim – 14.75 oz. with Sherpa Lining $390 $241

• 3sixteen Country Jacket Waxed Nylon Black $525 $262

Footwear

• Red Wing Classic Chelsea No. 3192 $374 $249

• Red Wing Classic Chelsea No. 3194 $374 $249

Together With

The Brannock Device – A Better Way to Measure Feet

In this historical revue, we tackle the Brannock Device, the system that revolutionized how we buy and make shoes.

James Smith

Even if you don’t know what it’s called, chances are you’ve known the icy, calculated touch of the machine known as the Brannock Device. The two-pound block of milled steel has been the gold standard for measuring feet for almost 90 years now, as well as one of the longest enduring symbols of post WWI modernism.

Inventor Charles F. Brannock was born into the shoe business. His father was the co-owner of a shoe store in Syracuse, New York, and Charles spent a good part of his college years designing a better way to measure the shape of the human foot.

Standard shoe sizes were only a couple of generations old at that point (a necessity of equipping troops in the Civil War), and the only measuring device available was a primitive wooden caliper called the RITZ Stick, which measured length and length alone. But as our treatise on footwear lasts will tell you, that’s not nearly enough to ensure a proper fit.

/ In Partnership with Blue Beach Denim /

ONI’s Ishikawadai Selvedge Uses Japan's Oldest Ring Spinning Machine

ONI’s latest drop is its 15 oz. Ishikawadai selvedge. Ishikawa-dai is a vintage Japanese-made ring-spinning machine, said to be the oldest cotton-spinning machine still operating in Japan. Cotton is ring-spun all over the world, but no other spinning machine can produce yarns like the Ishikawa-dai. Compared to the latest machines, Ishikawa-dai spins at a slower speed of about one-third, resulting in lower productivity, but also a rich, natural texture.

ONI’s Ishikawadai denim puts rope-dyed Ishikawadai yarns through a specialized loom to create a totally unique selvedge denim. This isn’t just a matter of craftsmanship, but of extreme patience: in today’s Japanese denim industry, production is booked onto these looms at least 24 months in advance. Because every loom is running at capacity daily, a sold-out run can take up to 3 years to restock.

“There is only 1 loom that able to produce ONI Ishikawadai denim in the world. It can experience failure or breakdown at any time. Making the denim extra precious and valuable.” – Oishi San, ONI Denim

Weighing in at 15 oz. per square yard, this mid-to-heavyweight fabric utilizes Ishikawa-dai yarns in both the warp and weft—with the warp dyed a bluey-green shade of indigo reminiscent of old world denim. You only have to look at the close-ups to see how special this fabric is; it retains a distinct ‘ONI’ feel without any hyper-slub or nep. The Ishikawadai is available across a range of ONI jean cuts from slim-straight all the way to extra-wide, with some options featuring 2% stretch for the comfort crew. In addition, there is a duo of denim jackets: a traditional Type 1, and a ‘Type 0‘ silhouette based on late 19th century blousons with dual pockets at the hip. Each piece is made in Japan and comes with custom-branded ONI hardware and a demonic natural leather waist patch that echoes the teal hues of ONI’s Ishikawadai denim.

Shop ONI Ishikawadai Denim at Blue Beach Denim today

Brannock fiddled with sketches and graph paper before he eventually created a new grid-based measurement scheme that we all (in North America) know and love today. The eponymous Brannock Device measured not only the foot’s length but also its width and arch position. The system was linear: shoe sizes started with a size 1 at 7 and 1/3″ and increased by a full size every 1/3″, width was relative to size and labelled with letters from narrowest (AAA) to broadest (EEE) with a step every 3/16″. Hence our modern sizes like 8D or 11A. When a shoe fits “true to size” or “true to Brannock, that just means it adheres correctly to the Brannock grid.

To use the device, the potential shoe-buyer first slips his or her foot into the heel cup. The salesman then slides the Brannock’s levers to lock onto the customer’s arch and foot width to note the size. The device is mirrored for both lengths, so the salesman merely has to flip the device around to measure the other foot. Brannock claims the system will get a customer’s fit right 95-96 percent of the time.

Brannock’s linear sizing system.

Brannock began to use the device as a sales tactic at his father’s shop in 1927, but filed a patent in 1929 when other shoe stores began to buy them to outfit their own customers. Brannock realized where the real money came from and soon opened up his own factory to produce the devices in the late 1930s.

Charles F. Brannock and the patent for his device.

Like many US business owners, Brannock really made it big in WWII. The US military had spent millions of dollars to better equip soldiers with correctly sized equipment, so when they heard about the Brannock device, they ordered thousands upon thousands of them. The standard tool was a double Brannock device, so GIs could be measured on both feet at the same time.

The once regional measuring system was now the nationwide standard, but Brannock didn’t rest on his laurels. He was determined to produce the highest quality product. Stores would use the same device for decades and only needed to replace it when the numbers had worn off the steel.

How to Buy the Right Shoe Size with Wyatt Gilmore of Grant Stone

One of the foremost experts on talking people through their shoe size gives us the rundown on what you might be missing.

Brannock continued to manufacture the devices in Syracuse until his death in 1993. Having no heirs of his own, Brannock negotiated the sale of his company to an Italian, Salvatore Leonardi, shortly before his death on the condition that production stayed in Syracuse and that the devices were still made out of steel to the same high-quality standard.

The patent has long since expired, and many companies produce knock-offs for a fraction of the price, but nothing will ever beat the original block of steel.

If you run a shoe store or just really like to measure your feet, you can pick up an original Brannock for $75 on Amazon.

Like this? Read these:

How To Break in a New Pair of Raw Denim

The Do’s and Dont’s of Breaking In a New Pair of Leather Boots

Brimming With Quality – A Guide To Japan’s Heritage-Centric Hatmakers

We take a look at the heritage-centric hatmakers coming out of Japan, from POTEN and H.W. Dog, to Cableami, Mr. Fatman, and more.

James Smith

Japanese makers have a way of taking a Western archetype, extracting the best parts of its form and story, and creating a new, exciting product whilst still respecting its history. That’s pretty much how most modern raw denim jeans became the product they are today — early makers like Big John and members of the Osaka Five took an iconic and somewhat defunct American product and reproduced it with insane levels of detail that could only be achieved by totally geeking over original articles. But at the same time, those brands created something fresh, exciting, and uniquely Japanese.

Now, the ballcap is an American classic. Conceived in the early days of baseball, it transcended the sport to become a staple for those outside the ballpark. However, just like with raw denim, many Japanese makers have taken the ballcap and made it their own, imbuing this American stalwart with a certain type of quality, charm, and nuance that can only be found in Japan. Japanese hatmaking doesn’t stop at ballcaps, either. Beanies, berets and flat caps, wool caps, and even formal felt hats can all be found in a scene that’s making waves in the West as well as the Far East.

In this guide, we’ll be taking a look at the Japanese hatmakers relevant to our niche, from RoToTo to POTEN, H.W. Dog & Co., and more.

POTEN

Image via Hip Store Leeds

Founded in 2014, POTEN is the brainchild of Iguchi Hironobu, a baseball fanatic and hat-making expert. Hironobu spent 10 years as a designer for a hat company before establishing POTEN to fulfill his dream of making ballcaps for actual baseball players. Based in Tokyo, POTEN makes arguably the highest quality baseball caps in the land with designs informed by Hironobu’s taste for vintage American garb and historic baseball culture.

POTEN offers both fitted and adjustable styles. Fitted caps are sized XXS, XS, S, M, and so on — in our experience, an XS fits roughly like a New Era 7 1/4. Western stockists tend to only buy in the adjustable styles, though. Some styles also feature a treated cowhide headband that softens over time and gradually shapes to the wearer’s head.

A wide range of POTEN caps is available at Clutch Cafe from $135.

Each cap is made in Okayama Prefecture at the same factory that produces caps for professional Japanese baseball teams, and comes with a vintage baseball card swing tag. Materials range from denim and melton wool to suede, canvas, and more, changing seasonally. Quality is about as good as it gets when it comes to ball caps.

POTEN 80s BB cap Suede, available for $165 from TENDREL.

H.W. Dog & Co.

Image via H.W. Dog & Co.

One of the most popular brands on this list within the heritage scene, H.W. Dog & Co., is a premium hatter based in Ometsando, Tokyo. Founded in 2015, H.W. Dog is committed to traditional hatmaking techniques and crafts hats using traditional wooden molds — some of which are original vintage examples — to create an eclectic roster of top-class headwear inspired by historic American and European workwear, military headgear, and sportswear.

H.W. Dog Travellers Cap, available for $230 from Clutch Cafe.

The image above shows the range of silhouettes produced by the brand, but they make everything from formal felts and berets to baseball caps, buckets, and beanies — all in their Tokyo studios. Despite being so heavily influenced by eras gone by, H.W. Dog’s range of styles and fabric selections means their hats fit into both vintage and modern aesthetics with ease.

H.W. Dog Baseball Cap, available for $120 from Clutch Cafe.

Mr. Fatman

Image via The Fat Hatter

Mr. Fatman is a private label of one of Tokyo’s most prominent independent hat studios, The Fat Hatter. Established in 2016 by Akihito Kikuchi, The Fat Hatter is located on Harajuku’s iconically trendy ‘Cat Street’ and produces headwear influenced by old-world America and the early-to-mid 20th century.

Mr. Fatman Army Twill F Cap, available for $115 from HINOYA.

Mr. Fatman, in particular, is influenced by Vintage Stetson hats produced between 1930 and 1950, which is evident in its range of fully-brimmed, traditional hats and open-crowned felts. That’s not all that’s on offer, though. Mr. Fatman produces a wide range of hats and caps, each influenced by Kikuchi’s fascination with workwear, military, garage culture, and old American films like Casablanca and Butch Cassidy & The Sundance Kid.

Mr. Fatman Johnny Casquette, available for $150 from HINOYA.

Mighty Shine

Image via Lightning Clutch

Mighty Shine is another label under The Fat Hatter, which produces a slightly more contemporary range of hats and caps whilst still staying true to Kikuchi’s vintage inspirations.

Mighty Shine Parrafin OX 4 Panel Cap, available for $103 from Redcast Heritage.

cableami

Image via Brooklyn Tailors

Based in Kobe, cableami was founded by Shuji Sadamori and Tomoka Sadamori in 2008. Both Shuji and Tomoka worked for a hat company named “Cable“, which closed down in the mid-2000s. With decades of experience in the hat-making industry, Shuji and Tomoka resurrected the company in 2008 under the new name, cableami, to continue making hats but with their own creative direction.

Sometimes styled cábleami, the brand name is a mix of the word ‘cable’ from the term ‘cable knitting’, and the word ‘ami‘,  which has two meanings: “knit” in Japanese, and “friend” in French. This name reflects cableami’s philosophy of “creating hats that will be cherished as if they are friends”.

câbleami Organic Cotton Herringbone Bucket Hat – Ivory, available for $140 from Brooklyn Tailors.

Cableami makes a wide range of hats, from boater and pork pie hats to knitted beanies and ballcaps, all of which are built in Japan to exacting standards. This range of top-quality headwear unifies Shuji and Tomoka’s taste for American and European vintage workwear and sporting products, as well as military wear from numerous countries. Cableami puts these inspirations through its own filter to construct products that are unique, nuanced, and applicable to the modern wardrobe.

câbleami Recycled Tweed Hat, available for $162 from Rhythmic Tones.

The Factory Made

The Factory Made was established in 2017 by Hiroaki Terauchi. A senior employee of Stetson‘s Japanese division for over ten years, Terauchi noticed that there were no quality hatmakers in Japan who made products geared toward the raw denim scene and founded the Factory Made to channel his Japanese denim, American vintage, and French workwear inspirations.

Everything from fabric production to pattern-cutting and sewing happens holistically in Japan. As well as Americana, militaria, and workwear, Terauchi draws inspiration from everyday happenings — the outdoors, walking in the street, and spending time with his family.

The Factory Made POCKET DENIM CAP-NAVY [FM936-013], available for ¥7,920 (~$50USD) from The Factory Made.

The Factory Made specializes in denim, boro, sashiko, and other indigo fabrics, but has also experimented with corduroy, herringbone twill, and even upcycled Barbour jackets.

The Factory Made VIET JET CAP – NAVY [FM525-013], available for ¥8,800 (~$55USD) from The Factory Made.

RoToTo

You’ll know RoToTo for its socks, but the brand also makes high-quality knitted caps as part of its Japan-made offering. All of RoToTo’s products are manufactured by skilled local craftspeople in Hiroyu, Japan, with each article designed around a “lifelong consumables” philosophy. The brand utilizes vintage American knitting machines and modern technology to create fantastic contemporary products with a vintage look and feel.

RoToTo Indigo Dyed Watch Cap, available for $76 from Iron Heart.

Whilst RoToTo does make a knitted 6-panel ball cap, it is beanies and knitted hats that the Japanese label is known for in headwear. The Roll Up Beanie is a mainstay of its yearly collections, made from high-quality 100% cotton with no set roll-up for a fully customizable fit, and its Indigo-Dyed Watch Caps are perhaps the perfect beanie for a denim head.

RoToTo Washi/Recycled Cotton Watch Cap, available for $82 from Tanner Goods.

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