Last year Jamie Milestone (of London Undercover) and I first collaborated on a Black Watch plaid and orange cashmere scarf a scheme I lauded as “world’s greatest color combination.” Well, we didn’t have any intention at stopping at a simple scarf. So this year we got together and made up another collab, but one closer to London Undercover’s roots. We took the same wonderful color combo and made a limited edition London Undercover x ACL & Co. umbrella. Along the way, we’ve basically discovered that everything looks better in Black Watch and orange, this not being the exception.

More info from Mr. Milestone about our newest collaboration:

When we both met in Paris to discuss the project, we pointed out that it was in fact, our French cousins who first turned the modern Parasol into a waterproof rain umbrella. It very quickly crossed the pond and took off in London… much to the dismay of local coachmen who were doing very nicely transporting locals around in the rain. It felt fitting that we develop the umbrella in one of the oldest factories in France

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One of the first product collaborations that landed in the ACL Shop back when it all began was with my friend Mark McNairy on a few pairs of special English-made shoes. That was in November of 2009 and Mark has gone on to do a million different combinations for his Mark McNairy New Amsterdam collection, but one of the my favorite styles from his line was always the country brogue with the white vibram sole.

My personal style tends to lean me more towards boots than shoes, which is why I teamed up with McNairy again to make two new special styles of the aforementioned country brogues. And I have to say, Mark and I are both pretty thrilled with how the boots turned out. And so, launching today in the ACL Shop are two limited-run of Mark McNairy New Amsterdam brogue boots made exclusively for ACL & Co. The seven-eyelet brogue boots both feature a natural storm (Goodyear) welt, white Vibram soles and outdoor laces, pairing a more refined shape with more rugged details. Made in England and available now in the ACL Shop. [Mark McNairy x ACL & Co.]

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We at ACL & Co. teamed up with our designer & filmmaker friend Alexander Olch to create a small collection of repp stripe neckties and bowties for spring. The repp stripe patterns and colors are inspired by an old men’s shop catalog from the early 1960s and remade exclusively for the ACL & Co. by a mill in England. All eight different silk ties were then handmade in Alexander Olch’s factory in Brooklyn, New York to exacting standards that one has come to expect from an Alexander Olch production.

We started talking about these ties a long long time ago and are proud to finally see them be released just in time for the escapades that coincide with warmer weather. And keeping in mind those positive changes in temperature, one might even consider these ties appropriate for a drink or two on the grass by a windmill. We leave those adventures up to you. Just don’t forget us when you head to the bar. [Alexander Olch for ACL & Co.]

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The worst part about calling cards is the potential for people to actually call you. Because let’s be honest, the only time you want to see that phone number deployed is to a new lady friend. Even with that limited use we stand behind everything calling cards stand for: class, tradition, quality and of course, simplicity. With that in mind, we here at ACL teamed up with Ted Harrington and Terrapin Stationers to create an engraved Twitter calling card; finally classing up that age old “follow me on Twitter” conversation. We loved the idea of mixing such a traditional thing with something as frivolous as Twitter.

Terrapin has these on offer in its shop: $125 for a set of 100. Everything is hand engraved in New York City and you get the copper plate with the order. [Terrapin Stationers]

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As far as special products go, it was a natural for me to collaborate with Tellason on a special pair of jeans for the ACL Shop. We share similar perspectives when it comes to denim and more importantly we both possess a commitment to American manufacturing, especially when it comes to jeans.

I first met Tony Patella and Pete Searson, the founders of the brand, two years ago through a mutual friend. Tony and Pete have worked in the business for some time, but were just getting started with Tellason when our paths crossed. I was impressed with what they were doing with Tellason. It was around that same time that I interviewed Tony to help introduce Tellason to the ACL faithful.

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A while back I gave Nick Maggio one of the bags I made with the gents from Billykirk as a thank you for Nick’s help on a project I had going. Nick is generally pretty darn helpful with stuff and this bag could never have totally conveyed my eternal debt to him, but it was a good start. After Nick received the bag he told me he was gonna wash it and fuck it up a bit — something that definitely sounded intriguing. A few weeks later I followed-up to see how things turned out. Was it a success or did he really fuck things up?

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Our very own ACL & Co. canvas bags have landed in Tokyo at SHIPS, one of our all time favorite stores. The bags are for sale now (and in the window) at the Ginza outpost in you are in the area, check them out. [SHIPS 3-4-15, Ginza Chuo-ku Tokyo 104-0061 JAPAN]

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My pal Sullivan and I grabbed our bikes yesterday and took a recon mission to see my newest collaboration in store — at one of my favorite stores. Just landed at J.Crew (Liquor store, 484 Broadway, East Hampton and online) are two special canvas coal bags made under my own ACL & Co. label by old-school American maker Dandux. They make a great summer bag and will last you a lifetime. The small tote with carry strap is designed for using while biking around the city and the large coal bag is the ultimate beach bag and was a lifesaver at Brimfield. Originally designed to carry coal (hence the name), these bags are even used by the US Forest Service out West to clear trails and remove debris. [J.Crew] [ACL & Co.]

The large coal bag and small zipper bag at J.Crew 484 Broadway in NYC.

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There are certain fabrics that just can’t do any wrong by me, oxford cloth for one and of course tweed is up there, but for warmer months madras is the undeniable champion. Over the last several months I have been working with the folks at GANT on producing a special GANT Rugger “Handloom Hugger” Indian madras shirt — which launches in the ACL Shop today. We produced a small run (73 in total) of these co-labeled shirts to celebrate the 1973 birth of GANT’s Rugger collection and to celebrate our shared love of madras. Christopher Bastin, the GANT Rugger Creative Director, helped create a beautiful handloom madras specifically for ACL, and in the process created what I think is an instant classic. Christopher is someone that possesses an encyclopedic knowledge of all things Americana which made this project really enjoyable for me and our shared love of classic American menswear definitely helped in creating a good looking collaboration.

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Allow me to point your attention to the newest collaboration item that just landed in the ACL Shop. I’m the type of guy that wears oxford cloth as much as possible, so the more I spoke to Steven Alan about doing a project together the more obvious it became that we had to collaborate on an oxford shirt. Steven and I met near his TriBeCa office at Le Colombe on Church Street a few times to discuss what eventually became two co-labeled shirts done expressly for ACL & Co. The shirts combine two of my favorite things: the Steven Alan Single Needle style shirt with a little flap-pocket detail that has become known as my calling card (at least I like to think so). Basically, I had the opportunity to creative my perfect woven shirt, and I have been wearing one of these shirts (either in black or white) since the goods arrived at the office. The way I see it, if no one ever buys them I’ll be all set in the oxford department for the foreseeable future.

[Steven Alan x ACL & Co. Oxford Shirts] [Read the inspiration for the collab at The Moment]

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