[Thanks Brian]
On the New Haven Line
Take the train from Grand Central to New Haven and go straight to J. Press at 262 York Street. A few years ago I had the great pleasure of working for the company (sort of a dream come true at the time) and I would occasionally make the trip up to New Haven or Cambridge for business. When we went to Yale we would go by the Yankee Doodle and have hamburgers. The great part of the J. Press store in New Haven was the fact that it still exists. The New York store sort of moved around and never felt perfect (even when it was around the corner from 346 on 44th Street), but New Haven always felt right. In the store there would be nary a student in sight — save maybe someone on an errand for a school boy scarf during the colder months or a guy in need of a repp tie.
The clientele has aged with the company, but the bones of the brand are still there. And never call it preppy. J. Press is “Ivy League style,” because this isn’t prep school. The sack suit is like acid in the eyes of “the kids,” a name my friends and I have for the younger style-set that don’t necessarily get J. Press. I’m not yet an old man, but I have a certain fondness for the sack — even if it is unflattering. I like the natural shoulder too, because that’s about as American as it gets. Like most things, many feel that J. Press isn’t the same chap he was 10, 20, 30, 40, 50 years ago — though some still swear by it. Likely, more the former than the latter. The Japanese have owned it for years and years, but still Press carries on. You can’t say that about a lot of companies or clothing lines. When you think about it, many a mighty brand have fallen and disappeared during Press’s watch. Even the Doodle is gone, as is Mory’s…yet Press persists.
J. Press founder Jacobi Press in New Haven, Conn.
Levi’s Workwear by Filson | The Oregon Fire Lines
The folks at Levi Strauss & Co. teamed up with Filson to release a small capsule collection of collaboration workwear. It’s an intriguing project on a few levels; one being that both companies are storied and rugged American brands. The other lies in the fact that Filson doesn’t just collaborate with anyone. To go along with the co-branded goods (which I think have been very well thought out), Levi’s tapped Vice to make a short film about the people from the Grayback Forestry Company in Medford, Oregon, who battle Forest fires for a living. It is my feeling that the documentary adds an interesting dimension to an already appealing project. Expect a few more interesting collaborations from the LS&CO in the coming months.
Further reading: Levi’s x Filson at A Conversation on Cool and The U.S. Forest Service on ACL
Feelin’ No Pain
This is either something you get or you don’t. I know I sure get it. Give me an open road or a few cold ones, either way this music will have me feeling no pain. This past weekend I spent about 17 hours driving and this was my co-pilot. When it came down to it, I could have kept going for a long time. 100% pure Americana right here — enjoy.
WAYLON
HAGGARD
Paris, Texas
Visually, Paris, Texas could be the most American movie ever. I don’t even think the Texas tourism board could make the state look any better than these filmmakers did. Funny thing is, the picture was made by a bunch of Europeans. I suppose people get a better perspective of something when they are on the outside looking in. What’s amazing about this 1984 film is the enduring nature of the style — especially with what is happening in the world today. Worth a watch for inspiration alone. Some of my favorite looks below. [Paris, Texas at the Criterion Collection]
Extra Good Vintage
Tucked at the end of Extra Place — an alley off of Bowery — sits New York’s coolest new shop Extra. If you don’t take care and pay special attention the shop can be difficult to find, but it is certainly worth it. To be honest, when I saw the address for the first time I didn’t even think it was in Manhattan. The shop’s proprietor is a very nice man named Koji Kusakabe who’s a long time (and much respected) vintage hunter. This fact becomes very obvious when you step foot in the modest space and see all of the treasures that are on offer. In addition to a whole host of vintage gems and collectibles, Koji stocks new goods from Engineered Garments and Post Overalls. The man has a knack for vintage and workwear, it’s a beautiful thing.
Brimfield in the Summertime Part II
Earlier we saw the people, now you can see all of the good stuff out at Brimfield. This is what makes it worth fighting the heat.
Vintage Car Culture + Chet Baker = Heaven
America’s Oldest Tent Maker | Armbruster Mfg Co.
Founded in 1875 in Springfield, Illinois, the Armbruster Manufacturing Co. is America’s oldest tent maker. As you can see from the building in the above archival photo, the company started out as a canvas goods and upholstery shop but eventually came to specialize in tent making. Armbruster was also a supplier to the U.S. military during WWII — which is how I came to discover them. I was looking to buy an authentic WWII tent, of all things. I considered buying an old original, but didn’t really want to deal with the smell of such an artifact. The good news is, Armbruster is remaking a variety of WWII olive drab canvas tents on the exact same equipment as it did in the 1940s — that is definitely the best-of-both-worlds.
THE 1940′s TVA IN COLOR
At some point during my adventure to The Shoals with Mr. Billy Reid someone mentioned that the Tennessee Valley Authority was based in the area, which made sense considering the Wilson dam and its lake that we relaxed on.
I remember the TVA from high school history class, though I have to admit I never thought much about it. When I got back to NYC after my trip to Alabama I started to read-up on the subject and I learned a lot. And it wasn’t until recently that I became aware of the role of the TVA during WWII.
Mr. Billy Reid: King of the South
The Billy Reid design space and office. Photo via Mr. Brandon Capps
Over the past two years, Billy Reid (the man and the company), have organized a party dubbed “The Shindig” which takes place during the first weekend of June at the company’s home-base of Florence, Alabama. The booze soaked weekend is a combination of good food, music, nice people and of course good looking clothes. Basically, all I could ever ask for. The party was so much fun it took me a month to actually say anything about it and put this post together.
If you have ever been to Northwest Alabama, it is the picture of laid-back, down-home Southern living. The type of living I could get used to. A group of six of us took a big plane from New York to Atlanta, then a tiny wobbly-scare-the-shit-out-of-you-propeller-plane straight into the Northwest Alabama Regional Airport. As you can imagine it is not a massive airport (on our way home we arrived about 10 minutes before our flight departed), but it gets the job done. The airport serves “The Shoals,” an area made up by four cities: Muscle Shoals, Florence, Sheffield, and Tuscumbia. Prior to Mr. Reid’s arrival to the area and subsequent American-fashion-domination, the Shoals were most famous for The Swampers (who are known for a song or two) and all of the the music that has been recorded at Fame Studios.
