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

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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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A fine collection of gentlemen and an equally delightful selection of leather shoes. The Juggernaut that is Engineered Garments teamed up with one Mark McNairy on a second capsule collection of English made shoes centered around the classic longwing shape. The collaboration consists of four co-labeled styles (even the way the shoes were labeled is fun; the Engineered Garments logo stamped directly on top of the Mark McNairy New Amsterdam mark right in the footbed) in two colors (black and brown), which will hit stores this coming fall (I shall start saving up now). Check out the chukka longwing and the upland boot longwing in pebble grain — both competing for the title as my favorite.

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Last night the gentlemen from Odin and Duckie Brown held a small cocktail party to toast their new collaborative men’s line Edward. The capsule collection, which was on display at the gathering, is a desirable mix of goods that would fit any modern man’s wardrobe. From the fatigue green waxed M-65 jacket to the woven shirts with their micro-collars (as Eddy Chai described them), Edward is firing on all cylinders. And the best part about the modest 17 piece collection is the value for money. Nothing in the Edward range retails for over 500 bucks and all of it is made in America. So tell me, who can’t use a new pea coat for fall, or a nice tweed sport coat? And anything military inspired in waxed canvas just goes without saying. The good news is you won’t have to wait five months to get this stuff, actually you won’t even have to wait until the announced November 1st drop. Our sources tell us the line will be in Odin stores this coming weekend. If you head by look for us, we’ll be in line.

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With the first Barbour Beacon fall collection just hitting stores, Japanese designer Tokihito Yoshida rolls on with another fantastically designed collection of outerwear from the venerable English brand. The new offerings compliment the main Barbour line perfectly, but the Beacon coats are just unique enough to be really desirable without taking anything away from the core collection. That is the tough part of collaborating with such a well known and revered brand like Barbour, making the collaboration product unique but not too too crazy. Mr. Yoshida walks that line wonderfully and every piece of both the AW09 and SS10 Beacon lines are worthy of my closet. I’ll be bold and say that this is the best designer-brand collaboration going right now — well played by all involved. Wondering what you should be wearing next spring? See below.

Wax Bicycle Jacket | $749

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How can you improve on an iconic shoe? That is exactly what Mark McNairy was tasked with when creating his new co-labeled collection of Bass Weejuns. Obviously the shoes had to be made in Maine and from high quality materials like Horween Shell Cordovan and real alligator. And naturally the shoes had to have a twist. What Mr. McNairy (who is also the J. Press creative director and has his own English made shoe collection under his name) accomplished is nothing short of genius. Granted I’m biased, but there is not one pair of shoes in his collection that I don’t want to steal. When I first found out about the new collection I was so happy that Mark was going to be designing everything — I couldn’t think of a better man for the job. What is pictured below is about one fifth of the special Weejuns collection. (The full range will be at Capsule next week if you are a store and want to buy / see the line. The shoes hit retailers come SS10.)

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There are a lot of options out there for canvas sneakers these days. Seeing as I tend to be resistant to change, I have continued to buy and wear Sperry Stripers. The one brand that has caught my eye and made me want to update my footwear game is California’s SeaVees. The company recently collaborated with industry color specialists on a special group of simple Pantone inspired designs. Ironically the new Pantone White release — which celebrates the Summer solstice — is devoid of all color. Just like I like it.

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Anyone that has ever bought vintage Patagonia knows the value and difficulty in finding the much loved 80s big label variety. As it turns out, the eBay monopoly is about to end. The coveted (by American and Japanese alike) and colorful Synchilla jackets are being re-released in mid-October through a collaboration with Urban Outfitters. The brightly-hued fleece is revived with two different styles, a pullover model and a zip-up version. The new jackets are said to be more slim-fitting than the regular Patagonia, and will most likely be in the same price range as the current stock. Sounds like a win-win to me.

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