These videos from the Pendleton Woolen Mills plant in Washougal, Washington seemed especially poignant after the recent post on The Good Flock. The tour basically provides you with more than you would ever need to know about how Pendleton blankets are made. But I think the process is interesting and it is good to see the production of such an iconic American product remains stateside.
The good people at Oxxford Clothes have put together a short film documenting the process of making what many think to be America’s finest tailored clothing. If there were any question as to Oxxford’s quality and make, the company dispels all doubt with the “Anatomy of the Suit” section of its website. It seems clear that Oxxford has set the standard for making heirloom-quality-goods. I own quite a few suits, but sadly none of them are made by Oxxford. This needs to change.
Thanks to Michael for the tip.
There is really nothing like a clothing factory. And I mean clothing in the proper menswear sense of the word — suiting. It really is amazing that I haven’t visited the good people at Martin Greenfield sooner, but I never really had a good opportunity. When Tyler Thoreson and I got to talking about Gilt’s Martin Greenfield suit offering it was just the chance I was looking for. Ladies in smocks constructing jackets, sewers sitting together stitching by hand, and of course, Martin (along with his two sons) on the factory floor full of enthusiasm. Check this off my list.
You can tell this place never stops and probably hasn’t for years. (Note the GGG clock.) The floor gets layered and layered around tables and machines because there is no time to stop production and redo the worn out floor. The factory has been there so long the neighborhood went from good to bad to hipster in a blink of Martin’s eye. During their breaks, the Greenfield factory workers spill out onto the sidewalk in front of the building and mix with seemingly unemployed creative types that inhabit the post-industrial streets of Bushwick.
News of the launch of the Wolverine 1000 Mile collection first came in February of 2009. It was around that time that I met some of the people from Wolverine and wrote about the collection. Later, Wolverine invited me to a little event they put together in the city and I got a chance to meet all of the people involved in the 1000 Mile line — all good people. After that we started talking more and eventually Wolverine hired my public relations firm to help out with the 1000 Mile Collection — which has been a lot of fun. (In case you missed it, that was my full disclosure.)
A project that we have been working on over the past several months is the special edition, limited-quantity Wolverine 1000 Mile boot with the imprint 721LTD. The undertaking, which is named for the original 1000 Mile boot reference number, was pulled directly from the company’s archives from over 125 years of boot making. To celebrate the provenance of the 721LTD boots, Wolverine commissioned a film series (directed by my friend Sean Sullivan) to document the journey of these unique 1000 Mile boots. The opening chapter takes you on a pilgrimage to Chicago to visit the Horween leather company, America’s finest tannery and supplier of shell cordovan to the 721LTD 1000 Mile boots.
I’m proud and excited to share this short film with you and to take you inside Horween, a truly special place and national treasure. These kinds of projects are what it is all about for me. To work with good people like the folks at Wolverine, Sullivan and all of the people at Horween on something as legitimate as the 1000 Mile boots.
A little while back I took a trip to Randolph Engineering to check out their factory and see how the U.S. Navy aviator sunglasses are made. A few extra photos from the Massachusetts manufacturer are below, but click on over and check out the post at GQ.
The first factory tour I posted on ACL was Rocco Ciccarelli’s suit factory in Queens. Previous to that, my friend took me to a tie factory in Manhattan but that predates ACL and it was never posted. Watching the ties being made was my first foray into the spectator sport of apparel manufacturing. This week — with a trip to the Hamilton Shirts factory in Houston — I finally completed the trifecta of menswear staples: suits, shirts and ties.
The Brooklyn shop Epaulet recently took a trip up to Middleborough, Mass. to visit the factory of the venerable American shoemaker Alden to finalize the details on the shop’s new special edition Brixton boot. In addition to coming back with a great looking pair of boots, Epaulet owner Mike Kuhle and filmmaker Tom Eaton put together an interesting look at the Alden operation including the video below and a nice photo gallery. American boots and a factory tour? Sounds like a perfect Thursday to me.
Not too far into the bio on the Schott website you will find this sentence: “We are a true-blue, real-deal, piece of Americana.” It really can’t be put any better, so that is all I really need to say. A few weeks back I took a little trip out to the Schott factory in New Jersey to see the nearly 100 year old company in action. After seeing the facilities and meeting the good people from Schott, I left with a renewed sense of appreciation for a company with devotion to not only quality, but to the people and place that made them what they are. It takes a lot of sticktoitiveness to resist the call of overseas labor and continue to manufacture domestically. I also left with the feeling that my life was not complete without a perfectly worn-in Perfecto leather motorcycle jacket. Schott Bros. Inc has been making quality outerwear for motorcyclists and military men in the New York City area since 1913 when Irving Schott founded the company on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. Still to this day a family run business, Schott is doing what they do best, making a good product at a fair price. So do yourself and your fellow Americans a favor and buy a Perfecto.
