The folks at Urban Outfitters in Philly landed another mini-exclusive by scoring a few dozen of the Filson Japan red label goods, available in the U.S. for the first time. These made in the USA canvas and leather bags are being offered in two styles — tote ($150) and zippered tote ($175) — and three special colors (red, white and blue — naturally) and have a nice red Filson label on the exterior. With the khaki Filson bags being so ubiquitous, these are a nice alternative. If you can get your hands on one that is.

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At a certain point in your life you accept the fact that you need a tailor—a real tailor, who makes a suit specifically for you. It’s going to cost more than $3000, and you respect (perhaps grudgingly) the fact that that quite serious amount of money is going to a craftsman who’s learned his trade over decades; it’s going to buy cloth woven in the finest mills; it’s going to a cutter who’s refined his pattern to create a refined silhouette. Your money is not going to underwrite a luxury goods behemoth, it’s not going to anybody who appears in his own ads—it’s not going to anybody who has ads. You seek a local tailor.

That equation is simple, but difficult to achieve. That’s why New Yorkers are lucky to have Miller’s Oath in our fair city. Kirk Miller, formerly of Paul Stuart and Thom Browne, ran Barker Black with his brother, Derrick. Over the years he’s met suppliers, tailors, and methodically plotted his own venture. He opened Miller’s Oath, late last year in a handsome narrow storefront on Greenwich Street—around the corner from the beloved Ear Inn. And the results couldn’t be better.

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Yesterday the folks at New Balance launched the company’s new custom 574 program which allows you to take to the internet and create your own specially designed sneakers. Last week we tested out the system at the launch event here in New York and it worked like a snap. In fact it shockingly only took five days for the special 574s (which were sent compliments of New Balance) to show up straight from the New Balance plant in Norridgewock, Maine. In anticipation of the launch of the custom 574 program, New Balance even dispatched a guy named Jake Davis and some other guy named Sean Sullivan to Maine to document the custom make up process at the factory. You can basically design the entire shoe all the way down to the color of the big N and the custom embroidery on the back of each sneaker. The possibilities are endless. [New Balance Custom 574]

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Hickey Freeman's Paul Farrington. Note the perfect shoulder.

It wasn’t long after arriving at Hickey Freeman’s Rochester plant that I was introduced to the storied American suit-maker’s secret weapon,  Mr. Paul Farrington. Prior to meeting Mr. Farrington I had heard quite a bit about him, heard rumors of his ability to make a suit with the perfect shoulder. Before being recruited to Hickey Freeman as the chief technical designer, Farrington worked for several well respected tailoring companies including, most recently, the clothier Samuelsohn (who, from what I understand, make a good deal of Paul Stuart’s suits). When it comes to clothing, nothing is more distinctively “American” than the natural shoulder, save maybe the sack suit with a natural shoulder. It’s amazing to think that it took a Mancunian that was recruited from a Canadian company to get Hickey Freeman to make a coat with a proper natural shoulder.

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Honest handsewn shoes for an honest price, that’s the way it is done at Wassookeag. The tiny company sells a selection of moccasins that are made by hand — one at a time — by proprietor Mark Wintle in the central Maine town of Dexter. “I have only officially been handsewing my own moccasins for about six months now,” he said. “However, I have been under the direct tutelage of my father who has been handsewing shoes for over 40 years and has been making moccasins for about 25 years.”

With the growing popularity of hand sewn American-made shoes, it seems like now is as good as time as ever to get into the shoe making business. “I recently quit my high tech career, moved back to Maine — where I grew up — to start my own business, making moccasins,” says Wintle. “I thoroughly enjoy working for myself and working beside my father every day.”

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Meet your new favorite tie maker, the General Knot & Co. Started by apparel industry vet (and friend of ACL) Andrew Payne, the company just opened its virtual doors this week with its online shop filled with great looking ties made from vintage fabrics. Because General Knot & Co. is using mostly deadstock materials, the quantities are limited on each style. So if you see something you like, better to act on those instincts or it could be gone.

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Home to corporate juggernauts like Kodak and Xerox, Rochester, New York has a rich industrial history. In addition to some of America’s largest companies, the city is also quietly home to Hickey Freeman, one of the country’s oldest and last surviving (and arguably one of the best) clothiers. Founded in 1899 by Jeremiah Hickey and Jacob Freeman, the company is still at it, making suits in their sprawling 77,000 square foot factory in Rochester. Having been to several other clothing factories in the U.S., I have been interested in paying a visit to Hickey Freeman for the past several years. I wanted to see firsthand the quality of the Hickey Freeman full canvas construction. Needless to say, when I finally got the opportunity to see the operation I was not disappointed.

The factory in Rochester ranks up there as one of the most well organized I have ever seen. Wait, I should clarify that last statement a little bit. Hickey Freeman’s plant is one of the most well organized clothing factories that I have come across in the U.S. Allen Edmonds also has a pretty amazing production facility in Wisconsin that I have toured. There aren’t a lot of clothing companies still operating in the U.S., which is why it is interesting to see how advanced the Hickey Freeman process and facilities are. Everything is clean, well organized and modern. And all of this in the same building the company was founded in. Pretty amazing if you ask me. All of the garments move through the production line on special trays that the company has produced especially for its needs. In most clothing factories pieces and parts are bundled. You will notice in the photos that special care is given at every step to preserve the desired shape of the clothing as it snakes its way through the process. This example just illustrates the care and attention that goes into making a Hickey Freeman suit.

Another thing that stood out to me about the factory is the diversity of the work force, something that is also unrivaled at any facility I have been to previously. The plant manager told me they have workers from 17 different countries under one roof. It literally is the closest thing to a melting pot that I have ever seen working together. And everyone is working toward one common goal, to make fine tailored goods.

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It is that time of year when the real anticipation starts to take hold, anticipation for stuff that doesn’t come out for months. To that end, allow me to introduce to you to some nice looking (“tasty” as my buddy Mr. Aaron Levine would say) boots from the Red Wing North America AW11 collection. Just a little sneak peek of what’s to come.

Red Wing 8881 in Olive Mohave

Red Wing 8881 in Olive Mohave

Red Wing 8881 in Olive Mohave

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A few weeks back I headed up north for a weekend of rest and relaxation amongst nature. The trip coincided with some seriously severe weather and as much rain as I have ever seen in New York City. The FDR turned into a few miles of standing water that must have been about two feet deep at some points. Not exactly what you want to drive through at five in the morning. Eventually we made it up to Maine most of the rain had all but subsided by the time we stopped in Kennebunk to visit the folks at Ramblers Way, the Maine-based clothing maker and the its Rambouillet sheep farm. The Maine farm produces a portion of the fine rambouillet wool that Ramblers Way eventually will have processed into fabric, organically dyed and then eventually sewn (in Fall River, mass.) into a line of super-fine worsted wool garments.

Ramblers Way was founded by Tom and Kate Chappell — the same people that started the Tom’s of Maine in 1970 — with the mission to produce a collection of wool apparel that is comfortable, natural and entirely sourced / produced in the United States. That’s how I was first introduced to the brand actually, through research on domestic manufactures for The American List.

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This past summer I took a trip to visit the Horween tannery in Chicago. The purpose of the trip was to document the process of making shell cordovan for Wolverine. (Full disclosure, Wolverine is a client of my marketing firm Paul + Williams.) The cordovan would eventually be used in the making of the newly released Wolverine 1000 Mile 721LTD boots. To be able to go out there, see the Horween plant and document everything was really an amazing experience. To follow the process of making these special (and damn-good-looking in my totally-unbiased-opinion) boots was definitely the highlight of my summer and something I am really proud to have been a part of. While the cameras were rolling I tagged along shooting hundreds of photos of Horween, which up until now, have been sitting in a folder on my computer. With the boots just landing in stores I feel like it is time to show you all some of my favorites from Horween. (I also have a photo series from the factory where the boots were made. Standy by for that.) I can say for certain that the legend of Horween is 100% real and was something experienced first hand with them this summer in Chicago. You’d be hard pressed to find better people. They remind me of the folks back home in Ohio — salt of the earth.

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The ambitious and entirely-American-made U.S. Patent collection just landed in Orvis stores yesterday and I headed up to the Manchester, VT outfitter’s shop on New York’s Fifth Avenue to see the goods first hand. Orvis has long been a favorite of mine and it is the first large retailer (that I am aware of) make such a dedicated push with strictly made in the USA product, which is obviously something I am very excited to see happen. The merchandise mix is made up of companies like Taylor Supply, Grown & Sewn, Stronghold, Schott NYC, Filson, Temple Bags, Wolverine 1000 Mile, Rising Sun, Gitman and a host of other American labels. The U.S. Patent collection is available at the top six Orvis stores (New York, Chicago, Manchester, VT etc.), as well as in the company’s ubiquitous catalog. And word from Orvis is that the sales have far exceeded expectations and the U.S. Patent collection will be expanded in coming seasons. That is great news for everyone involved. [Orvis U.S. Patent available online + at select Orvis stores]

Taylor Supply's Christophe Hascoat.

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I’ve been know to own a bag or two. A guy needs to keep his gear properly stowed, especially living in New York City where you constantly need to tote your “tackle” around town. Enter Goruck, the new maker of bad ass black ballistic nylon bags that pack all the toughness (and quality) of mil-spec gear, but designed with civilians in mind. Jack Barley and Jason McCarthy (a fellow Ohioian — hat tip) founded Goruck to improve upon existing military issue packs. McCarthy in particular has first hand experience with such equipment through his service in the special forces.

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