a guide to heritage clothing, canvas bags, steel bicycles, and Japanese web shops
When it comes to Brady, I always shop from the robust, more-than-I-need department: body-width game bags with knotted nets and two inch web straps, rubber lined fishing bags that would fit a full salmon, and big, VW engine-sized totes (well, maybe e-bike sized). As a thought exercise, I started to explore some of the more …
Thanks to an Archival follower who conjectured that that Rivendell’s Wooly Warm sweaters might be coming from the same knitting mill as vintage, UK-made LL Bean sweaters from the mid-1980s. Both come in a a similar shade of sea foam green and resemble each other in terms of overall styling (heavy of the rib knit). …
Just spotted this wonderful, Women’s Land Army jacket at one of my favorite online vintage shops, Saunders Militaria. Here’s a description of the jacket from the site: “Without a doubt a stunning article of clothing. This deadstock (mint/ unused) pattern is dated 1943 and was designed for the Women’s Land Army as a sort of …
Yarmo is one of those brands that maintains a dual identity, manufacturing earnest, industrial workwear for the UK while producing a more fashion friendly line for the japanese market (read this 2016 UK news story for more on the history of Yarmo’s Japanese collaborations). For my stay-at-home wardrobe, I’m thinking the Yarmo duster (sometimes referred …
For women in search of handsome, unisex, heritage style footwear, look no further than the collaboration between Cheaney and Toast. John Cheaney & Sons, a Northamptonshires shoe company, produces a terrific line of handstitched, calf leather oxfords, loafers and chelsea boots. The versions made for Toast are slightly more playful in terms of colorways (navy …
Lavenham, a UK based brand specializing in custom horse rugs and quilt gillets, is everywhere these days (per Instagram). The predominant Lavenham visual in my feed is the new reversible quilt gillet designed in collaboration with Labour and Wait. Today, I spotted a fetching new collaboration between Lavenham and Narifuri (a Japanese urban fashion + …
Outside of the UK, Japan is almost the only place where I still Gansey-style sweaters on offer. Ganseys were originally designed as hard wearing (often hand knit) sweaters for fishermen and seafaring folks. Now, they primarily compliment corduroys and Birkenstocks on Japanese web shop models. Here’s a terrific cardigan model (the channel cardigan) by Le …
From eBay, a great example of a refreshing, non-minimalist clothing design: wool twill riding breeches by Hebden Cord (the now defunct country clothier from Hebden Bridge, York). I love to see clothing that deploys buttons and flaps in lieu of zippers or shaping panels to facilitate fit and max adjustability. I’m wondering about the date of manufacturer for this …
Searching for generic images for a U/X personas project, I happened upon the Exactitudes project featuring typologies of people who wear similar uniforms. My fave typology from Exactitudes is the one featuring a group identified as “farmcore.” From afar, the only thing that seems to identify someone as farmcore is wearing a Barbour jacket. Things that …
If you follow Archival, you know that we love UK-made, Brady game and fishing bags. While the brand and product line has expanded in the last few years (adding business, biking and equestrian lines, not to mention, Japan only models), the core patterns have remained relatively unchanged since this 1976 catalog. It’s a relief to know that Brady …