Our pal Jason found a pair of these pants in the back of a hardware store. We were thrilled to find out that Earl’s Apparel is still going strong, making durable clothing in Crockett, TX. Easily the same quality as similar fatigue pants that cost far more, Earl’s fatigues are made from a super comfortable mid-weight 100% cotton sateen. Features include metal fly zip, patch pockets front and rear, and lots of reinforcements to ensure a long life. These trousers have a comfortable fit, and fit true to size – please compare the measurements in our store with pants you already own and love. Available now in the Archival store.
OK, if you want to really learn the Carhartt ropes you should be over at 10engines right now (above image lifted from there). James has an almost worrisomely complete Optic.
Just got a few lovely deadstock lids, see above, from another Carhartt wunderkind, Jason of Wilderness Workshop. Reminded me to put up a couple of my old favorites.
Bequested double-front work pants, new in the 1980s, handed down from one CnT generation to the next. I got ’em for a few years and added quite a few scars and patches. Above: raising frame on an AT privy in 2006 with friend Ira.
One of my favorites. Centennial edition chore coat, blanket-lined. Thrifted a long time ago, in a thrift store far far away.
The fit got baggy in the mid-1990s and then it all went offshore… such a shame. Britches of choice for the lacrosse and hockey frats back in college, for better or worse. Love that sturdy dry duck.
I got the chance to preview the Dickies 1922 Fall 2011 line this week. We reviewed the first edition of Dickies 1922 trousers very favorably, saying that our only hitch was the historically accurate fit – a boon to some, but undesirably wide to others. Well, Dickies has answered our prayers in their Fall 2011 1922 Heritage collection. They’ve introduced a Regular fit and a Slim Straight fit trouser while keeping the beautiful Cramerton twill, impeccable construction, and domestic manufacture. I continue to be very impressed with this line.
They’re broadening the line with more shirting, including a knock-out Japanese striped Chambray, and a couple of handsome jackets – all still made in their Uvalde, TX factory.
I had the chance to talk with a designer at Dickies about the development of the 1922 collection. Sounds like most of the patterning was supervised by a certain Mr. Gennaro, who came out of retirement to help out with nailing the historic details.
It was fascinating to look through historic images in the showroom. Please send contributions to fund my pilgrimage to the Dickies archive and factory in Texas.
I’m hoping to do a more thorough in-person review of the new pants and shirts; please stay tuned. If we’re pleased with the new models, would anyone want us to carry a selection in our web store?
Finally, please consider buying a pair of limited edition Detroit 874 Work pants – they’re only $50, made in the USA, and for each pair bought, another will be sent to the Salvation Army of Detroit.
Editor’s Note: Friend Tom B. also hails from Eugene, and went to college in rural New Hampshire where he started building timber frame buildings. He seems to be more proud of his Forest Service chainsaw certification than his architecture degree. I’ve brought him in as a guest blogger to highlight some stylish, alternative, often budget work wear brands and stockists. Tom’s first entry deals with Labonville, a manufacturer and retailer of “Logging Supplies and Safety Apparel.”
I was introduced to Labonville through the outing club at my college. The college’s forestry team was a major patron of the store; they placed massive orders for wool jackets in the school’s colors.
Labonville provides perfect material for the logger’s wardrobe. Walk into a Filson store and you may feel like you’re in a boutique. Visit Labonville and you enter the world of the working logger. The clothing available is affordable, functional and plain. There’s less of an obsession with traditional materials, although you will find traditional products such as wool cape coats and Malone wool pants. I’d like to put forth the argument that Labonville—and similar retailers — offer excellent basic garments that complement other showpiece brands like Filson. Cruising the L-Ville site, you can find garments so archetypal, so familiar, that they play like a tired cliché that you must acknowledge is true: pancakes are mighty flat, it is better safe than sorry, and Traditional Dickies Work Pants are very close to being the Perfect Pant.
It’s stating the obvious, but the Dickies pant is so cheap, durable, and neutral that it serves as an ideal daily driver. Thousands of delivery drivers, cooks, and painters can’t be wrong. As for the coverall—it’s less suited for daily wear than the Dickies pants, but it’s still a lovely example of cheap and lasting garb.
Carhartt has been done to death, but the fact remains that, like Dickies, the company does make some superb clothing. Their canvas pants, when combined with good boots, a hickory shirt, and a baseball cap, anchor a comfortable and durable get-up that does the trick for more abrasive work.
Labonville also has a house-brand line of clothing, with real winners such as their classic plaid coat, as well as a nylon bomber-type vest and several brilliant logger boots:
Remember: Filson tin cloth (fabric of penance) is now the official fabric of Mondays. Plausible simulations/substitutions by Carhartt and Mcalister will also be accepted. Bonus points for newly waxed garments or those sporting double layers of tin fabric (like my double tin pants).
