Five Colors, Then the Wash: Ivory, Old Money Green, Ocean Blue, Vintage Rose, Charcoal

You cannot buy these colors. Josh Sirlin on creating custom dye colors for Black Bear Brand, the garment wash that follows, and why no two pairs come out the same.

Craft, Craft & Materials, Culture, Fabric, fabric guide, Japan, materialsJosh SirlinJuly 31, 2026Comment

The Outlaw Years: When Japan Banned the Tattoo, Part Two

Japan banned the tattoo in 1872 to look civilized, and two future kings got tattooed there anyway. Josh Sirlin on the seventy six years underground.

Culture, Heritage, JapanJosh SirlinJuly 31, 2026meiji tattoo ban, japan tattoo history, irezumi banned, tattoo stigma japan, yakuza tattoo history, japanese cultureComment

Ink Before the Ban: The Tattoo in Old Japan, Part One

The samurai are not who you think. The tattooed men of Edo were firemen, laborers and gamblers. Josh Sirlin on the first chapter of the Japanese tattoo.

Culture, Heritage, JapanJosh SirlinJuly 31, 2026japanese tattoo history, irezumi history, edo period tattoo, suikoden, hikeshi firemen, tebori, japanese cultureComment

Indigo: The Oldest Blue, and Why It Fades Like Nothing Else

Indigo is the only dye that leaves on purpose. Josh Sirlin on Japanese indigo, rope dyeing, and the reason blue jeans tell you where you have been.

Black Bear Brand WOMAN, Craft, Craft & Materials, denim, Denim, Fabric, fabric guide, Japan, Style & HeritageJosh SirlinJuly 30, 2026indigo dye, aizome, japan blue, rope dyed denim, okayama denim, why denim fades, selvedge denimComment

The Milestone: What the Tollman Family Taught Me About Luxury

A hotel group named for a flower in a man's lapel, and a friendship that started with a customer buying a jacket. Josh Sirlin on the Tollmans and real luxury.

Culture, Style, travelJosh SirlinJuly 30, 2026red carnation hotels, the milestone hotel london, tollman family, brett tollman, luxury hospitality, luxury travel, josh sirlinComment

Leadership, Leading by Craft and Standard

Running Black Bear Brand taught me more about leadership than anything else in my life. Josh Sirlin on setting the standard and refusing good enough

Culture, Heritage, Style, Style & HeritageJosh SirlinJuly 29, 2026leadership, standards, ownership, craftsmanship, founder, black bear brand Author: Josh SirlinComment

What Fashion Design Really Is When You Do It Right

Most people think fashion design is sketching pretty clothes. It is not. It is problem solving. Josh Sirlin on how he designs every Black Bear Brand piece.

Craft, Craft & Materials, Culture, Fabric, Heritage, StyleJosh SirlinJuly 29, 2026fashion design, clothing design process, slow fashion, anti disposable, garment design, josh sirlinComment

Chasing the Woman You Love, and How to Win Her Heart

Chasing the woman you love is really about becoming a man worth choosing, then showing up like it every day. Josh Sirlin on presence, effort, and dressing like you mean it.

Culture, Heritage, StyleJosh SirlinJuly 28, 2026win her heart, courtship, dating for men, intentional living, dress with intention, black bear brandComment

Women’s Style and the Rise of Western Fashion for Women

Launching Black Bear Brand WOMAN is one of the proudest things I have done. Josh Sirlin on women’s style, real craft, and the biggest western moment in decades.

Women's, Style, DenimJosh SirlinJuly 28, 2026womens style, western fashion for women, womens selvedge denim, cowgirl style, boyfriend jeans, black bear brand womanComment

Clarity as a Way of Life

A clear head is the most underrated advantage a man can have. Josh Sirlin on choosing clarity, discipline, and being fully present for your own life.

Culture, Heritage, StyleJosh SirlinJuly 27, 2026sobriety, clarity, discipline, presence, intentional living, black bear brandComment

Life Skills Every Man Should Master

Self reliance is one of the deepest sources of confidence a man can have. Josh Sirlin on the short list of skills that pays off for the rest of your days.

Craft & Materials, Culture, Heritage, materials, StyleJosh SirlinJuly 27, 2026life skills for men, leather care, denim care, self reliance, practical skills, black bear brandComment

The Men’s Lifestyle Worth Building, Less but Better

The best life I know is not about having more. It is about having better, and less of it. Josh Sirlin on fewer, finer things and the rituals that hold a life together.

Categories: Style, Menswear, Culture

menswear, Style, CultureJosh SirlinJuly 26, 2026mens lifestyle, quality over quantity, capsule wardrobe, everyday essentials, intentional living, black bear brandComment

Health and Wellness, Maintaining the Machine

Health is basic maintenance of the one machine you cannot replace. Josh Sirlin on the simple habits that carry you for a lifetime, and the recovery uniform he lives in.

Culture, Heritage, menswear, StyleJosh SirlinJuly 26, 2026mens wellness, healthy lifestyle, recovery, daily habits, a life well lived, black bear brandComment

The Woman Who Started It

For years I made clothes only for men. Then a woman on a rooftop in London, and across a few days and four goodbyes, everything opened. Black Bear Brand WOMAN, in Josh Sirlin's words.

Black Bear Brand WOMAN, the storyJosh SirlinJuly 25, 2026Black Bear Brand WOMAN, womenswear, first women's line, muse, London, boyfriend jeans, Vintage Rose corduroy, storyComment

How I Started Black Bear Brand

Black Bear Brand is not a new company. It is a resurrection. Josh Sirlin on George G. Black, a forgotten Seattle name, and a decade spent bringing it back

Craft, Culture, HeritageJosh SirlinJuly 25, 2026black bear brand history, josh sirlin, george g black, seattle heritage brand, brand revival, made in seattleComment

Motorcycles and the Movies, Freedom on Two Wheels

Put a man on a bike on screen and you do not need dialogue. You already understand him. Josh Sirlin rides a 1948 Panhead, and this one is personal.

Culture, Heritage, MotorcyclesJosh SirlinJuly 25, 2026Comment

Rose Red Pocket Bags: The Details Nobody Sees But You

The pocket bags in our WOMAN jeans are rose red and nobody will ever see them. Josh Sirlin on hidden details, the Edo merchants banned from looking rich, and why the best part of a garment is the part you keep to yourself.

Craft, denim, Fabric, fabric guide, Japan, materialsJosh SirlinJuly 24, 2026hidden details clothing, iki aesthetic, edo sumptuary laws, haori lining, japanese design philosophy, selvedge denim details, black bear brand womanComment

Cowboy Fashion, From the Ranch to Right Now

Western wear is the most honest fashion America ever produced. It did not start on a runway, it started on the ranch. Josh Sirlin on cowboy style, past and present.

denim, Heritage, StyleJosh SirlinJuly 24, 2026cowboy fashion, western wear, cowboy jeans, western snap shirt, cowboy core, ranch styleComment

Denim and the Movies, How Jeans Became the Uniform of Cool

Blue jeans did not become the most iconic garment on earth by accident. They earned it on the big screen. Josh Sirlin on denim, film, and the fade that turns your life into the movie.

denim, Culture, StyleJosh SirlinJuly 24, 2026enim in movies, blue jeans history, selvedge jeans, james dean denim, marlon brando jeans, film styleComment

The Horween Leather Story, and Why I Build With It

It is not a brand you slap on a product. It is a Chicago tannery quietly setting the world standard since 1905. Josh Sirlin on Horween, and the leather he builds with.

Craft, Fabric Guide, Jackets, leather, materialsJosh SirlinJuly 23, 2026horween leather, shell cordovan, chromexcel, horsehide jacket, american tannery, chicago leatherComment