Cold Is Coming

Cold Is Coming… Get Ready

Fall is here. The light in Seattle went flat and gold and the mornings have an edge on them now. Winter is next. The holidays are around the corner.

This is my season. Everything I like most about making clothes happens in a coat. The cloth gets heavier, the lining starts to matter, the collar has a job to do. A jacket has to earn its place in a cold month and you find out fast whether you got it right.

So here is what is hanging in the room right now.

Harris Tweed

Three new tweeds this fall. The Midnight Glen Tartan came first, as a western jacket. The Wildflower Tartan chore coats, his and hers, release October 22. The Moss Fire Tartan zip coat comes in December.

Harris Tweed is pure virgin wool. It is dyed, spun and finished in the Outer Hebrides, and islanders weave it by hand at home. Ours is woven special for us, and there is only so much of it. The chore coats are lined in black diamond quilting made in Japan, with our own YKK donut button and our YKK snaps, and a COMMANDER tag at the inner neck. Every one is sewn in Seattle.

The Golden Tartan chore coat, the Psychedelic Blue Tartan western jacket, the Sky Blue Tartan zip coat and the STONEWALL Ranch Coat are all still here too.

Wool

The HUNTER Green peacoat is 14.7oz wool in a color we created with the mill, produced specially for Black Bear Brand in the Aichi-Ichinomiya area of Japan. The lining is black Cupra, also made in Japan. The original peacoat is still here beside it.

Then the melton wool western jacket, in black and in heavy stone grey. Melton is a quiet favorite of mine for a cold city. It takes wind out of the air and it looks better the more you wear it.

Denim

The ONE Jean Jacket, which is named for the one pocket. Gen-2 in raw indigo, the Sun Washed, and the charcoal. Selvedge denim, woven for us in Okayama. A jean jacket is the layer I reach for nine months of the year and then wear under something heavier for the other three.

And the one I am still not over. The Long Curly Lamb and Botanical Indigo Denim winter coat. Botanical indigo selvedge denim, deep and dark, with long curly lambskin and a collar that is wild and warm. One of one. There is no second.

Leather

The Northern Dream jacket preorder opened Tuesday. Horween veg tanned horsehide, lined in long curl lambskin from northern British Columbia, with our own diamond quilting in the sleeves made in Japan and our YKK snaps. Made in Seattle, where one craftsman spends a full day on one jacket. There is a tea dyed version as well.

The reversible vests come out of the same two materials, horsehide one way and long curl lambskin the other, in standard, tea dyed, and a WOMAN cut.

And the roughout COMMANDER jackets. Horween horsehide, roughout, cut like a shirt. Roughout, rough out and rough-out all mean the same thing, and COMMANDER is what people call the shape. The preorder windows for the leather come three or four times a year. Between them there is no way to get one, which is just how it is with leather this good.

Sweaters

Two of them, both knit in northern Japan.

The Cable Knit Fisherman is 100% Rocky Mountain Merino, worsted spun, gauge 5, in our own cable design, in navy. Bulky and soft at the same time, which is harder to get than it sounds.

The Psychedelic Dream is merino too, in greens and purples and blues, with several gauges spun together so the knit comes out soft, light and dense all at once. It is tipped out in contrasting color. It is the most fun thing I have made in yarn.

Both carry the Heritage green label at the back neck. Both are a good answer to the holidays.

Your turn

Which one are you reaching for first when it really gets cold? Write me. I read them all.

Have a nice day. I mean that.

josh

SHOP THE STORY

WILDFLOWER Harris Tweed Chore Coat, his

WOMAN WILDFLOWER Harris Tweed Chore Coat, hers

Harris Tweed MIDNIGHT GLEN Tartan Western Jacket

GOLDEN Harris Tweed Chore Coat

Harris Tweed PSYCHEDELIC BLUE Tartan Western Jacket

SKY BLUE Harris Tweed Tartan Zip Coat