Sailors noticed that wet sails pulled better, and a cloth was born out of it. Josh Sirlin on the history of waxed cotton and the Black Bear Brand wax canvas jackets.

Craft & Materials, Fabric, Fabric Guide, Heritage, jackets, made in usa, outerwearJosh SirlinSeptember 13, 2026waxed canvas, waxed cotton history, wax canvas jacket, quilted jacket, mens outerwear, black bear brand jacketsComment

The Fisherman Sweater and the Cable That Made It Famous

The Aran sweater is younger than the legend around it, and the true story is better. Josh Sirlin on cables, ganseys, and the Black Bear Brand merino fisherman sweater.

knits, Style & Heritage, outdoors, materials, Fabric Guide, Craft & MaterialsJosh SirlinSeptember 10, 2026fisherman sweater, aran sweater history, cable knit sweater, merino wool sweater, mens knitwear, black bear brand sweaterComment

Why Wool Owns the Fall

Wool works wet, holds a shape for decades, and gets better looking as it goes. Josh Sirlin on the fall jacket, on tweed, and on the three that get woven for us each year in Scotland.

Craft & Materials, Craft, Culture, Fabric, Fabric Guide, harris tweed, JacketsJosh SirlinSeptember 9, 2026wool jacket, fall jacket, harris tweed, tweed jacket, mens outerwear, wool crimp warmth, autumn style, black bear brandComment

The Lining Nobody Sees

Cupro is made from the fuzz left on a cotton seed. Josh Sirlin on the quietest luxury in a coat and why ours is made in Japan.

Culture, Craft, Craft & Materials, Fabric Guide, Jackets, JapanJosh SirlinSeptember 7, 2026cupro lining, what is cupro, cuprammonium, coat lining fabric, japanese fabric, luxury details, black bear brandComment

The Color Goes In Before the Yarn

A plain Harris Tweed is never one color. Josh Sirlin on fibre dyeing, blending to a recipe, and why the cloth changes as the light moves.

harris tweed, Style & Heritage, Heritage, Fabric Guide, CraftJosh SirlinSeptember 3, 2026harris tweed colors, fibre dyed wool, dyed in the wool, harris tweed jacket, scottish wool, outer hebrides, black bear brandComment

The Parts of a Shirt Nobody Names

Yoke, placket, gauntlet, gusset, interlining. Josh Sirlin on the vocabulary of a shirt, and on which of those parts actually tell you what you are holding.

Craft, Craft & Materials, Culture, Fabric Guide, HeritageJosh SirlinAugust 31, 2026parts of a shirt, split yoke, placket, gauntlet button, gusset, collar interlining, shirt construction, mens shirts, black bear brandComment

Four Sheepskins to a Jacket

A size medium takes four long curl sheepskins and one full day of one craftsman's hands. Josh Sirlin on shearling, on horsehide, and on the Northern Dream.

Craft & Materials, Culture, Fabric Guide, leather, Style & HeritageJosh SirlinAugust 26, 2026shearling jacket, curly lambskin, long curl sheepskin, horsehide jacket, horween leather, winter jacket, made in seattle, northern dream, black bear brandComment

How to Store Clothes Through the Off Season

Moths do not eat clean wool. They cannot. Josh Sirlin on what actually eats your sweaters, what cedar does and does not do, and how to put a wardrobe away properly.

Craft & Materials, Culture, Fabric, Fabric Guide, materials, Style & HeritageJosh SirlinAugust 23, 2026clothes moths, storing wool, cedar closet, seasonal clothing storage, garment care, protecting sweaters, black bear bran, black bear brandComment

Wool, Measured in Microns

Wool does not itch because it is wool. It itches because of a number. Josh Sirlin on micron counts, the prickle threshold, and why the coarser fibers are not the lesser ones.

Craft & Materials, Fabric, Fabric Guide, Heritage, materialsJosh SirlinAugust 22, 2026wool micron count, merino wool, lambswool, shetland wool, cashmere microns, itchy wool, tweed, black bear brandComment

The Henley Started on a River

It was underwear, then it was a rowing uniform, then it was a shirt. Josh Sirlin on the Henley, the waffle knit, and why a garment dyed thermal is worth the extra step.

Culture, Craft & Materials, Fabric, Fabric Guide, HeritageJosh SirlinAugust 16, 2026henley shirt history, henley on thames, waffle knit thermal, thermal henley, shell buttons, garment dyed, mens style, black bear brandComment

The Morning the Jacket Comes Off the Hook

There is one morning every August when the air turns. Josh Sirlin on the jean jacket coming off the hook, the white tee under it, and the tweed waiting after October.

Why a Heavy Sweatshirt Is Hard to Get Right

The sweatshirt began as a fix for an itchy football jersey in 1926. Josh Sirlin on terry, weight, that little V at the collar, and making one entirely in the United States.

Craft & Materials, Culture, Fabric Guide, HeritageJosh SirlinAugust 13, 2026sweatshirt history, french terry, heavyweight sweatshirt, 30oz terry, garment dyed sweats, made in usa, v notch collar, black bear brandComment

Pink Was a Man's Color First

For two hundred years pink meant money and power, and men wore it without thinking twice. Josh Sirlin on how a color changed sides, and on making a rose you cannot get anywhere else.

Culture, Craft & Materials, Fabric Guide, Heritage, StyleJosh SirlinAugust 10, 2026history of pink, pink in menswear, why is pink a girls color, men wearing pink, color history, vintage rose, corduroy, black bear brandComment

What Ounces Really Mean

Weight is the number everyone quotes and almost nobody understands. Josh Sirlin on ounces, grams, and what a fabric weight can and cannot tell you.

Craft & Materials, denim, Fabric Guide, Fabric, Heritage, materialsJosh SirlinAugust 9, 2026fabric weight, oz per square yard, gsm, denim weight, 13oz selvedge, heavyweight terry, corduroy weight, black bear brandComment

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

Why Japanese Made Goods Are the Best in the World

It is not marketing. It is a way of thinking that treats a thing as never quite finished. Josh Sirlin on Okayama, Japanese craft, and why he builds his denim there.

denim, Craft & Materials, Fabric Guide, Heritage, Japan, Japan & CultureJosh SirlinJuly 22, 2026japanese made goods, okayama denim, kojima denim, selvedge denim, japanese craftsmanship, shuttle loomComment

The 30oz Terry: The Heaviest Sweatshirt You Will Ever Own

Most sweatshirts are ten ounces and gone in a year. Ours is thirty, made in the USA and cut and sewn in Seattle. Josh Sirlin on why weight matters.

Craft & Materials, Fabric Guide, HeritageJosh SirlinJuly 19, 2026heavyweight sweatshirt, 30oz terry, made in usa hoody, garment dyed, loopback terry, black bear brand sweatsComment

The Story of Vintage Rose: How We Made a Color

Not pink, not beige, a dusty worn-in rose that looks like it already has a history. Josh Sirlin on how we mixed the Black Bear Brand original, Vintage Rose.

corduroy, fabric guide, Fabric Guide, Women's, Craft & MaterialsJosh SirlinJuly 16, 2026vintage rose, black bear brand color, women’s corduroy, boy friend cords, black bear brand woman, color storyComment

Summer Style Without Giving Up Your Standards

Heat is where most wardrobes fall apart into cheap synthetics. Josh Sirlin on how to stay cool in real clothes — linen, slub, open weaves, and shorts with dignity.

Fabric, Fabric Guide, Style, Style & HeritageJosh SirlinJuly 13, 2026summer fashion men, summer style, linen shirt, slub cotton, men's shorts, warm weather style, black bear brandComment

The Rare Looms of Okayama: The Lost Art Behind the World's Best Denim

In a small corner of Japan, a handful of artisans keep vintage shuttle looms alive — machines the rest of the world scrapped. Inside the lost art that makes the finest denim on earth.

Craft, Denim, Fabric, Fabric Guide, Heritage, JapanJosh SirlinJuly 11, 2026okayama denim, kojima japan, vintage shuttle looms, selvedge denim, rope dyeing indigo, lost art denim, japanese denim, black bear brandComment