The Northern Dream Jacket Starts With the Hide

Before the lambskin, the quilting and the snaps, there is the hide. Josh Sirlin on Horween horsehide and where the Northern Dream jacket begins.

Craft & Materials, Heritage, Fabric Guide, Jackets, made in usa, Style, leatherJosh SirlinOctober 9, 2026northern dream jacket, horween horsehide, horsehide jacket, shearling jacket, long curl lambskin, leather jacket, vegetable tanned leather, made in usa, black bear brand, josh sirlinComment

The Jacket on the Screen: Movie Stars and the Clothes That Stayed

Brando, Dean, and McQueen made a few pieces of clothing immortal. Josh Sirlin on film style and the stars who wear the Black Bear Brand Rough-RIDER commander jacket now.

Culture, jackets, leather, StyleJosh SirlinOctober 7, 2026movie star style, brando leather jacket, james dean style, steve mcqueen style, robert patrick, commander jacket, roughout leather jacket, horsehide jacket, celebrity style, black bear brandComment

Leadership Is Standing Next to the Best

Shackleton brought every man home. A chain stitch artist has given twenty five years to one craft. Josh Sirlin on leadership, craftsmanship, and the ART Edition varsity jacket.

The Clear-Headed Generation

Only 54 percent of Americans drink, a Gallup record low. Josh Sirlin on choosing sobriety, clear mornings, the details a clear head sees, and the waffle knit thermal henley.

Culture, menswear, StyleJosh SirlinOctober 5, 2026sobriety, sober curious, sober men, alcohol free lifestyle, gallup drinking poll, dry january, clarity, morning routine, thermal henley, josh sirlinComment

Athletes Who Could Wear Anything

AJ Barner caught the first touchdown of Super Bowl LX. Jagger Eaton holds two Olympic medals. Josh Sirlin on athletes, fitness, movement, and the INFORMAL Pant.

Culture, menswear, StyleJosh SirlinOctober 4, 2026aj barner, jagger eaton, super bowl lx, olympic skateboarding, athlete style, fitness, exercise, skate pants, informal pant, black bear brandComment

The Name Was Waiting: Josh Sirlin on Bringing Back Black Bear Brand

A Seattle name from the turn of the twentieth century had gone quiet. Thirteen years ago Josh Sirlin brought it back. The story, the method, and the Original LOGO T.

Culture, Heritage, StyleJosh SirlinOctober 2, 2026josh sirlin, black bear brand history, george g black, seattle brand, brand revival, black bear means long wear, american brand, black bear brand japan, original logo tComment

The Skills You Only Learn by Going

A cattle drive from a motorcycle seat, eight years with a Tokyo tattoo master, skydives in Panama. Josh Sirlin on men's lifestyle and the life skills you only learn by going.

Craft, menswear, Style, travelJosh SirlinSeptember 30, 2026life skills for men, mens lifestyle, adventure, cattle drive, motorcycle trip, horitoshi, harris tweed chore coat, josh sirlin, black bear brandComment

The Fisherman Sweater: A True Story Better Than the Legend

The clan pattern legend is not true. What really happened is better. Josh Sirlin on the Aran sweater, why wool owns the cold, and a merino fisherman sweater knit in northern Japan.

Craft, Culture, Heritage, StyleJosh SirlinSeptember 27, 2026fisherman sweater, aran sweater history, cable knit sweater, merino wool sweater, winter fashion men, winter style, knit in japan, josh sirlin, black bear brandComment

The Peacoat, and a Green I Made

A vintage coat worn for a decade, refined until there was nothing left to argue with. Josh Sirlin on the peacoat, on the custom hunter green, and on September 22.

Craft & Materials, Fabric, jackets, Heritage, outerwear, Style, Style & HeritageJosh SirlinSeptember 20, 2026peacoat, wool peacoat, hunter green peacoat, melton wool coat, made in japan coat, anchor buttons, mens outerwear, black bear brandComment

The Art of Chainstitching

One thread, one needle, one hand turning a crank under the table. Josh Sirlin on the 1865 machine that still cannot be improved on, and on four days of stitching one jacket.

Craft & Materials, Culture, Heritage, Jackets, Japan & Culture, StyleJosh SirlinSeptember 16, 2026chain stitch embroidery, chainstitch, cornely machine, moss stitch, chenille, varsity jacket embroidery, hand guided embroidery, black bear brandComment

The Peacoat, in Hunter Green

Josh Sirlin wore one vintage peacoat for more than ten years, then made the one he actually wanted. A first look at the Hunter Green, a custom color worked out with the mill, releasing September 22.

Craft & Materials, Culture, design, Fabric, Heritage, jackets, StyleJosh SirlinSeptember 10, 2026peacoat, hunter green, japanese wool, aichi ichinomiya, anchor buttons, made in japan, custom color, tokyo pop up, black bear brandComment

Seattle Is a Coat Town

Less rain than New York, spread over twice as many days. Josh Sirlin on what Seattle weather does to a wardrobe, and why our coats are made here.

Heritage, outdoors, Jackets, Style, Style & HeritageJosh SirlinSeptember 5, 2026seattle style, pacific northwest fashion, made in seattle, rain jacket wool coat, seattle weather clothing, black bear brandComment

Outdoor Clothing Came Indoors

Somebody named it in 2017 and the whole world went along with it. Josh Sirlin on how outdoor clothing became city clothing, and how to do it with cloth you actually want to touch.

Culture, Craft & Materials, Jackets, Style, Style & HeritageJosh SirlinAugust 25, 2026outdoor fashion, gorpcore, outdoor style, technical clothing everyday, layering guide, corduroy, heavyweight terry, black bear brandComment

The INFORMAL Pant

An Olympic skater asked for a pant he could actually skate in. Josh Sirlin on the 90s west coast cut, the design that came out of it, and what happens when a skate pant is made from cloth this good.

Craft & Materials, Culture, Heritage, Style, Style & HeritageJosh SirlinAugust 21, 2026skate pants, informal pant, jagger eaton, skate style, 90s west coast pants, organic cotton pant, made in japan, black bear brandComment

The White Tee Is the Whole Outfit

Paris 1960, the South of France in the seventies, an album cover in 1980. Josh Sirlin on how women made the white t-shirt the most powerful thing in a wardrobe, and on the WOMAN Ultimate Soft Tee.

Culture, Women's, Tees, Style, Style & HeritageJosh SirlinAugust 18, 2026womens white t shirt, best white tee for women, white t shirt style, jean seberg white tee, jane birkin style, effortless style, luxury basics, black bear brand womanComment

How the White T-Shirt Became the Uniform

It cost 24 cents in the Sears catalog and it took two films to make it famous. Josh Sirlin on how a plain white tee went from the bottom of a sea bag to the top of the world.

Craft, Tees, Style & Heritage, Style, HeritageJosh SirlinAugust 17, 2026white t shirt history, plain white tee, t shirt history, marlon brando t shirt, james dean white tee, us navy undershirt 1913, made in usa t shirt, black bear brand, t-shirtComment

Why Women's Clothes Lost Their Pockets

Women had better pockets than men for two hundred years, and then fashion took them away. Josh Sirlin on tie on pockets, the Old Bailey, and cutting a pocket that works.

Culture, Style, Style & Heritage, Women'sJosh SirlinAugust 12, 2026history of pockets, womens pockets, tie on pockets, why dont womens clothes have pockets, fashion history, womens denim, black bear brand womanComment

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

The Color That Killed People

Green was the hardest color in the world to make, and then it was the deadliest. Josh Sirlin on arsenic, Victorian dye houses, and what a real green still costs.

Craft, corduroy, Culture, Fabric, fabric guide, materials, StyleJosh SirlinAugust 8, 2026scheeles green, arsenic green, paris green, history of green dye, victorian fashion, natural dye, garment dye, old money green, black bear brandComment

The Number on Your Pants Nobody Reads

Rise decides where your leg appears to start, and a tailor cannot fix it afterward. Josh Sirlin on the one measurement worth taking before you order anything.

Culture, Heritage, Craft, fabric guide, StyleJosh SirlinAugust 8, 2026pant rise, trouser rise, how pants should fit, high rise vs mid rise, jeans fit guide, mens style, black bear brandComment