A one time run of the leather jackets, Josh Sirlin’s own favorites, already made and going up Friday at nine. These are preorder only, and the windows open three or four times a year.

Jackets, leather, design, made in usaJosh SirlinSeptember 3, 2026horween horsehide, leather jacket, rough out leather, horsehide jacket, made in usa, limited release, 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

Melton Is a Town in Leicestershire

The warmest cloth in the closet is named for an English market town. Josh Sirlin on fulling, napping, shearing, and why melton stops wind.

Craft, Heritage, jacketsJosh SirlinSeptember 2, 2026melton wool, what is melton wool, fulled wool, wool coat fabric, winter coat wool, melton mowbray, black bear brandComment

The Peacoat Came Off a Ship

A Dutch word, a naval cut, and wool milled until the wind gives up. Josh Sirlin on where the peacoat comes from and how ours is made in Japan.

Heritage, jackets, JapanJosh SirlinSeptember 1, 2026peacoat history, what is a peacoat, melton wool coat, kersey wool, navy peacoat, made in japan coat, 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

The Coats Come Out

Fall arrives, the tweed comes off the hook, and the peacoat returns with a new green. Josh Sirlin on cloth woven by hand in Scotland, coats made in Seattle, and wool woven in Japan.

Style & Heritage, menswear, Japan, Heritage, Craft & Materials, CultureJosh SirlinAugust 26, 2026harris tweed jacket, peacoat, melton wool, fall coats, made in seattle, made in japan, japanese wool, 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

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

What Made In Actually Means

The label tells you where a thing was assembled. It does not tell you who chose the mill. Josh Sirlin on the law behind the tag, and on choosing rooms instead of countries.

Craft & Materials, Culture, HeritageJosh SirlinAugust 24, 2026made in usa, country of origin, clothing labels, ftc made in usa rule, apparel labeling, made in japan, okayama, seattle, 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

Denim Country

The wild west was loud, and the cloth that went through all of it was blue. Josh Sirlin on the jean jacket, the Cowboy Jeans, the people he rides with, and the looms in Okayama.

Craft, Craft & Materials, denim, Denim, fabric guide, Japan, Japan & Culture, materialsJosh SirlinAugust 21, 2026wild west, denim, one jean jacket, cowboy jeans, selvedge denim, okayama, japanese denim, indigo, 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 7/8 Sleeve

A three quarter sleeve stops at the wrong place on a man's arm. Josh Sirlin on the sleeve length he designed instead, and why an inch decides everything.

Craft, Culture, shirts, Style & Heritage, t-shirt, TeesJosh SirlinAugust 20, 20267/8 sleeve, three quarter sleeve, sleeve length guide, mens proportion, pocket shirt, slub cotton, mens style, black bear brandComment

The Pocket Came Later

The chest pocket was not part of the original t-shirt, and the reason it arrived is better than you would guess. Josh Sirlin on the pocket tee, and on the one we make.

Style & Heritage, shirts, menswear, HeritageJosh SirlinAugust 18, 2026pocket tee, pocket t shirt history, why do t shirts have pockets, chest pocket, slub cotton tee, garment dyed tee, made in seattle, black bear brandComment

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

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

Why Jeans Fade Where They Do

Whiskers, honeycombs, atari, train tracks. Josh Sirlin on the vocabulary of a worn pair of jeans, and on the dye decisions made years before you ever put them on.

Craft, Craft & Materials, Denim, Fabric, Japan & CultureJosh SirlinAugust 15, 2026denim fades, whiskers, honeycombs, atari, train tracks, raw denim, rope dyeing, ring dyed indigo, selvedge denim, 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