The Western Jacket, and the Chicago Tannery That Makes the Leather
The Western Jacket, and the Chicago Tannery That Makes the Leather
Five generations of tanners in Chicago. One jacket cut in Seattle. Josh Sirlin on horsehide, rough-out, and the westerns.
A tanner walks into Chicago
Isidore Horween arrived in Chicago in 1893, the year of the World's Fair. He had learned to tan leather in Ukraine. He spent twelve years working in other men's tanneries along the Chicago River, and in 1905 he opened his own.
His first product was shell cordovan, and he sold it to men who sharpened straight razors. The safety razor arrived and that market closed. He found another. In 1911 he developed a tannage that is still made today. In 1920 the company moved into a five story building on North Elston Avenue, where it still is.
The tannery has now been in the family for five generations. It is one of the oldest continuously running tanneries in the country. Isidore left a line behind that I think about often. Take the best of everything, then do whatever it takes to make the leather the best. The price goes on last.
Why horsehide
Horsehide is a tighter, denser fiber than steer. It takes a beating and it takes on character while it does. It gets better looking with age instead of tired. The hides we use are tanned by Horween for Black Bear Brand, and like all hides the weight moves around a little. Ours run in the range of three to four ounces.
The rough side out
A hide has two faces. The grain side is the smooth outside of the animal. The flesh side is the raw underside, and when you turn it out you get what is called rough-out. It has a soft, sueded surface that catches light in a way finished leather never does.
We turn the raw side out and put the finished side in. That is why these jackets need no lining. It also means every mark the animal carried is right there on the surface. No two jackets look the same, and I love that about them.
The western
The western shape is one of the great American silhouettes. Yoked shoulders, snap front, a cut that sits close but still lets you move and ride. Ours carry custom Black Bear Brand YKK snaps. They are designed and made in the USA.
There are seven of them, and I am proud of all seven. The Rough-RIDER in natural horsehide and in black charcoal. The Saddle western pocket jacket. The Spirit Bear in ghost white. The aged ivory. The black. The ivory rough-out Zach Bryan edition.
A very limited run
These jackets are normally sold by preorder, and the preorder windows open only three or four times a year. This is different. I made a very limited run of finished jackets, and they are sitting at the top of the store right now. The numbers are small and all sales are final.
A Way Of Life.
Shop the Story
The western Horween jackets, at the top of the store
The Rough-RIDER Natural Horsehide Rough-Out Western Over-Shirt
The Rough-RIDER Black Charcoal Horsehide Western Over-Shirt
The Saddle Western Pocket Horween Horsehide Jacket
The Aged Ivory Western Horween Jacket
Related Reading
Black Bear Means Long Wear: The 1914 Factory and the Brand I Brought Back