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.
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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.
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A sixteenth century Japanese idea about age, and why the day you buy something is not the best it will ever look. Josh Sirlin on wabi-sabi, patina, and designing for the fifth year.
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Buttons crossed the Atlantic as ship ballast. Josh Sirlin on corozo, shell, brass and zippers, and why hardware is where most clothing quietly fails.
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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.
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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.
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Most people put their jeans away in June. I do the opposite. The white core inside a rope dyed yarn, the old looms in Okayama, and what a hot road actually does to a pair of jeans.
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It started as underwear and became the most worn garment on earth. Josh Sirlin on the plain white t-shirt, and how to tell a great one from a cheap one.
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Down is the best insulation on earth and the least understood. Josh Sirlin on fill power, cluster size, and the vest built for a Pacific Northwest winter.
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Flip your cuff. That pale thread is the weft, and it decides more than you think. Josh Sirlin on twill, slub, and the hidden half of denim.
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Harris Tweed is the only cloth in the world defended by its own Act of Parliament. Josh Sirlin on the Orb, the islands, and what tartan really was.
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Black jeans are harder to make than blue ones, and almost nobody says so. Josh Sirlin on sulfur dye, over-dyeing, and how to keep black denim black.
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You cannot buy these colors. Josh Sirlin on creating custom dye colors for Black Bear Brand, the garment wash that follows, and why no two pairs come out the same.
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Indigo is the only dye that leaves on purpose. Josh Sirlin on Japanese indigo, rope dyeing, and the reason blue jeans tell you where you have been.
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Most people think fashion design is sketching pretty clothes. It is not. It is problem solving. Josh Sirlin on how he designs every Black Bear Brand piece.
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Self reliance is one of the deepest sources of confidence a man can have. Josh Sirlin on the short list of skills that pays off for the rest of your days.
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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.
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Every good idea I have ever had came from somewhere else. Josh Sirlin on how travel and other people’s cultures shape creative work, from Okayama to the Outer Hebrides.
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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.
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Born on French farms, stolen by artists, and still the most useful jacket you can own. Josh Sirlin on the chore coat, and the Harris Tweed version he dreamed about for years.
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