ONI DENIM - ONI-03502ZR Coverall -20oz Secret Black Denim -
ONI DENIM - ONI-03502OL Coverall - 18oz Olive Denim
ONI DENIM 03502-鬼KASE Coverall - 16oz "Kase Denim"
OMOTO DENIM 3618 - 11.5oz Nep Denim 30's Coverall - 4 Year Wash
TELLASON Green Dyed 13 Oz Bull Denim Coverall
TELLASON Blanket Lined 16.5 Oz. Coverall Jacket
In Pictures: Inis Meáin Reverse Carpenters Jacket Super Geelong Merino Wool and Cashmere Blend, Whitesville Tee, Iron Heart IH-888S-21od - 21oz Overdyed Selvedge High Rise Tapered Denim, Unsung House U22-2 Maryam Horsebutt Engineer Boots
Ship John Wills Black 18 oz Waxed Twill
Ship John First Gen-Wills Silver Good Art Snap 18 Oz Waxed Twill
Ship John Denim Rambler
Ship John Waxed Canvas Rambler
Tin Duck MTM Flannel Lined 18 oz Waxed Twill Trucker
Greasepoint Workwear Double Fronts
Ship John Guthrie Double Fronts
Red Clouds Collective Double Fronts
Red Clouds Collective Hawthorn Waxed Canvas Vest
In the Pictures: ONI 03502-KASE - 16oz "Kase Denim" Selvedge Jacket-Coverall, STUDIO D'ARTISAN Selvedge Chambray Work Shirt, IRON HEART IHV-02-IND - 12oz Wabash/Duck Work Vest - Indigo/Navy, IRON HEART IH-777S-21od - 21oz Overdyed Selvedge Slim Tapered Denim, ROLE CLUB Horsehide Engineers 1945 Last
Breaking out the flannels…
Apologies in advance—the posts will improve once I complete the annual summer-to-fall gear rotation. If you don’t hear from me for a couple of days, please have someone trace my IP address and send a rescue team. I’m probably pinned beneath an avalanche of Rubbermaid containers filled with 24 oz. waxed Ship John gear, slowly being crushed to death by heritage menswear.
Tell my wife I loved her. Tell her my boot collection…Eh, she knows what to do.
63° this morning in NYC. Well, the comfortable air didn’t take long to arrive. Perfect weather for fetching an everything bagel on the Lower East Side….
In Photos: UES - 15.5oz Extra Heavy Flannel Shirt - 502451 Olive, WHITESVILLE Tee, NICKS Heavy Duty Work Belt - Black Wickett & Craig English Bridle Leather, GREASEPOINT WORKWEAR, WORK JEAN - 14.5 OZ Double Indigo Vidalia Mills Double Front Denim, VIBERG × Division Road Shinki Latigo Horsehide Brogue Toe Officer Boots 2055 Last
For the record, my Unsung U22-2 Horsebutt Engineers are every bit as good as anything pictured here. Unfortunately, “Holy Trinity” traditionally tops out at three, and I wasn’t prepared to rewrite two thousand years of Christian theology just to squeeze in another pair of boots….
In Picture Top To Bottom: Mister Freedom Road Champs, Clinch Natural Horsebutt CN Narrow Last, Role Club Black Horsehide RC1945 Last.
Inspired by u/chefsupreme’s post this is the fade fit that I’m going to begin wearing September 1st. I’m going to try to wear this ensemble twice a week for a year and see what kind of fades I get…
In Pictures: SHIP JOHN Sashiko Ori Townes Shirt Navy, WONDER LOOPER Double Heavyweight Tee Black, NICKS Black Wickett & Craig English Bridle 14 oz Heavy Duty Work Belt, IRON HEART IH-634S-B 21oz Selvedge Denim Jeans - Indigo Overdyed Black - Straight fit, WESCO Limited Edition Black Bison Engineers
“All right, Tommy, thanks for coming in. Sit down.”Listen, the reason I called you in here is because I just had Bryce from Accounting in my office, and he gave me some pretty fucking grim news. Sales are down for the third quarter in a row. If we don’t turn this around soon, we’re going to have to start laying guys off because I can’t keep carrying this payroll if we’re not selling boots. I’m at my fucking wits’ end. There simply aren’t enough loggers, linemen, smoke jumpers, and guys working in the timber industry to support four bootmakers in this region anymore. We need new customers. We need a new marketing strategy and I don’t mean some bullshit Labor Day promotion where we throw in free laces. I need a real strategy. Something that changes the trajectory of this company for the next five years that I can bring to the board..
“Well, Russell, it’s funny you say that because I was thinking about this over the weekend. Not sales mind you but sociology and demographics. I’ve been reading this book by Professor Scott Galloway. Ever heard of him?”
“No.”
“NYU professor. Business guy. Anyway, Galloway argues that young men in America are going through this enormous economic, social, and emotional crisis. Basically, a lot of the traditional pathways that turned boys into stable adult men—education, careers, financial independence, relationships, marriage, community—all that stuff has gotten harder. Meanwhile, women have made huge gains in education and professionally. Men are less likely to go to college, less likely to graduate, more likely to be economically adrift, more socially isolated, more lonely, and increasingly unable to form romantic—”
“So they’re incel pussies.”
Tommy nodded. “Exactly.”
Russell leaned back in his chair. “Okay.”
“Have you ever seen The Road Warrior?”
Russell stared at him. “Tommy, please. I need you to focus. I’m telling you this company is going down the fucking crapper and you’re bringing up some bullshit Mel Gibson movie from 1981. I swear to Christ I’m going to burst an aneurysm right here at this desk.”
“Russell, I am focused. That’s what I’m trying to tell you. The Road Warrior is the answer.”
“Oh Jesus Christ.”
“Think about it. Mad Max. Post-apocalyptic Australia. Motorcycles. Dust. Leather. Everybody’s wearing these improvised outfits that look like they’ve been dragged behind a truck for six hundred miles. Nothing looks new. Nothing looks clean. Every jacket looks like somebody got stabbed in it. Every pair of boots looks like the guy just rode across the desert through a sandstorm while being chased by cannibals.”
Russell stared at him.
“Okay…”
“Now stay with me. According to Galloway, you’ve got this generation of young guys with nobody teaching them what being a man actually means. So they start developing their ideas about masculinity from shitheads online. Andrew Tate. Hannah Pearl Davis. Influencers. Podcasts. Reddit. YouTube.And what you wind up with is this weird adolescent version of masculinity where everybody is desperately trying to convince everybody else that they’re tougher than they actually are.”
“Tommy, for the love of Christ, what the fuck does this have to do with boot sales?”
“I’m getting there. These guys are our new customer.”
Russell stopped.
Tommy leaned forward.
“Think about it. Half these guys are suburban pussies who desperately don’t want anyone to know they’re suburban pussies. They’re sitting in their childhood bedrooms playing tough guy on Reddit while their mothers are downstairs heating up their Hot Pockets in the microwave. But online? Totally different guy. Online, little Tyler is basically a Wyoming ranch hand. He owns Japanese denim. He has a waxed canvas jacket. He drinks bourbon even though he secretly hates the taste of bourbon. He has opinions about axes. He’s never cut down a tree in his life, but somehow he owns a $400 Swedish hatchet.”
Russell’s expression changed slightly.
“Go on.”
“That’s our guy. We stop selling boots to lumberjacks. We start selling lumberjack to guys who aren’t lumberjacks.”
Russell sat forward.
“Okay. Now you’ve got my attention.”
“We tweak the marketing. We lean into the whole ‘I’m definitely not a pussy’ mindset. We use leathers that develop dramatic patina almost immediately. Tea-core. Pull-up. Horsebutt. Roughout. Waxy commander shit. Anything that looks like it survived Normandy after six trips to Whole Foods. We let the boots do the masculinity for them. Six months in, Tyler’s boots look like he just rode a motorcycle across Baja California even though the most dangerous journey he’s made all week was walking from his Hyundai into Trader Joe’s.”
Russell smiled.
“So you’re saying the younger guys will buy our boots because they make them look like hard-asses?”
“Exactly.”
“And the faster they look beat up, the better?”
“Now you’re getting it.” “The faster they beat up their boots the faster they’ll need a new pair”
Russell thought about this.
“But won’t women be turned off? Some guy shows up for a date wearing shit-kickers that look like he’s been cleaning horse stalls all afternoon. Won’t she just think he’s some shitbird who can’t afford new boots?”
Tommy waved him off. “We don’t have to worry about women with this demographic.”
“No?”
“They don’t enter the equation.”
Russell nodded slowly.
“Interesting.”
“And this isn’t even a new strategy. ‘ Tommy added. Ever hear of William Fioravanti?”
“The tailor?”
“Exactly. Tailor to the billionaires. Fioravanti built up the shoulders and tapered the waist. He could take some seventy-year-old CEO shaped like a bag of laundry and make him look like a virile titan of American capitalism. The customer wasn’t buying a suit. He was buying shoulders.”
Russell slapped the desk. “And we’re not selling boots, we’re selling balls! “
“Exactly! And we’re going to do it by equating patina with masculinity:
“New-looking boots? Candy-ass.
“Scuffed boots? Man.
“Scratched boots? Tough man.
“Boots that look like somebody dragged them behind a logging truck? Theodore fucking Roosevelt.
“We convince these guys that every scratch is evidence of character.”
Russell was smiling now. “Jesus Christ.”
“Trust me. These idiots are so desperate to be taken seriously that by the time I’m finished with them, they’ll be standing in their kitchens taking forks to brand-new Wickett & Craig cap toes.”
Russell stood up. “Tommy, I fucking love this. This whole “I’m Not a Pussy” campaign is brilliant.”
He walked toward the conference table. “Get Jake from Marketing in here. And what’s that new kid’s name? Leo’s nephew? The one with the beard in Production?”
“Scott.”
“Get Jake and Scott. And set up a conference call with Chicago Leather. I want samples. Horsebutt, roughout, pull-up—anything that looks twenty years old by the time UPS drops it off.”
“You got it.”
Russell stopped.” You’re sure these young guys are going to fall for this, right? Because if they don’t, Tommy, we are absolutely fucked.”
Tommy laughed. ‘Oh, they’ll fall for it. Are you kidding me? You have no idea how gullible this generation is. They all listen to Joe Rogan.”
Russell frowned.
“Joe Rogan? The actor from NewsRadio?”
“Yeah. He’s got a big podcast now.”
“No shit.”
“Huge. They say he’s the new Charlie Rose.”
Russell looked genuinely confused. Who the fuck says that?”
Tommy shrugged.
“Idiots on Reddit”…..
In Picture 1: Oni Denim 20 oz Secret Denim Type Il with side pockets. FREENOTE CLOTH Two-Bit Tank, SUGARCANE Cowhide Leather Garrison Belt Black, ORSLOW Vintage Fit Fatigue Pants - Herringbone Army Green,
In Picture 2: In The Picture: MISTER FREEDOM Wildcat “Cacao" Chambray Work Jacket, WONDER LOOPER Double Heavyweight Tee Khaki, FREENOTE CLOTH Modesto 15 oz Kaihara Unsigned Denim, TELLASON X Barnes & Moore Oak Bark Tanned Copper Buckle Belt. VIBERG 310 Distressed Chamois Cap Toed Service Boot
In the Picture 3: IRON HEART IHJ-143-IND 12 OZ. KERSEY WORK JACKET INDIGO/BLACK, WHITESVILLE Tee, NICKS X Wickett & Craig Buck Brown Double Stuffed Heavy Duty Work Belt, FREENOTE CLOTH Modesto 16 oz Indigo / Brown Denim, VIBERG 310 Service Boot in Horween Rowdy Dachshund
In Picture 4: MERZ B SCHWANEN JKT08LI Cropped Worker's Linen Jacket-Deep Black, SAMURAI Heavyweight T-Shirt in Moss Green, SUGARCANE Garrison Belt, ONI DENIM 246-BKOL "Kiraku" 12oz Selvedge Denim - Clean Straight Fit, VIBERG Scout Wedge in CF Stead Unicorn (Elk) 2030 Last Black
IN Picture 5: PURE BLUE JAPAN 6118-OLV Sashiko Type III Jacket in Double Olive, WHITESVILLE Tee, NICKS Wickett & Craig Black English Bridle Leather Heavy Work Belt, ONI DENIM 277-Bumpy "Kusaki Green Overdye" 17oz Selvedge Denim - Just-Right Straight Fit, WHITES × DIVISION ROAD LTT Lineman 350 Cutter- VIBRAM MINI LUG - Olive Waxed Flesh-55 Last
In Picture 6: IRON HEART IHJ-123-OD 14oz Broken Twill Selvedge Denim Work Jacket Indigo Overdyed Black, WHITESVILLE Tee, BRAVE STAR Die Hard Double Knee Straight Leg - 12.5oz WWII Blue Selvage Denim, WHITES x DIVISION ROAD 350 Cruiser Vibram Wedge- Black CXL
TELLASON Green Dyed 13 Oz Bull Denim Coverall Jacket, WONDER LOOPER Double Heavyweight T-shirt Black, Omoto Denim 0815 - 13.5oz Selvedge Loose Denim - 6 Year Wash, NICKS Black Wickett & Craig English Bridle 14oz Heavy Duty Work Belt, NICKS Overlander Black Bison Boots Thurman Last.
It’s 64° outside as I write this, and we’ve been lucky with the weather the last couple of days. Mornings have been in the low 60s, with afternoons around 80°. It’s not quite autumn, but for late August—I’ll happily take it. This morning I’m heading to the local farmers market for one of late summer’s great annual rites: the hunt for fresh heirloom tomatoes.
Tomato season in the Northeast United States runs from July through September, with late August and early September being the sweet spot. Right now -August 25th-we’re at peak tomato season when local beefsteaks, heirlooms, Jersey, and Sungolds are vine-ripened, intensely sweet, slightly acidic, and far better than sad winter supermarket tomatoes.
Grab a couple of big, ripe ones, some fresh mozzarella and basil, drizzle everything with good olive oil, add salt and pepper, add a few capers, and boom—Caprese salad. Add a hunk of crusty bread and call it lunch. There are worse ways to spend a day in August.
In the photo: OMOTO DENIM 3618 - 11.5oz Nep Denim 30's Coverall - 4 Year Wash, SAMURAI Heavyweight T-Shirt in Moss Green, NICKS Double Stuffed Buck Brown Heavy Duty Work Belt, RED CLOUDS COLLECTIVE Fitted Double Front Work Pant-13 oz Natural Cone Mills Denim, NICKS Wickett & Craig English Bridle Leather Dome Pro Cap Toe 55 Last
In Picture 1: MISTER FREEDOM Ranch Blouse "Frontier Edition" in Duck Fabric, FREENOTE CLOTH
Jepson Grey/ Brown Flannel, Merz B. Schwanen Henley Brown, SAMURAI S71OSC-KI "Samurai Cotton Project" 18oz Ecru Selvedge Denim - Slim Straight Fit, ROLE CLUB Engineer Boots - Brown
Italian Horsebutt -RC1945
In Picture 2: IRON HEART IHV-02-IND - 12oz Wabash/Duck Work Vest - Indigo/ Navy XL, THE FLATHEAD FN-SCW-003L- 5oz Chambray Western Shirt, WHITESVILLE Tee, FREEWHEELERS- The Vanishing West Lot-601XX Selvedge Denim 1941 Model, Tellason X Barnes & Moore Oak Tanned Belt With Solid Copper Buckle, WESCO Limited Edition Black Bison Mister Lou Engineers Boots
In Picture 3: FREENOTE CLOTH Faro Jacket- 15oz Japanese Denim- Dark Brown, FREENOTE CLOTH
Bodie Cream Twill Shirt, WHITESVILLE Tee, STUDIO D'ARTISAN SD-102CB - 15oz Selvedge Wide
Straight Cinch-Back Denim, MISTER FREEDOM Road Champ Engineers
In Picture 4: Vintage Whipstitched North Beach Leather Jacket, Freenote Cloth Bodie Cream Twill Shirt, Freenote Cloth Portola 15 Ounce Dark Brown Selvedge Denim Pants, John Lofgren Natural CXL Engineers
In Picture 5: Freewheelers Speed Demon Burgundy Corduroy Jacket, Whitesville Tee, Studio D Artisan SD-102CB - 150z Selvedge Wide Straight Cinch-Back Selvedge Denim, John Lotgren Burgundy Shinkı
Horsebutt Engineers
In Picture 6: STUDIO D'ARTISAN D5727 12 oz Denim Bengala Dyed Western Shirt, WHITESVILLE Tee,
IRON HEART IH-634S-B 21oz Selvedge Denim Straight Cut - Indigo Overdyed Black, ROLE CLUB
Horsehide Engineers 1945 Last
In Picture 7: STUDIO D'ARTISAN S SD-401 - No. 100 WWII Type | Selvedge Denim Jacket, THE
FLATHEAD FN-SCW-003L- 5oz Chambray Western Shirt - Blue, WHITESVILLE Tee, NICKS Double
Stuffed Buck Brown Heavy Duty Work Belt, STUDIO D'ARTISAN SD-102CB - 15oz Selvedge Wide
Straight Cinch-Back Selvedge Denim Trousers, CLINCH Natural Horsebutt Engineers Built On The
CN-Standard (Narrow) Last.
I’ve only got a couple pairs of cinch backs. I’ve got these Vanishing West and the SDA SD-102CB - 15oz Selvedge Wide Straight Cinch-Back. I wore these for the first time today and I think I like the fit on these Vanishing West Better..
In the Photo: IRON HEART IHV-02-IND - 12oz Wabash/Duck Work Vest - Indigo/ Navy XL, THE FLATHEAD FN-SCW-003L- 5oz Chambray Western Shirt, WHITESVILLE Tee, FREEWHEELERS- The Vanishing West Lot-601XX Denim 1941 Model, Tellason X Barnes & Moore Oak Tanned Belt With Solid Copper Buckle, WESCO Limited Edition Black Bison Mister Lou Engineers
I’ve only got a couple pairs of cinch backs. I’ve got these Vanishing West and the SDA SD-102CB - 15oz Selvedge Wide Straight Cinch-Backs. I wore these for the first time today and I think I like the fit on these Vanishing West better.
In the Photo: IRON HEART IHV-02-IND - 12oz Wabash/Duck Work Vest - Indigo/ Navy XL, THE FLATHEAD FN-SCW-003L- 5oz Chambray Western Shirt, WHITESVILLE Tee, FREEWHEELERS- The Vanishing West Lot-601XX Denim 1941 Model, Tellason X Barnes & Moore Oak Tanned Belt With Solid Copper Buckle, WESCO Limited Edition Black Bison Mister Lou Engineers
Any of you guys ever try to give up meat? I have several times, and it never works out. My bench at the gym goes down, and I just feel tired and anemic all the time. I gave up red meat twenty years ago. I was a full-on pescatarian for a couple of years in the early aughts, but eventually I went back to poultry because I love chicken too much, and the heart wants what the heart wants. For the last couple of years, I've been on a kick with Japanese and custom-made engineer boots. I sold off my WESCO collection, swore I was done with the brand, and became a half-assed "Lofgretarian." I was basically an "Unsungitarian" for a while. I'd even say I was a "Flame Pandatarian." But these WESCO Black Bison Mister Lou's are sooooo nice that they've brought me back to the PNW table...
I'm just marveling at the finishing on this pair. You know what this is like? This is like when you're in a relationship with a really gorgeous stripper who happens to be a vegetarian. Everywhere you go, it's always noodles this and salad that, but she's so smokin' and the sex is so good that you're just like, fuck it, her diet is probably healthier for me anyway, so you bite the bullet and become a reluctant vegetarian. Then one day your friends call you up and say, "Hey, we got tickets to the hockey game. You wanna go?" So you meet up, you're sitting there watching the Rangers, and your buddy flags down the vendor and hands you a hot dog slathered in mustard. You take a bite and with tears welling up in your eyes, you're just like: "OH MY GOD. THIS IS SO FUCKING GOOD."
This Black Bison Lou is like that...It's so fucking good...
So with fall right around the corner I'm in Sephora shopping for facial balm when I run into my frenemies Zack and Thad. You know the type. We're all delighted to see each other and immediately start silently judging outfits.
Anyway, Thad looks down at my Nicks ND3s and says, "Oh my God, those boots make you look like you run a forklift at a Trader Joe’s distribution center."
First of all, rude.
Second of all, I do drive a forklift!
Not at Trader Joe’s but Home Depot. I have standards!
Still, I won't lie-the comment stung. I'd spent the morning feeling unusually put-together in my cute Iron Heart Over-dyed CPO, Railcar Duck Flight Trousers and Nicks ND3’s and suddenly I'm under Sephora's aggressive LED lighting wondering if I look like I exclusively communicate in pallet counts and OSHA compliance reports.
Whatever. I smile and tell Thad I appreciate his observation. Then I casually mention I have reservations at Le Bernardin that night and am debating the Grand Tasting Menu with the wine pairing, because nothing re-centers your sense of self like spending a small fortune on someone else's interpretation of the ocean.
I add, almost offhand, that I'm particularly excited for the langoustine with citrus nage, the barely-seared scallop with caviar beurre blanc, and the poached turbot in a champagne reduction that tastes like it was whispered into existence by a very sad French angel.
Then I say, "God, I hope Anderson Cooper is there again."
Thad gets very interested in a display of peptide eye cream and pretends he didn't hear me.
But he heard me.
Oh, he fucking heard me.
I love my Nicks ND3's...