The Arrow Collar Man was the name given to the various male models who appeared in advertisements for shirts and detachable shirt collars manufactured by Cluett Peabody & Company of Troy, New York. The original campaign ran from 1905-31 though the company continued to refer to men in its ads and its consumers as “Arrow men” much later.

The Arrow Collar ads were a collaborative production of New York ad agency Calkins and Holden; Cluett, Peabody advertising director Charles Connolly; and commercial illustrator J. C. Leyendecker… President Theodore Roosevelt referred to him as a “superb portrait of the common man”.

He was what American men aspired to be, and most importantly, he always had on the right shirt.

Some of my favorite images. Note that the man is not the focus of these – he is just the backdrop for the shirt and the woman in front of him (as it should be, when you’re wearing formal clothing).

Later ads referring to the Arrow Collar Man.

The goons.

A clue.

The villain, with a double breasted waistcoat. He has some great eyeglasses.

The setup.

Conspiring.

The famous sunglasses.

The agent.

The classic scene.

A site note, in one of the following scenes Grant requests that his suit be sponged and pressed, not dry cleaned.

As in Tautz’s days, the line borrows heavily from the Hebrides Islands and includes such novelties as eight-ply cashmere fisherman sweaters and lofty wool peacoats, as well as suits and sport jackets fashioned from soft Shetland yarns and vintage Harris tweeds recently unearthed in a Stornoway cupboard and modernized with a burst of bright color. Prices start at $300 for cotton sport shirts, $600 for knitwear, $1,500 for outerwear and $1,700 for sport coats, and for the moment, the product will be sold in the U.S. exclusively through Barneys New York.

Barney’s is probably one of the worst places to sell this brand but hopefully the online store will have some promise. Some of their season’s styles:

Check out the rest of the images on E. Tautz’s flickr set.

I would not be surprised if they sold the L.L. Bean duffel above at their asking price (36,750 YEN).

Also somewhat related, I just found this older interview with Mr. Cabourn on youtube the other day, from an exhibit and presentation at University of Northumbria last year. Pictures and audio are available as well.

Related post: Frank Muytjens in Free & Easy

A fisherman’s gansey was once his most distinctive feature. A navy blue jumper, patterned on the top half and part of the sleeves was a proud possession. It was likely to be knitted by a loved one and carried a pattern characteristic of the fishing port or the family. Ganseys could be found all around the North Sea and the British coasts from the early 19th century to the middle of the 20th century and the tradition lives on with a few Norfolk fishermen today. Theirs were perhaps the most finely knitted of them all, especially those from Sheringham.

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Related posts:
- More Cold Weather Knitwear
- The Aran Sweater Story Continued – Stitches at Sea

Images from the Norfolk Museums Collection.

When I first saw pictures of these I was worried that the leather quality would be inferior, but it turns out that it is actually decent. With proper care they should hold up pretty well and overall I’m happy with them.

Above, sturdy leather soles and combination heels. The 360 degree welt design where the leather uppers meet the soles is usually referred to as a storm welt, though it’s purely decorative and does not help in water resistance.

Top view of the toe box areas. The mismatched leathers are very subtle, and someone would have to be paying very close attention to notice it.

The only negatives I could find were the cheap feeling pull tabs and some poor finishing on the inside of the boots though neither detract from the overall construction.

Engineered Garments – the Mark McNairy logo is embossed underneath.

The regular longwings are tempting now…

Look for them at Barney’s this season (Yoox has some stuff from past seasons too). Several Japanese stores have already received their shipments as well: Geek, Silver & Gold

Nigel Cabourn FW10. I went for the blue plaid naval shirt – and it’s already sold out in my size! wtf.

Alden.

A few portraits and illustrations. Check out some of the collars…

More illustrations to come later.

Images from WTD&W/E Concept Shop.

I would want to wait to see if Drake’s will sell their version again though.

A fur felt cap of mine sold by Christy’s. It has kept its shape fairly well over the past couple of years and unlike the traditional caps, this one is lined in silk. “Hand made” (in China).

Button on the back of the collar.

Handy references from Men’s Ex:
- The Versatility of the Navy Sportcoat
- Navy Sportcoat, Continued

The only trouble with it is, is that you’ll end up wanting to buy an assortment of trousers in different shades of grey… and then maybe in different types of wools…

Sometime around 1954, jazz great Miles Davis walked into the Andover Shop, a small haberdashery in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and single-handedly turned the world of style upside down. Just as his groundbreaking album Milestones (celebrating it’s 50th anniversary next year) changed music, that afternoon in Cambridge shifted men’s fashion.

Miles emerged from the store clad head to toe in traditional “Ivy League”-style clothing, and in so doing merged two separate worlds-those of the establishment and the black jazz artist-as if fusing two dissonant notes to create a bold new harmony. The result was a crashing chord of cool that obliterated the line between square and hip, sounding a fashion fortissimo that lasted several years before fading into the silence of pop-culture obscurity.

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I was able to check it out in person today at the flagship store in Seattle and every piece is impressive and comes with the Filson guarantee. Even better, they’re not being shy on the ‘Made in the USA’ marketing.

From the small graph paper notebook included with your purchase: ‘Both Levi’s and Filson’s brands build the highest quality products for the pioneers of today. Go forth.’

As for the pieces: the all denim cruiser jacket and upland shirt are less imposing in person and fit true to size (though still roomy), the hunting cap has a quilted interior with wool ear flaps to fold down for extra warmth, and I probably would have bought the twill/denim tote if I didn’t have too many bags already. Everything is available for purchase at the Filson Seattle store and at various Levi’s locations around the U.S. – Update: It’s now up at filson.com and levi.com as well.

The hit of the collection is the trucker jacket; made with Filson’s tin cloth it is probably the best design to come out of Levi’s since the creation of the 501. It fits slim, and you will probably want to go up a size.

Some interior shots of the Filson flagship store.

Archival pieces on display.

Since 1897.

Sidenote: the only thing I dislike about their recent direction is all of the various “collections”. What is the difference between the sporting collection, the classic collection, or the heritage collection? There is no distinction between any of them and the branding is confusing – they should just drop the titles and just focus on “Barbour”.

New quilted jackets. They’re making many of these slimmer nowadays, and it’s no longer necessary to get them tailored for a better fit.

Some wool coats. The second would be a good alternative to Nigel Cabourn’s Tenzing jacket (and cheaper too).

I now have way too many, and I hardly ever wear them. I love everything about them though; the pockets, the yokes, the snap buttons, the unfinished hems. By no means are they sharp looking shirts, but they are more fun to wear than any other shirts I have.