One cannot have enough down vests when living in the Pacific Northwest and their utility cannot be beat in terms of layering and usefulness for outdoor activities. Read on for a selection of purely functional vests for under $300.
Above is a scan of an old Jansport ad from the 70’s, featuring one of their down vests.
Get this book. From an old WSJ review:
In 1959, Glen Denny, a relatively inexperienced mountain climber who was working as a busboy at the Yosemite Lodge in the Sierra Nevada mountains of California, was invited to assist the renowned climber Warren Harding as he attempted the first ascent of an improbably steep granite prow called Washington Column. In the climbing world, Mr. Denny’s opportunity was akin to a housepainter’s being asked if he’d like to hand brushes to Michelangelo in the Sistine Chapel. The experience brought him into the fold of a tight-knit group of climbers who would shortly begin making history in the Yosemite Valley, inventing equipment and techniques that would revolutionize the sport around the world. Mr. Denny spent the better part of a decade participating in many of those precedent-setting climbs, as well as recording the era in gorgeous black-and-white photographs, now collected in “Yosemite in the Sixties.”
LL Bean is set to reintroduce its older Norwegian fisherman’s sweater within a few weeks, and I’m sure that the Americana crowd in NYC will be sporting them not long after. If you purchase one, please only do it because you like the sweater and not because it’s some supposed Ivy League icon (it wasn’t even popular until the Preppy Handbook was published in 1980 – you guys realize that it was written as a joke and not an official guide on how to dress, right?). And yes, wearing one will make you look as goofy as the people you’ve seen wearing them in the old pictures online.
Update: I’ve been told that LL Bean is now selling the sweater by phone (800-441-5713), cost is $129.
If you don’t want to wait for LL Bean’s sweater, Woolrich has its own version in the John Rich and Bros. collection this season which you can buy now at Barneys.
Listen online at The Sound of Young America.
[on a used vintage denim jacket for sale]
“How much?” I asked.
With a straight smiling face he said 3600 dollars.
To which I said, are you out of your mind?
I felt like I had been punched in the brain.
…
I came across a belt that was beautiful, looked like it had been worn for a lifetime.
What’s the story on this belt?
Oh, that’s new he said.
Huh? How much?
350 dollars.
I couldn’t figure out what was more offensive, charging a fortune for an old jacket that a real working person might have worn, or charging 350 bucks for a belt that was probably made by children in a sweatshop somewhere in Central America.
Rivals meet during an evening lecture in 1913. From left to right, the heroic polar explorers: Ernest Shackleton, Robert E. Peary, and Roald Amundsen.
I’ve never been a fragrance guy, nor will I ever be. After a recent chance encounter with a sample though, I’ve become hooked on Creed’s Green Irish Tweed scent. 4oz bottles go for about $250 at full retail, but if you look around a bit online there are several reputable stores that sell it in a more reasonable range of $130-150.
With fall finally here in Seattle, we can start to comfortably wear our heavier clothing and a great piece for this time of the year is the CPO shirt jacket from Engineered Garments. The one pictured below on the left is made from a brown windowpane/herringbone patterned tweed wool, and on the right is the same shirt made from a black wool serge (think twill). I have one from last year that performed very well in colder temperatures, and I was able to wear it all the way into spring.
Images from Explorer. For U.S. based stockists, check with Drinkwater’s for the brown tweed version, Farinelli’s for the grey herringbone, and Odin for the black wool serge.
It’s a shame that companies and designers outside of Japan do not really experiment with indigo dyeing much. This scarf that I have from Pure Blue Japan has one of the most complex shades of blue that I’ve seen (it also gave me a bit of a blue colored neck the first time I wore it too).
45rpm is of course known for their hand dyed indigo clothing.
There was also a short but interesting section on indigo dyeing methods and products in the recent issue of Free & Easy.
J.L. Powell’s seasonal catalogs are always something to look forward to. The store has made a business out of selling some of the world’s best products to those who prefer the fields and streams and among their inventory are sweaters from Inis Meáin, boots from Edward Green, and shaving accessories from Truefitt & Hill. Fitted city clothing this is not.
Their fall 2009 catalog features a number of great items, including cowichan knits, hunting jackets, crepe soled moccasin boots, and an awesome blue pullover anorak. They call it “an authentic collection that would have been favored by the world’s great explorers.”
You can request a copy on their website, or view it online.
© 2025 Mister Crew. All rights reserved.
Theme by Anders Norén.
