Carhartt for Cold Weather

Carhartt is one of the things on my wish list this holiday season. The Duck Coat is a classic and one of the few items that is still made in the U.S. It requires more effort to make sure you get an American made version, but places like the Wisconsin based Midewest Workwear offer them online as do a few others. Another Carhartt jacket that I like is the very nice looking 3-in-1 Parka in black. The coat adds a technical twist on the more traditional products the company offers and reminds me of the Carhartt European collection. More of my favorite Carhartt pieces after the jump.

Carhartt 3-in-1 breathable parka

On Thanksgiving, Convenience is the Enemy

Hope you are living the High Life today. Happy Thanksgiving!

(Video via 10Engines)

Reference Library Comes to Life

If you have spent any time on Reference Library you know that the guy at the controls, Mr. Andy Beach, knows a thing or two about finding cool stuff. A lot of what makes up RL are treasures found on eBay, often items Andy didn’t win. Starting Friday November, 28th Reference Library will come to life at the progressive SoHo store Kioski for a week long pop-up shop of the good things you would normally only see on the blog. The difference now is that everything will be available to be purchased right then and there. Andy sent a sneak peak at some of the offerings which I have posted below. Be sure to stop by Kiosk to show your support and pick up some goodies.

Dixies (Dixie Cup, Easton, PA) coveralls made by A. Rifkin & Co., Wilkes-Barre, PA

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Kiosk Mini-Exhibition #8: Reference Library

November 28 — December 7 // Opening party on Friday, November 28, 7–10pm

Kiosk
95 Spring St. (btw Broadway and Mercer) Second Floor

Buy It Now: Apparel, Architecture, Art, Bags, Beautiful, Bikes, Blacksmith, Books, Case Goods, Clever, Collections, Custom, Details, Display, eBay, Etc, Fabric, Family, Food, Friends, Furniture, Girls, Graphics, Handmade, High Bidders, Home, Industrial, Interiors, Items I Didn’t Win, Kids, Lettering, Lighting, Made in the USA, Misc, Music, Objects, Paper, People, Playthings, Products, Shopkeeping, Shops, Signs, Small Town, Storefronts, The Quality, Useful.

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Shuron Ltd. Eyewear

An ACL reader and frequent tipster sent in a suggestion for The American List that I thought deserved a little more attention than a simple listing. Greenville, South Carolina based Shuron Ltd, is an eye wear manufacturer that has been turning out frames since the time of the Civil War. The company is most well known for their sixties style frames, but Shuron is also famous for being a sunglasses supplier for the U.S. military in WWII. These iconic sunglasses — now called the “MacArthur” after the famous Army General Douglas MacArthur — are still offered today. (Thanks to Michael for the tip)

SIGNALS

• A cabin is not a shack. This article pushed me over the edge. | [The New York Times via Cooper Cabin] [Pictured]
• Some really good looking Brooks Brothers | [Scout Holiday]
• An ACL endorsed guide to non-Timex military watches (although I still like the J. Crew version) | [A Trip Down South]
• Take that Mackintosh. The Swiss invent the world’s most water proof fabric | [New Scientist]
• Speaking of watches. Richemont Group watchmaker Paneri to open NYC shop. Very nice. | [Luxist]

Goodbye Old Friend

If you haven’t heard, the menswear trade publication DNR put out its last issue today. It is a sad day for the well respected editors at DNR that lost their jobs, and also for the menswear industry as a whole. John Birmingham’s Editor Letter says all you need to know about the past and future of DNR.

Take Five at Steven Alan

The folks over at Steven Alan asked me if I would come by their shop and pick out five of my favorite things (a virtual wish list if you will) for their Journal (that’s fancy way of saying blog). Since Steven Alan is one of my favorite stores of all time, I quickly agreed. Things did get a little strange when I started walking out of the TriBeCa location with all of my picks. Apparently they wanted me to pay for the five things. Can you believe that?!? Only kidding. You can see my little list of Steven Alan goodness here.

Cleaning Up at the Brooklyn Flea

I did some damage this morning at the Brooklyn Flea. There were about half as many vendors this week compared to the week prior (I’m guessing because of the cold weather), but I still managed to walk away with three (count ’em!) bullet pencils, a Sears denim chore coat from the 1970s and four magazines from the 1960s. Goes to show, when it is on, it’s on!

Workwear in the LA Times

Three makes a trend. Isn’t that what people say? Booth Moore has a nice article in the LA Times about the rise in popularity of workwear. This comes on the heels of both The Observer and The New York Times devoting space to the topic. I was excited to see that ACL was included in the article (thanks to Ricky Swallow for spreading the good word) along with two of my favorites Reference Library and Archival Clothing, not to mention many of my most-liked labels. The full article can be seen here.

From the Free & Easy Archive

The August, 2007 issue of Free & Easy includes one of my all time favorite articles from the Japanese publication, a buyers guide for dogs. I can see someone like New York Magazine doing this sort of feature (actually my pal Rosecrans wrote a much more logical piece on the topic in 2007), but not with the endearing absurdity that only Free & Easy can produce. After seeing this issue it became clear to me that the magazine is just a guide-book to living like an American. That was also the same day that Free & Easy — with all its quirkiness — became my all time favorite magazine, after Vitals of course.

It’s Official…

Everything is better in Japan. McDonalds recently launched two Japanese concept restaurants in Shibuya and Omotesando called Quarter Pounder. As expected, or not expected, the place is totally amazingly on-point. The super simple menu is limted to a Quarter Pounder, Double Quarter Pounder, fries and drinks. That’s it.

Curious why they would open a restaurant that only sells Quarter Pounders? According to Business Week, it all comes down to the grill. “McDonald’s has sold its Quarter Pounder in the U.S. since the early 1970s. But until a few weeks ago there was only one place in Japan where you could get one: in Kumamoto prefecture, on the southern island of Kyushu. Former McDonald’s officials say the fast-food chain’s outlets in Japan lacked the proper grill to churn out the burgers in big quantities.” There you have it.

Dear McDonalds, please open a restaurant in your own country that is cool. Thank you.

Obsession | Ford Bronco II

Seeing how The Big Three have been in Washington — hat in hand begging for a bailout — what could be a better time to highlight the golden era of American automobile manufacturing, the 1980s. I imagine my affection for the Ford Bronco II is not something I share with many of you readers. I see the truck as a quintessential piece of my Midwestern upbringing, a purely nostalgic exercise. A fetish of sorts. Eventually when I have a massive garage and a collection of cars, the Bronco II will be right there next to my Land Rover Defender, BMW 2002, a 1968 Oldsmobile 442 and my 1995 Chevrolet Impala. Its an odd bunch that is for sure.

The Bronco II was a smaller version of the Bronco based on the Ranger truck line. The small SUVs were produced from 1984 to 1990. More photos after the jump.