Topic
Outerwear
The MA-1 flight jacket was developed for American military pilots in the 1950s, and its bright orange lining was there so a downed flier could turn it inside out and be spotted by rescuers. Outerwear is the topic for jackets with that kind of practical reasoning built in. Barbour started in South Shields in 1894 selling oilskins to sailors and fishermen, and its waxed cotton jackets can be rewaxed for decades. Massimo Osti founded Stone Island in 1982 and spent years treating fabric like a lab experiment, and the brand's compass badge still buttons onto the left sleeve. Patagonia's Synchilla fleece moved from climbing gear to city streets. Hamilton Carhartt began making work clothes in Detroit in 1889, and the brand's chore coats and Detroit jackets now hang in streetwear stores. The varsity jacket, with its wool body and leather sleeves, came out of American college sports. Each story covers origins and construction and gives straight advice on sizing and care. A wax jacket that smells faintly of paraffin in October is doing its job.
Stories
Style5 min read
The Chore Coat Was Built for Men Who Worked
French laborers wore it boxy, blue and patched at the elbow. Menswear adopted it as the jacket you reach for once you're done with blazers.
By Quiet Menace Editors /
Style4 min read
Stone Island, Massimo Osti and the Compass Badge
It started with truck tarpaulin in a town outside Modena. Forty years on, a cloth compass still tells strangers exactly who you are.
By Quiet Menace Editors /
Style4 min read
The MA-1 Was Built to Be Found
Sage green outside, rescue orange inside. How a Cold War flight jacket from Knoxville ended up on punks, mods and a $47,000 Grailed sale.
By Quiet Menace Editors /
Style4 min read
Barbour's Wax Jacket Was Made for the North Sea
Oilskins for sailors, a motorcycle suit for Steve McQueen, a riding coat for the Sloane set. The waxed cotton jacket keeps finding new owners.
By Quiet Menace Editors /
Style4 min read
Patagonia Synchilla and the Long Road to Gorpcore
A climber who forged his own pitons, a Massachusetts mill and a polyester pullover with four snaps. Then fashion noticed.
By Quiet Menace Editors /
Style4 min read
The Varsity Jacket Began With One Letter H
In 1865 Harvard's baseball team stitched an H on its shirts. The letter turned into a reward, then a sweater, then the most borrowed jacket in America.
By Quiet Menace Editors /
Sneakers4 min read
Salomon XT-6 and How an Ultra Shoe Ended Up in Paris
The XT-6 was built for runners racing a hundred miles through mountains. Then someone at Salomon found a box of them in the archive and changed the colors.
By Quiet Menace Editors /
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