REVIEW: BEACH CLOTH SHAWL COLLAR JACKET AND OLIVE WORK PANTS

Jillian recently surprised me with a couple of great pieces from the John Lofgren & Co. collection, which, coincidentally, arrived the same time as my Engineer Boots - she's a sneaky little thing.  I was taken aback when I opened the box to find my very first Beach Cloth piece.  I've been a huge fan of vintage Brown's Beach wear for many years, but have never been lucky enough to find the right size in the right condition.

The John Lofgren & Co. shawl collar jacket was inspired by early 20th century American work and hunting wear - a piece a lot of collectors wished was actually produced, but glad folks like John possessed the vision and ability to create a definite collectors item.

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The history of the cardigan traces it's roots back to it's namesake, the 7th Earl of Cardigan. Somewhere down the line the shawl collar that was normally found on smoking jackets had a sartorial merger with the cardigan and thus the icon was born.

Coincidentally, not being impressed with the Earl of Cardigan's performance during the Crimean War FitzRoy Somerset, 1st Baron Raglan accused him of cowardice. This Baron Raglan gave us the "raglan sleeve." Who knew there were so many style icons from the 19th century British army officer ranks?

Fast forward to the early 1900s in the USA and we see the shawl cardigan jacket being worn by everyone from railroad workers, hunters and young upstarts on the college campus.

The John Lofgren & Co. version combines the classic lines of the shawl collar jacket with the rugged good looks of "beach cloth" material which was specially woven for John Lofgren & Co.

The jacket is finished with urea buttons, leather stress point tabs on the pockets and all inner seams covered with herringbone cotton tape

There's absolutely nothing new about the fit of this jacket.  Like all of John's other vintage-inspired workwear clothing, the fit is spot on with all my vintage pieces.  I wear a vintage size 38 and the small is consistent with every vintage item I own.  The sleeves are narrow and the body slim throughout, but have enough room for layering  with a T and button down shirt.  There's even room for your Brown's Beach vest, if you chose to do so.  Priced at ¥49,800, it's worth every penny.

Size Small - Chest: 20"   Shoulders: 16 1/2"  Sleeve: 25 1/2"   

Length (from seam from base of neck down back to hem): 27 3/4" 

The second surprise piece from Jillian was John's "Duck Baker Pants" in a size 30. 

When one hears "duck pants", they naturally think of brown.  These are the perfect pair to change it up and keep things interesting. These vintage-style military pants triple stitched at the in and outseams and are made with 14oz cotton duck - priced right at only ¥16,800.

They're high waisted, relaxed throughout the straight legs and go perfect with a pair of vintage work boots.

THE SMITH RANCH

There's somethin' a brewin' over at TK Smith's Electric Guitar Service (or what I like to call the "Smith Ranch") and I'm really liking the smell of it.

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T.K. is a bona fide master of multi-tasking. Amazing inlaid guitar pickguards and custom pickups aside, his new necks with PB-inspired headstock are absolutely amazing.

Website          Flickr          YouTube

Sure TK has his faithful followers, so If you're a guitar enthusiast like me  I wouldn't hesitate contacting him for custom work before the masses catch on to what this true craftsman is up to and he's booked well into the next century.

Flamed maple neck blanks

Leaving the entire design of my Gretsch G6130 Roundup to him, I'm almost tempted to ask for a similar neck. Hmmmm...

TABLATURE TUESDAY: ETTA BAKER - CROW JANE

This eight-bar blues theme (key of E, standard tuning) is a Piedmont standby.  Josh White used it for his classic "Blood Red River" while Simmie Dooley and Pink Anderson romped it up on "Every Day in the Week."  In this arrangement, again based on Etta Baker's version, the thumbed third string played against the fingerpicked open second string (as in the first bar) is an essential wrinkle, but this is mostly alternating bass with an attractive turnaround in bar 7.

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MOTO MONDAY

Well, it's promotion season again and the FY13 Sergeant Major / Master Gunnery Sergeant selection message was published just the other day.  Due to the infamous "Drawdown" of the Marine Corps total force structure  (this normally occures after major combat engagements), my military occupational specialty has allocated 14 spaces for Master Gunnery Sergeant (E-9) - this number may fluctuate as we near October.  This is good news as the past few years have only offered three or four spaces.  Moreover, I learned that I am in the "Below Zone" for promotion.  This means that I am eligible;  I've been promoted a few ranks while in the below zone, so I'll keep my fingers crossed.

The board of personnel charged with promoting the most qualified Master Sergeants convenes in October and this daunting task will take them into December.  A big part of the selection process is providing an updated photo to the board.  This is where they scrutinize everything from an individual's weight, proper wear of ribbons, tattoos, uniform fit and whatever else they decide to zoom in on.

The photo must be taken within a year from the current selection board and I happened to take mine last week.  I don't think I'll have any issues, so it boils down to how competitive I am on paper.

Semper Fidelis!

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ONE-OF-A-KIND MISTER FREEDOM® “ROAD CHAMP©” ENGINEER BOOTS

There was absolutely nothing wrong with my second pair of Mister Freedom® “Road Champ©” Engineer Boots, but as a self-proclaimed leathercrafter, I was just itching to put my own stamp on 'em.  My other pair of RC's have been transformed by Okuyama, but I didn't want to alter the shape of these - just something relatively understated.  
I recently whipped up a new black dye recipe that'll give leather a nice patina, subtly revealing the underlying brown of the organic leather color - a perfect beginning to this project.  
**These boots are expensive (and worth every cent!), so I don't recommend anyone try this at home**
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Staying consistent with Christophe's original pattern inspired by 1930′s to 1950′s American engineer and work boots, I decided to stick with the former and add cut out a completely functional 1930's-style "D-Pocket."  This is more of a visual design, but can be used to carry credit cards, coins, guitar picks, etc.  The 1930's-style Bootleggers Reunion ball zipper and button is something I found out in town  and thought it would be perfect for use with this project. 

I carefully removed the organic buckles and carefully replaced them with a new set of custom Okuyama buckles I had laying around. While I was at it, I cut out a longer top strap, dyed and shaped it, punched the holes and replaced the original.

Prior to applying the any dye, I used my tried and tested method of steel wool and shaving cream to remove any original finish.  This provided a "blank canvas" and allowed for a clean black dye application.  

The boots were re-oiled using shoe oil and I refinished the sole/heel edges.

The matte color of the zipper teeth and pull match the matte buckles and look perfect together.   

REVIEW: JOHN LOFGREN & CO. ENGINEER BOOTS

I've been anxiously awaiting the release of the John Lofgren & Co. Engineer Boots since the day they were announced and, finally, after months of restless waiting, they are mine (insert evil laughter).

The first thing I noticed is the understated box with the nicely designed label affixed onto the short end, reminiscent of originals from the 1950's and consistent with the style from which these boots were born.

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The packing is standard but contains an extra sheet of light foam to protect the Horween leather - a nice level of attention-to-detail from John and his crew for these high-end boots.  The open container reminded me of a really cool shadow box and I wanted to just tack it up to the wall.

My first impression after pulling off the lid is there's no mistaking the smell of leather that goes through an 89-step tanning process from the world famous Horween Leather Company.  Known as Chromexcel or simply CXL leather, footwear aficionados are drawn to this high-quality leather (to include yours truly).  One whiff from the freshly opened box and you know it's Horween leather.  For those not familiar with Horween CXL, the leather is buttery soft and smooth. 
When I first began collecting Vintage Engineer Boots over twenty years ago, white welt stitching was my clue that boots were well made.  Today's white thread for me is triple stitching. These boots bear both qualities on the parts where they count most - the vamp and heel counter.

While distancing himself from the crowd, John took his boots to the next level by adding Goodyear storm welts. Something I haven't seen any other modern-day boot company tackle - another visually pleasing piece of attention-to-detail.

Just like any other Engineer Boot enthusiast, I'm somewhat of a Cat's Paw snob; however, the fact that John went with the Vibram sole/heel combination (made in the USA - most are made in China) leads me to think that he opted to go the function over form direction.  In this case consumers get the best of both worlds.  For me, it's actually a breath of fresh air as Cat's Paw's tend to wear a lot quicker requiring more trips to the local Cobbler.  He also made sure to use the desired "8" stitch over the half-sole.  

The heel/sole combination attributes of this footwear style are what really set the conditions of a really good looking pair.  This is what frames the rest of the boot.  For example, a really nice Carlo of Hollywood painting isn't as inspiring without it's attractive force perspective frame setting it off.  John used a double mid-sole with a perfectly stacked heel capped with 5/8 inches of Vibram, totaling 1 5/8" - not too high and not disappointingly low.  

The heel, commonly referred to (but unofficially named) the "Cuban Heel" is another piece of visual candy.  Photo #4 provides a more accurate portrayal of its shape.  This, combined with the pair-shaped contour of the heel counter, lends to the overall attractive and streamlined symmetry of these boots - something a lot of companies have missed the mark on.

The low rounded (non-steel) toe profile doesn't bear a modern-day "bump" or bulbous look found on lasts used by many of today's companies.  John chose to stay consistent with the overall look of his 1950's inspired Engineer Boots and carved out a custom last desired by collectors; round and tapered in both height and width - no cookie cutter, off-the-shelf last here.   

Measurement/Sizing - I comfortably wear a US size 8 in Engineer Boots with an extra tiny bit of wiggle room (just the way I like 'em), but in these boots the US size 7 (Japanese size 25) fit just like my normal size 8's.  At first don, I noticed the comfortable snug feeling around the top of the foot between the toe box and upper vamp.  You just know that with time, they will stretch and form to the characteristics of your movements - there's nothing better than being the first to break in high quality leather.  The way John designed the heel counter, my heels don't swim around as with a few of my other Engineer Boots.  Between the fit of the vamp and the heel area, there doesn't seem to be a need to adjust the instep strap - again, something I normally have to do with of few of my other boots.  

These size 7's measure 11 3/8" from heel to toe with heel against wall and 4 3/16" at the widest part of the sole.  As a reference, the sizing on these are similar to Red Wing 2268's.

These boots simply look and feel amazing!   I own quite a few high-end Engineer Boots and the John Lofgren & Co. Engineer Boots easily fit into that category ... without question.  I've recently gotten over walking on eggshells with my new high-end boots, so with these I put 'em on and wore them like they owed me money.  Having said that, these are built like tanks and will age beautifully.    

Available Colors: Black (Sizes 7 - 12), Brown (Sized 8-10) in D width 

Soles / Heels: Vibram #705 / Vibram  Leather: Horween Chromexcel Cowhide (2.3-2.6mm thick)  Hardware: Antiqued Brass

Price: ¥83,790

It's obvious John put a lot of thought and energy into his boots. Combined with his great customer service, fast shipping and endless production of high-end clothing, this is a brand to keep at the top of your list. If these were ever lost or stolen, I wouldn't hesitate to order another pair.  Get yours while you can.

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TABLATURE TUESDAY: LEAD BELLY - ON A MONDAY

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1940'S ENGINEER BOOTS

Brand: Unknown
Circa: 1940's
Color: Black
Size: Appear to be 8 1/2
Length: 11 1/2"
Soles: Composition Half Soles
Leather: Oil Tanned Cowhide
Hardware: Too rusty to tell
Condition:  The kind only lots of period wear and even more time being stuffed away can produce
Sold For: $550 / Best Offer

Here's an amazing pair where the buyer scored with his best offer.

Looking through my database of archived Vintage Engineer Boots, I couldn't find anything with characteristics matching these.  The first thing that caught my attention were the cast upper buckles, reminiscent of those used on modern-day WESCO's.  Then there's the mismatched instep buckles.  Is this the victim of period modification or the skilled work of a lone craftsman?  I'm not sure.  I do know; however, that I'd have dropped this much money on them in a heart beat.  In my opinion, these coulda easily fetched four figures.

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MOTO MONDAY

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THIS JUST IN...

• Leather: 9-10 Ounce Top Grain American Cowhide
• Color: Black (Hand Dyed)
• Size: 36 (holes range from 34-38)
• Width: Approximately 1 5/8" (just under 1 3/4")
• Hardware: Nickel Buckle, Nickel cluster Studs, Large Jewels with nickel rings, Small Jewels with antiqued nickel and antiqued brass rings.
• Jewel Colors: Large - Blue, Green, Red, Black; Small - Blue, Black, Amber/Yellow, Red
• Condition: Newly Handcrafted, Unused - hand dyed, hand cut, hand studded, hand finished

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LIMITED RUN JOHN LOFGREN & CO. ENGINEER BOOTS...IN BROWN!!

Brand: John Lofgren & Co.
Color: Brown (Limited Run)
Sizes: 8-10 in D width
Soles: Vibram #705
Heels: Vibram
Leather: Horween Chromexcel Cowhide (2.3-2.6mm thick)
Welt:  Goodyear Storm Welt
Hardware: Antiqued Brass
Price: ¥79,800.00

Right when I thought Mr. Lofgren made the best looking 1950's style Engineer Boots available, he takes it up a notch with a brown option. Just like with the 1930's style Mister Freedom® "Road Champs," I think I'm gonna have to pick up two pairs...in both colors.  These are just that good!

www.vintageengineerboots.com