Californian blue jeans Lot.74, Zip Fly, NOS Cone denim, made in USA, Fall 2015.

 

 

Lot.74 Californian blue jeans, NOS Cone denim.
“The Sportsman” catalog, made in USA, Fall 2015.

Immediately following its recent New Old Stock wheat denim release, the new Mister Freedom® Lot.74 swept the nation overnight…
Rumors of ferocious shopping stampedes have been relayed by the media, said rumors now backed by strong unequivocal photographic evidence.

To mark the addition of the Lot.74 blue jeans pattern to the Sportsman catalog for Fall 2015, we thought of simultaneously issuing a compañero to our wheat denim amigo. Fresh-off a coveted California factory, this run is made from a handsome 12.5 Oz blue denim, limited yardage of NOS from Cone Mills found in a local warehouse. This righthand twill denim is of an attractive shade of indigo blue, featuring a white and red stripe selvedge ID.

The Californian Lot.74 is not just another iteration of previous Californian lots, and departs quite a bit from its Lot.64 or Lot.654 predecessors. For one, the fit has been trimmed significantly for a 60’s McQueenesque vibe, with a fitted top block and a straight leg from the knee on down. The Lot.74 are no jeggings (aka denim tights for the connoisseur) however, those being readily available elsewhere, raw and in all kinds of fierce and desirable chemical washes.
The lot.74 might be a good option for ‘smaller frame’ fit individuals looking for a period-proportioned seat/thigh/calf silhouette.
The keen eye will notice that McQueen, at an alleged 5’9 ½ and a waist 32 according to Western Costumes, opted to have some of his classic dungarees taken in from the knee down to achieve that specific visual balance. During his Johnny Strabler days in “The Wild One” (1953), Brando, at 5’8 and in a body-type league of his own, had the Columbia Pictures’ Costume Department alter his 501® from the knee down as well. Part of the popularity of the traditional five pocket jeans pattern, through decades of ever-changing fashion, might reside in its easily-altered outseam.

The addition of an old school “Gripper Zipper” to our Californian is a nod to the supposed improvement that zip-fly jeans were over their button-fly model counterparts. If H.D. Lee® introduced his 101z slide-fastener fly cowboy jeans in 1926, and the Levi’s® suits-controlled design team started playing with them around 1951, it is not until the 1960’s that zippers evolved into a popular feature on most blue jeans. Today, zipper jeans are in general considered unfashionable and usually pooh-poohed by denimheads, somewhat of a convincing argument in itself to release a MF® version.
The rear pockets of the Lot.74 have been subjected to an overhaul, and are inspired by 60’s-70’s denim pocketing rather than the 1950’s influence of our original Lot.54. If the rear pockets top reinforcement stitching is still there, we have removed the hidden rivets, saving the Planet one copper rivet at a time.
The denim fabric selvedge is still inconspicuously featured on the outseam, the watch pocket fold and the overlocked fly placket. Our choice of pocket bag fabric for this season’s Lot.74 Californian is a solid navy blue 100% cotton pique, part of a NOS grouping of French workwear fabrics scored a while back.

The Sportsman “Californian” LOT.74 blue jeans are designed and manufactured in California by Mister Freedom®, in collaboration with Sugar Cane Co.

SPECS:

PATTERN:
Inspired by traditional five-pocket type 1960′s-1970’s era blue jeans, traditional slim fit, straight leg from the knee down. The Lot.74 is our slimmest five-pocket jeans cut, and is as slim as we’ll go, with a silhouette similar to that of the Malibu’s and a mid-high rise.

FABRIC:
Limited New Old Stock Cone Mills indigo blue denim, 12.5 Oz., white/red line selvedge ID, unsanforized. Milled in the USA.
Pocket bags: French NOS navy blue cotton pique, from an old stock of French workwear fabric lot.

DETAILS:
* Five pockets.
* Zip fly, vintage-style brass ‘Gripper Zipper” pull.
* Twelve types of 100% cotton threads (gauge and color combination) used for construction. Main colors are yellow and orange.
* Re-designed rear pocket shape, featuring MF® original “M” stitch in banana yellow.
* Original debossed leather MF® patch on rear pocket.
* Top pocket reinforcement zig-zag stitching.
* Original brass cast MF® branded waist button.
* Unmarked copper riveting for pocket reinforcement.
* Fabric selvedge featured on leg outseams, zip fly placket and coin pocket fold.
* Original MF® ‘smoke-free Johnny’ pocket paper flasher.
* Made in sunny California, USA.

SIZING/FIT
The Californian LOT.74 comes UN-WASHED and cut so that the measurements match the labeling AFTER an initial cold soak/line dry. A tagged W32 x L34 “Californian” actually measures about 34” x 36½” when raw, and will shrink to approx. 32” x 34” after soak/dry.
Although some opt to wear their jeans raw and never wash them, a more practical and sensible option seems to be the cold soak/line dry/wear-when-damp to set creases protocole.

Which size works for you depends on how you like your jeans to fit. I wear a slim-fitting but comfortable tagged W32 in the Lot.74.
We recommend getting your usual waist size, although proper fit is a subjective matter and everyone has their own idea of what looks good.
As with all denim twill, shrinkage and stretching will occur for a while and will depend on the wearer’s body, activities and initial fit.
Please refer to sizing chart for approximate raw/soaked measurements. Soaked = 30mn cold soak, spin dry and line dry (ie. minimal shrinkage).

CARE:
Wash your jeans when hygiene dictates and common sense prevails.
When cleaning is required, machine wash inside out to avoid marbling. Cold water, gentle cycle, eco-friendly mild detergent and line dry. Please note that the debossed artwork on the leather patch will naturally ‘flatten out’ when soaked in water. As devastating as it is, this is normal.
Patina will develop according to activities and frequency of wear.

Available RAW/unwashed/Un-sanforized
Sizes
W28 x L32
W29 x L32
W30 x L32
W31 x L32
W32 x L34
W33 x L34
W34 x L34
W36 x L34
W38 x L34
Retail $299.95

Soon available from www.misterfreedom.com, and our Los Angeles brick & mortar store.
Email sales@misterfreedom.com or call 323-653-2014 with any questions unanswered above.
Thank you for your support,

Christophe Loiron
Mister Freedom®

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