Mister Freedom® Ranch Blouse and Californian Lot.674, “ICE-BLU” selvedge denim edition.
mfsc SS2020 “YUCATÁN” collection.
Made in USA.
On October 18, 1956, Rock’n’Roll pioneer Gene Vincent and his wild band of musical geniuses known as “The Blue Caps” recorded the savage “Red Blue Jeans and a Pony Tail”…
Colored denim made its way to the forefront of fashion for casual wear suppliers and westernwear brands in the 1950’s. By the next decade, the catalogs of the “Big Three” (aka Lee®, Levi’s®, Wrangler®) were all spiced-up with a range of colorful models, alongside the traditional indigo blue utilitarian dungaree offerings.
Lee® had ventured into indigo denim alternatives as early as 1958 with their iconic “Westweave” cotton (aka satin) Westerner 100-J, made available in off-white, light blue, brown and black. This was bringing a city feel to ranch wear, with dress-up options for denimed-out cowboys.
Wrangler Blue Bell® had the 22MJZ jacket (Men Jacket Zipper) and matching 11MWZ jeans (Men Western Zipper) in a variety of colors: off-white, light blue, red, black…
Levi’s also had its share of colored fabric options in trucker jackets with matching bottoms, like the popular pique models (941 series), satin models (940 series), and twill models (840 series). All these groovy alternatives were to prove very popular with the youth and in-crowd, becoming favorites on campus, movie sets and city streets alike.
Our Mister Freedom® interpretation of vintage colored denims draws from all the above classics. Sometime in 2019, we reached-out to our friends and textile experts at Toyo Enterprise and finally developed a long-desired light indigo blue selvedge denim. This was quite an unusual request for Sugar Cane’s network of fabric mills, as “heritage” makers tended to mostly focus on ounceage challenges and dark indigoes. One thankfully took-on the task and delivered.
Our 12 Oz. “ICE-BLU” denim twill features a sky blue indigo warp and ecru weft, solid white selvedge, with an attractive overall appearance somewhat reminiscent of our 2012 Hacendado “Baja Denim” fabric.
The two candidates to make the first cut with that original “ICE-BLU” denim are the staple MF® Ranch Blouse and Californian jeans. We opted for the Lot.674 pattern, for its early 1960’s vibe and slim and lean cut, balanced with the Ranch Blouse’s earlier western-wear influences.
Both are of course available for purchase separately. For the brave, the “ICE-BLU” denim combo will be quite the stylish statement, guaranteed to turn more heads than a freeway pile-up. For the Texas Tuxedo-shy, mixing-up either top or bottom with traditional darker denim might be the ticket. Either way, these two pieces are quite versatile for anyone with a sense of style anchored in old classics.
We opted for ivory white contrast stitching, a choice also inspired by 1950’s vintage colored denim specimen.
We are quite fond of this brand new fabric around here, so please forgive the upcoming avalanche of IG posts! Note that we are offering the Lot.764 in select odd sizes too (29, 31, 33), to better accommodate your target fit and desired silhouette. The “ICE-BLU” Ranch Blouse also comes in a rare size 32 (double extra small), for smaller ladies into the boys’ jacket look.
The “ICE-BLU” Ranch Blouse and Californian LOT.674 (available separately) are designed in California by Mister Freedom®, and manufactured in USA in collaboration with Sugar Cane Co., from denim fabric milled in Japan.
SPECS
Fabric:
12 Oz. “ICE-BLU” Denim, light indigo blue warp x ecru weft, solid white selvedge ID, milled in Japan.
Pocketing/facing: sturdy NOS white/navy gingham, 100% cotton.
“ICE-BLU” RANCH BLOUSE:
DETAILS:
* MF® “Uncle Sam” type collar pattern.
* ‘Vintage’ boxy but trim silhouette.
* Pleated front with original MF® arrowhead dart stitching.
* Original MF® “M” stitching on chest pockets.
* Single pocket flap.
* Selvedge front panel fold.
* NOS white/navy gingham fabric facing for collar and pocket flap.
* “Silver” cast MF® branded tack buttons.
* Buckle back, concealed selvedge strap, adjustable, riveted.
* Copper rivet reinforced, unmarked hardware.
* Subtly contrasting ivory white stitching, 100% cotton thread.
* Original mfsc printed “Buckaroo” cloth label.
* Made in USA
SIZING FIT:
The “ICE-BLU” Ranch Blouse comes UN-WASHED and is cut so that the measurements match the labeling AFTER an initial cold soak/line dry.
We recommend the usual protocol before wearing:
- Cold soak for about 30-40mn, with occasional hand agitation.
- Spin dry and line dry.
- Wear briefly before fully-dry to set creases, then hang until fully dry.
I wear my usual Ranch Blouse size in this “ICE-BLU” edition, a cold-soaked 38. Please refer to sizing chart for approximate raw/soaked measurements.
Soaked = 30mn cold soak, spin dry and line dry (ie. minimal shrinkage).
CHART
Available Raw/unwashed ONLY.
Sizes
32 XX-small
34 X-small
36 Small
38 Medium
40 Large
42 X-Large
44 XX-Large
“ICE-BLU” CALIFORNIAN Lot.674:
DETAILS:
* Classic vintage five-pocket blue jeans pattern.
* Button fly.
* Original MF® branded “silver” metal cast waist/fly tack buttons.
* Selvedge leg outseam.
* NOS white/navy gingham fabric pocket bags.
* MF® original “M” stitch design on rear pockets.
* MF® branded natural veg-tan leather patch on rear pocket.
* Subtly contrasting ivory white stitching, 100% cotton thread.
* Coin pocket with concealed selvedge.
* Selvedge button hole fly placket.
* Hidden back pocket reinforcement rivets, with top pocket reinforcement bartack stitching.
* Unlined rear pockets.
* Unmarked copper riveting for pocket opening reinforcement.
* Original MF® paper “ICE-BLU” pocket flasher (sky blue).
* Made in USA.
SIZING/FIT:
The “ICE-BLU” Californian LOT.674 blue jeans come UN-WASHED and are cut so that the measurements match the labeling AFTER an initial cold soak/line dry. A tagged W32 x L34 will shrink to approximately 32 inches x 34 inches after a soak/dry process.
We recommend the usual protocol before wearing:
- Cold soak for about 30-40mn, with occasional hand agitation.
- Spin dry and line dry.
- Wear briefly before fully-dry to set creases, then hang until fully dry.
The “ICE BLUE” Californian Lot.674 are true-to-size, with the usual “vanity sizing” standard in the industry.
A tagged W32 will most-likely be the right size for an individual with an approximate measured waist of +/- 32 inches, and with average body proportions. (Note that your natural waist is a bit bellow the belly button, not bellow the hips.)
The size that will work best for you depends on how you like your jeans to fit. I opted for a W31 in the Lot.674 “ICE BLUE”, which tends to be my size of choice for the MF® style of 1960’s slim jeans patterns, such as our popular Speedways, Malibu’s, Lot.74 and Lot.674 models.
On cuffing: When playing around with period “flood length” à-la McQueen, rather than rolled cuffs or modern unsightly stacking, the Lot.674 has a definite sixties vibe silhouette.
Please refer to sizing chart for approximate raw/soaked measurements.
Soaked = 30-40mn cold soak, spin dry and line dry (ie. minimal shrinkage).
CARE:
Wash when necessary. We recommend turning garment inside-out to avoid potential marbling of the denim fabric.
Machine wash with cold water, gentle cycle, eco-friendly mild detergent and line dry.
Available RAW/unwashed.
Sizes (W is for Waist, measured in inches.)
W 29
W 30
W 31
W 32
W 33
W 34
W 36
Available from www.misterfreedom.com, our Los Angeles brick & mortar store, and fine retailers around the World.
Email [email protected] or call 323-653-2014 with any questions unanswered above.
Thank you for your support.
Christophe Loiron
Mister Freedom®
©2020
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