Mister Freedom® TRAILBLAZER, Brushed Cotton Sateen.
mfsc FW2019 Surplus Catalog.
Made in Japan.
Do you know what a camel is?
Someone once said that a camel is a horse designed by a Board of Experts…
Well, our TRAILBLAZER is one of those hybrid species from Weirdsville, courtesy of the MF® Design Department. Working on FW2019 last year, the initial intention of our in-house Board of Experts – joined that day by Mr. Tom Tanaka, friend, skilled surfer and head of the International Dept. of Toyo Enterprise – was to release a winter version of the SECOYA Shirt, merely updating the light ounce chambray to a heftier fabric option. So much for that easy-breezy plan…
Ideas started flowing, such as making the shirt full button-up front (not pull-over), and using metal grommets instead of stitched eyelets for ventilation.
I had quickly dismissed a suggestion by Tina from Bazar a few weeks prior to that FW2019 meeting, pointing out to the practicality of “a shirt with added slash pockets”, just because her pitch had started with “you know what you should do?” That idea popped back up on the drafting table during the design meeting. A few cups of brain juice later and we had a few rough sketches for the “kangaroo” pockets and front button placket, which materialized later into the mfsc TRAILBLAZER courtesy of Sensei Fukutomi San, pattern maestro of Toyo Enterprise.
We had been contemplating for a while using Brushed Cotton Sateen for an mfsc project, a popular textile for casual sportswear in the 1960’s-70’s, and a big hit in Europe at the time. The leisure suit collector and vintage fashion gourmet will relate to funky-fresh Lee® trucker jackets with matching bottoms, and to the plethora of off-brand flare jeans and shirt-jaks cut from that glorious textile, in a wild palette of pastel or bold colors. This fabric would be a perfect fit for our trailblazing cameloid.
The FW2019 TRAILBLAZER fabric is a weft-faced brushed sateen, a tightly woven twill with a characteristic soft brushed satin weave face and a plain weave reverse. We opted for two complimenting colors, Prussian blue and rust, lifted from two vintage garments from the MF® vintage archives.
If the rest of the specifics of the Secoya Shirt are still there – double-shoulder yoke, selvedge gussets, chin strap, and combo of assorted colorful tin-pressed buttons – the mfsc TRAILBLAZER is in a league of its own. With the four front pockets contrasting with the rounded shirttail panels typical of vintage tuck-in style shirting, the garment had morphed into an overshirt/jacket.
Blending 1930’s details and 1970’s fabrics, the vibe of our TRAILBLAZER is somewhat reminiscent of early California rock climbing and mountaineering (see The Stone Masters, “Valley Uprising” documentary, etc…), rather than the initial Dust Bowl workwear vibe of its Secoya predecessor.
The MF® TRAILBLAZER is designed in California by the Mister Freedom® Board of Experts and manufactured in Japan by Sugar Cane Co.
SPECS:
FABRIC:
100 % cotton sturdy weft-faced brushed sateen, selvedge. Milled in Japan.
Two color options: Prussian blue and Rust.
Facing: 100% cotton Buzz Rickson’s USN-type indigo chambray, selvedge.
DETAILS:
* An original mfsc design, blending vintage 1930’s-1940’s classic American fancy chambray work shirt patterns, 1970’s fashionable fabrics, early California rock climbing low-tech vibes, in a contemporary approach.
* Full button-up front.
* Two bottom slash pockets with original “brain-juice special” pocket bag construction.
* Vintage “Double-Back / Double-Shoulder Yoke / Double-Underarm” pattern.
* Ventilation metal eyelet grommets on underarm and back panels.
* Rounded shirttails with selvedge side gussets.
* 1930’s style chin-strap.
* Front button-up plackets/cuff slits/chest pockets featuring indigo chambray facing accents.
* Combination of 1940’s style tin-pressed metal painted buttons, contrasting colors and models. (Note that the paint chips off easily, as it did on vintage buttons.)
* Double chest pocketing, buttoned down.
* Blue chambray concealed chest pocket, displaying fabric selvedge.
* High-count 100% cotton tonal stitching, chainstitch overall construction, no open/overlocked seams.
* Original MF® mfsc “Surplus” woven rayon label.
* Made in Japan.
SIZING/FIT:
The MF® TRAILBLAZER comes raw/unwashed and is cut so that the measurements match the labeling after an initial cold soak/line dry.
We recommend this usual protocol before wearing:
- Cold soak for about 30-40mn, with occasional hand agitation.
- Spin dry and line dry.
- Hang until fully dry.
This shirt is a non tuck-in type, and is considered more like an over-shirt or shirt-jacket. I wear a comfortable Medium in the TRAILBLAZER, my usual size in mfsc shirts, with enough room to layer.
Please refer to sizing chart for approximate raw/soaked measurements.
Soaked = 30-40mn cold soak, spin dry and line dry (ie. minimal shrinkage).
CHART
Available RAW/unwashed.
CARE:
Launder when needed. We recommend turning garments inside out to avoid marbling of the fabric during laundering.
Machine wash on gentle cycle, cold water, minimum eco-friendly mild detergent and line dry.
SIZES:
14½ (Small)
15½ (Medium)
16½ (Large)
17½ (X-Large)
18½ (XX-Large)
Available from our Los Angeles red brick HQ, from www.misterfreedom.com, and fine retailers around the World.
Email sales@misterfreedom.com or call 323-653-2014 with any questions unanswered above.
Thank you for your support,
Christophe Loiron
Mister Freedom®
©2019
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