Mister Freedom® Continental “JC” Two-Piece Suit (Sportcoat & Trousers) New Old Stock black-coated crosshatch denim (BCD) mfsc Sportsman catalog, Fall 2018 Made in USA
Time to get rhythm ‘n get the blues, and kick off our Fall 2018 mfsc collection with this first installment, the dark and handsome “JC” two-piece suit!
All made-in-USA, this original trousers and sportcoat set, latest addition to the Mister Freedom® Continental family, is cut from an old MF® favorite, the final precious yardage of New Old Stock black-coated indigo denim (BCD) from our dusty vault.
Previously featured on the MF® Speedways and its Cowboy Jacket sidekick, this special NOS fabric is not the modern waxy black rubber type coating seen on novelty contemporary jeans, but rather an interesting indigo denim twill printed with a soft-hand opaque coat of matte black water-based ink. If the black ink completely covers the indigo blue warp of the denim, the traditional light-colored grayish weft (with somewhat of a greenish sheen here) shows on the reverse of the fabric. The slub of the yarns is visible on the weft threads, giving this specific denim its crosshatch quality. If the BCD initially looks flat black due to the pigment coating, it will develop its own patina overtime, blending shades of indigo with black and white, according to activities, frequency of wear and wash cycles. Undertones of indigo will rapidly appear with normal wear abrasion.
Below photos show a worn/washed pair of BCD Speedways next to the “JC” Continental Trousers in un-worn condition, both cut from the exact same fabric.
Black-coated denim, before and after.
The “JC” Two-Piece Suit consists of two of our popular classic patterns, the MF® Continental Sportcoat and Continental Trousers. The unstructured blazer pattern is already available in an array of fine NOS fabrics, an indigo crosshatch twill, two grey cotton-linen twills, a light indigo “Player” denim, and an elegant tropical “Congo Gabardine” cotton-linen twill.
The Trousers have previously been released in brown Cacao Chambray, indigo Crosshatch Denim Twill, and light indigo “Player” Denim.
Available as individual garments for a mix & match look, the black-coated denim “JC” is of course offered as a Sportcoat/Trousers set, for the Man-in-Black inclined.
The mfsc Continental “JC” Two-Piece Suit in Black-Coated Denim (Continental Sportcoat & Trousers) is designed in California by Mister Freedom® and manufactured in the USA in collaboration with Sugar Cane Co.
SPECS: FABRIC: New Old Stock crosshatch pigment-coated denim, soft-hand matte black finish on indigo warp, 100% cotton, 12 Oz. Probable Kurabo (Japan) origin. Pocketing & half lining/facing:NOS fancy woven stripe 100% cotton plain weave (ivory white with blue & grey stripes), milled in Europe.
Continental “JC” SPORTCOAT: * Unstructured silhouette. * Lightweight and easily folded, perfect traveling companion. * Sixties-vibe high button front. * Black corozo wood butons. * Half shoulder floating lining, 100% cotton NOS fancy woven stripe twill. * Side hip pockets with flaps. * Pocket openings reinforced on the inside with facing fabric. * Tonal 100% cotton stitching, all clean caballo (chainstitch) flat-felled seam construction, green color “Sportsman” signature chainstitch on the inside. No open edges or overlock. * Made in USA.
Continental “JC” TROUSERS: * Elegant late 1950′s early 1960’s type silhouette and fit, straight leg. * Black corozo wood fly and waist buttons. * Flat-felled side seam caballo all around construction. * Rear welt pockets. * Trousers-style belt loops. * Adjustable back cinch strap, with vintage NOS metal slide buckles. * 100% cotton NOS fancy woven stripe twill pocket bags, waist band . * NOS indigo twill fly/cinch facing. * Watch pocket. * Tonal stitching, 100% cotton thread construction, with inside green chainstich MF® signature. * Original “The SPORTSMAN” woven rayon label on rear waistband, concealed when wearing a belt. * Tailor shop-style unfinished overlocked leg bottom, to suit your cuffing preferences. * Made in USA.
SIZING/FIT This explains how we size our garments. The Continental Sportcoat and trousers come raw/unwashed. We recommend the usual initial 30mn cold soak/occasional hand agitation/spin dry/hang dry process. The tagged size reflects the size of the garment after going through this process. The subtle variation of shrinkage between body fabric/lining fabric/cotton thread will result in puckering and roping, slightly altering the fit and drape. I personally opted for a Size 38 in the Continental sportcoatand Waist 32 trousers. These are my usual sizes in the Continental series and most mfsc garments.
Trousers sizing: The Continental Trousers are true to size. If you are a measured waist 32 inches, you are most-likely a stamped W32 in the Continental Trouser. Do not size down on these. Please note that the Continental Trousers pattern might not be a good option for all body types. Proportion-wise, those with Ronaldo-style muscular legs will probably look better in our regular Sportsman Chino models.
Trousers hemming: After the initial soak/hang dry process, we recommend settling down on the final length of the bottom hem after gently wearing the trousers around the house a bit. The cotton fabric tends to naturally bunch/wrinkle and pull the leg up slightly. Letting this specific fabric react to your own body for an hour or so will allow you to decide on a proper classic leg break that works for you. I opted for a classic 1 1/4 fold, and subtle period flood.
Style-wise, we do not recommend bulky denim rolls and over-played BRMC cuffing with these classic slacks.
Please refer to sizing chart for approximate raw/soaked measurements. Soaked = 30mn cold soak, spin dry and line dry.
(Fit pic: Haus is wearing a size 38 jacket and W32 trousers.)
CARE: Treat your MF® Continental “JC” black-coated denim garments as you would fancy indigo denim wearables. Hand washing can be a good option for those concerned with specific wear patterns and high-contrast colors fades, otherwise machine wash on DELICATE.
Wash separately to avoid color transfer. Turn garment inside-out to minimize unsightly marbling of the fabric. Cold water, mild eco-friendly detergent. Hang dry.
Full wash cycle and heat dryer are not recommended.
Initially black, the MF® Continental “JC” Two-Piece Suit will develop its own attractive patina with normal wear, blending shades of indigo, black, and white, according to activities, frequency of wear and wash cycles. Be patient and just enjoy looking good during the process!
Sportcoat and trousers available separately or as a two-piece suit for substantial saving.
Mister Freedom® modified “Shipyard Chinos” shorts. Made in USA.
In an effort to make new with the old, a rather sustainable approach to consumerism, here is a Spring 2018 twist on our previously-released “Shipyard Chinos”.
Originally issued as part of our “American Sportswear NOS” Fall 2011 capsule collection, the harbinger of our “The Sportsman“on-going catalog, these utility pants have been customized into summer-weight bermudas with a handy side pocket.
The original pattern was inspired by vintage work pants and naval dungarees and features a wrap-leg construction, patch pockets and adjustable cinch-back. Along with the recently-made available Boonie Utes, these modified Shipyard Chinos shorts are now beefing-up our funky fresh, colorful, eclectic and sexy MF® Shorts section. Everything for the stylish gentleman with an urge to pay tribute to Tom Selleck.
The MF® Shipyard Chinos shorts are designed in California by Mister Freedom® and made in USA in collaboration with Sugar Cane Co.
FABRICS: 100% cotton tightly woven chino twill, milled in Japan. Dry hand, light ounce.
Three colors available, khaki, brown, navy.
SPECS: * An original Mister Freedom® pattern inspired by vintage work pants and naval dungarees.
* Modified into above-the-knee bermudas.
* Added side pocket.
* Front patch pockets secured in the waist band, copper rivet reinforced.
* Wrap leg construction (no side seam).
* Buckle-back adjustable strap with vintage French NOS metal buckle.
* Crotch rivet.
* Rear cotton cloth patch for custom stenciling, concealed behind back strap.
* Metal donut crest buttons for waist and fly, painted black.
* Tonal 100% cotton stitching.
* Printed MF® mfsc label.
SIZING/FIT:
The MF® Shipyard Chinos shorts come raw/unwashed, unless specified.
They will shrink to tagged size after a cold rinse and line dry. Comfortable fit. I opted for a Size 30. Could go to 32 for a more roomy silhouette and cinch the waist. The silhouette is according to personal preferences, but i don’t recommend wearing those chinos tight. If you are a true waist 31, you should fit in a waist 30 in the shipyard chinos.
This modified shorts version of the Shipyard Chinos is cut above the knee. Results may vary according to your ratio waist/height and silhouette.
Refer to chart for measurements.
CHART
Available Raw/unwashed (unless otherwise specified on the MF® webstore) Sizes Limited availability W 28 W 30 W 32 W 34 W 36 W 38 Retail $229.95
“La bande du Grand Albert”, Paris, by Brassaï, early 1930’s.
Mister Freedom® Casquette “La Deffe”, NOS fabrics. Made in USA.
Here is an inventory update of our popular MF® Casquette “La Deffe”, an original headwear pattern we initially released in 2011 and have been consistently restocking since. The first batch was released during our “Les Apaches” collection.
Inspired by French 1920’s~40’s mens casquettes, these single-panel caps are cut from vintage New Old Stock fabrics, and constructed in the spirit of their ancestors.
The term ”deffe” is an obsolete French slang word, only familiar to an older generation today. Etymologically, a hat manufacturer called DESFOUX (located near Pont-Neuf, Paris, and established in 1878) made silk caps favored by butchers, pimps and Parisian apaches. A ”Desfoux” or “deffe” ended designating a cap in colorful gangster argot.
The MF® Casquette “La Deffe” is designed and made in California by Mister Freedom®.
SPECS:
* An original MF® pattern inspired by French single-panel 1920’s~40’s casquettes.
* Cut from assorted New Old Stock vintage fabrics, available in very limited quantity.
* Genuine kangaroo leather sweatband, veg-tan, will not stretch or rot.
* Vintage NOS black twill hat lining, featuring silkscreened original Mister Freedom® artwork.
* Decorative crown strap, secured by 1900’s french NOS glass buttons
* Snap-up brim (vintage United Carr snap).
* Made in our fancy 7161 Beverly atelier.
SIZING:
The MF® Casquettes “La Deffe” are ready-to-wear and do not require any initial treatment.
We measure the sweatband in centimeters. If unsure, measure your head circumference with a metric cloth measuring tape to determine your hat size. Kangaroo leather will technically not stretch or shrink, but the hat crown might loosen slightly with normal wear.
CARE:
Professional cleaning only. Do not machine-wash.
Available raw/unwashed. Limited sizes available per fabric option. See updated inventory here.
57cm (~ US 7 1/8)
58cm (~ US 7 1/4)
59cm (~ US 7 3/8)
60cm (~ US 7 1/2)
61cm (~ US 7 5/8)
62cm (~ US 7 3/4) Retail $199.95
Mister Freedom® SCUTTLER CAP, NOS fabrics. Made in USA.
If you are in a Peaky Blinders or Jack Sparrow kinda mood, here are a few additions to our original “Scuttler Cap” pattern initially introduced in 2013, our interpretation of the popular vintage newsboy eight-panel hat.
While Paris of the Belle Époque had its ‘Apaches’, Manchester enjoyed the ‘Scuttlers’, all victims, misfits and drop-outs left by the wayside of the Second Industrial Revolution…
In “Teenage, Creation of Youth 1875-1945”, British writer Jon Savage describes their attire this way, quoting a period account from the head missionary of a Manchester orphanage in 1890:
“…the “professional scuttler” wore “a puncher’s cap”, “narrow-go-wides” trousers, narrow-toed brass-tipped clogs, and heavy customized belts with designs, picked out in metal pins, that included serpents, stars, and pierced hearts. The “boy expert” Charles Russell observed that the Mancunian variant wore “a loose white scarf”, with hair “well plastered down upon his forehead”, “a peaked cap rather over one eye”, and trousers “cut – like a sailor’s – with ‘bell bottoms’”
The fabrics of our “Scuttler Caps” are New Old Stock, 1940’s to 1970’s.
Please note that the sizing paper label stitched to the back of the cap, a reference to vintage packaging, is easily removable and not part of permanent branding.
The MF® Scuttler Cap is designed and made in California by Mister Freedom®.
SPECS:
* An original MF® pattern inspired by vintage 1930’s newsboy eight-panel caps.
* Genuine kangaroo leather sweatband.
* NOS cotton biased tape seam piecing.
* All made in our fancy 7161 Beverly atelier.
SIZING:
To avoid confusion, we recommend wearing the Scuttler Cap as-is, without rinsing it.
We measure the sweatband in centimeters. If unsure, measure your head with a metric cloth tape measure to determine your hat size. Kangaroo leather will not stretch or shrink but the hat crown might loosen slightly with normal wear.
CARE:
Professional cleaning only. Do not machine-wash.
Available raw/unwashed. Limited sizes available per fabric option. See updated inventory here.
57cm (~ US 7 1/8)
58cm (~ US 7 1/4)
59cm (~ US 7 3/8)
60cm (~ US 7 1/2)
61cm (~ US 7 5/8)
62cm (~ US 7 3/4) Retail $199.95
Mister Freedom® Original ‘Stanley’ Shop Tees Made & Silkscreened in USA
This is an updated version of the initial MF® Shop Tees blogpost, originally published May 21st, 2017).
From stitching appliqués or spray-painting hand-cut stenciled motifs on an assortment of vintage bodies in a small garage in the late 1990’s, to silkscreening our own T-shirts (the USA-made Mister Freedom® Stanley) in the heat of our 7161 Beverly sweatshop, playing with original graphics has always been a fun creative hobby for us.
The journey from hand-doodled graphic to final printed garment is not a dull one. We like having things done in a specific way, so we keep the process in-house, running small batches, scheduling frantic printing sessions in between water-sports activities. Save from having the screens burnt in a small Downtown LA specialized workshop, the whole silkscreening operation is handled at the MF® HQ.
Please note that we are definitely not a professional silkscreening service, and we are not claiming any expertise on the subject. Having said that, here are a few random behind-the-scene bits of intel on the Mister Freedom® way to do it:
* We are using a four-screen rotary printing press, custom jerry-rigged to our needs and available work space. No fancy automatic machinery, this single-operator device pumps them out one shirt at a time.
* Mixing our own colors without formulas results in color variations within each batch. We even mix our own color black, to get a ‘vintage’ black when the shirt starts fading.
* The old-school bleed-through effect (the faint negative of the print on the reverse side of the knit) depends on the squeegee pressure, number of passes, fluidity of the ink, weather, and will therefore fluctuates.
* For multi-colored prints, gaps between colors will vary from one batch to another, as we always eyeball screen registration during set-up (quite a lengthy process with four colors). This random off-set registration is also a cool trait of vintage 50’s-60’s logo T-shirts.
* Four color printing requires unleashing the four-headed dragon, our favorite. Everyone runs for cover, and a full workday will produce endless cursing and about a dozen and a half finished shirts, minus the ink spills and mistakes. A four color graphic takes about four times longer to silkscreen than a single color one, a reason why our finer-than-frog-hair “MF Ranch” Tees are like hen’s teeth.
* Just like the rest of our garments, our T-shirts are not distressed with chemical washes. The prints are not artificially aged either. We chose to not digitally alter the original artwork by adding random scratches or rubbed-off areas to stimulate the ‘vintage look’, a mall favorite.
* Our graphics are not generated on Adobe Illustrator, but actually sketched old-school with a pencil and paper, and it is at that initial drawing stage that we try to capture the ‘vintage vibe’. On that note, out of respect for graphic artists, we tend to not cut & paste their artwork on our T-Shirts.
* For a soft-hand print that will gradually chip and fade overtime with repeat washing/drying, we exclusively use water-based ink.
The base colors of our shirts (see currently-stocked colors here) are also quite light-sensitive and will fade naturally with repeat sun exposure.
Due to both technical challenges (with water-based ink, silkscreening dark on light is much easier than light on dark), and aesthetic considerations, specific graphics are only available in the color combination released.
The MF® Shop Tees share their specs with the Stanley T-Shirts. Initially released in the summer of 2015, our Stanleys (still available without prints) are made in USA and feature a vintage-style tubular 100% cotton slubby jersey with the MF® original signature flatlock & coverstitch combo construction. Our Skivvy T-Shirt (our heavier gage knit with a Mil-Specs vibe, available in White, Navy Blue, and Sage Green) will remain a solid-only undershirt option.
For current availability, check out the Mister Freedom® Stanley Shop Tees section of our webstore, periodically updated with latest graphics, colors, and stock of freshly-printed batches.
Painstakingly hand-printing each shirt one at-a-time guarantees the uniqueness of every MF® Stanley Shop Tee. No two printed shirts are 100% identical. Imperfections, inconsistencies and subtle ink smudges are part of our commitment to vintage silkscreening techniques and overall appreciation of wabi-sabi aesthetics.
The Stanley Shop Tees are designed in California by Mister Freedom® and manufactured in the USA. All shirts are silkscreened in-house in Los Angeles, CA., USA, featuring all original MF® artwork.
FABRIC: 100% cotton light-weight slubby tubular jersey knit, milled in the USA. This fabric twists and torques. This natural yarn distortion is expected and not a default. COLORS (2018): * White * Black * Jungle Green (Olive)
TEES SPECS: * Original Mister Freedom® “Stanley” pattern, inspired by vintage 1940′s-50′s cotton T-shaped undershirts. * Vintage style ¼ sleeve length (= approx. 6 ½ inches) * Tubular knit (no side seams) * Cover stitch self-fabric neckband. * Normal mechanical stretch and fabric memory. * Combination of flatlock and cover stitch construction, inspired by 1940′s USMC Government issued undershirts. * 100% cotton thread, for natural roping on seams. * Original MF® “The Sportsman” black woven rayon label on neck band.
* Made in USA. PRINT SPECS:
* All original MF® artwork. * Hand silkscreened with water-based ink, for a soft hand and vintage look.
* Silkscreened in small limited batches, each with unique characteristics. * Will fade like a vintage T-shirt. * Printed in USA.
SIZING/FIT: The MF® Stanley Shop Tees come pre-washed (pre-shrunk). The MF® Stanley fits like the MF® Skivvy does, but due to the nature of its stretchy jersey, the Stanley will feel looser. I wear Medium (38) on most MFSC garments, but sized down to a Small for both MF® Stanley and Skivvy, just personal taste. According to your built and silhouette preference, get your normal size or size down for a slimmer/shorter old school fit. This is how we size our garments. Tip: The best way to figure out which Mister Freedom® T-shirt size will work for you is to take your favorite T-shirt (your idea of a perfect fit), lay it flat without wrinkles, measure Chest (from arm pit to arm pit), Shoulder (from top shoulder seam to top shoulder seam), Sleeves (from top shoulder seam to end) and Length (from top of back collar band to bottom hem), and then find a close match in the Stanley size chart. Again, keep in mind that the Stanley’s knit jersey has mechanical stretch. Refer to sizing chart below for Washed/Dried (we use a heat dryer) approximate measurements (measured flat, without pulling/stretching):
CARE: Low-maintenance as a T-Shirt should be, just throw your Stanley Shop Tee in the washer/dryer when needed. Cold water, delicate cycle, minimal eco-friendly detergent. No bleach. Keep colors separate to avoid potential color transfer when doing laundry. Gradual chipping of the ink and natural fading of the printed graphic is expected and considered a normal evolution.
Available rinsed (pre-shrunk) Sizes (Limited sizing available per graphic) Small Medium Large X-Large
Retail: Solid Stanley (no print, all colors, White/Black/Navy/Gold…): $69.95 Shop Tee Stanley (with single or double-screen print, Gypsy/Sig/Rocket/Knuckles/Skipper/Surplus/Treedom/Sailor MrFrdm/The Champ…): $89.95
Shop Tee Stanley (with three or four-screen print, MF Ranch): $149.95
