Mister Freedom® BERKELEY pull-over shirt, “Bleeding Madras” indigo plaid, Sportsman Catalog Spring 2018, Made in USA.

Partying Birdie Num Num-style.

Mister Freedom® “BERKELEY” Pull-over Shirt, indigo ‘bleeding’ madras plaids.
Spring 2018 mfsc “The SPORTSMAN” catalog.
Made in USA.

For Spring 2018, we are adding a new shirt pattern to our on-going production of all made-in-USA originals, regrouped under the Mister Freedom® Sportsman” catalog.

We were aiming for a vintage preppy vibe for this shirt, so we put together a no-frills pull-over type, button-down collar and short sleeves, a nod to 1960’s American campuses attire. The moniker is an obvious reference to UC Berkeley, and its rich history.

To complete the reference to old-school collegial wear and casual Ivy-League style, we opted for madras plaids to introduce our BERKELEY shirt Birdie Num Num-style…
But to make things a bit more challenging, and instead of replicating one of the hundreds of traditional madras plaid patterns (for a taste of variety, read the saga of the limited edition MF® RANGER Shirts released in 2016, all cut from a lucky score of assorted vintage New Old Stock madras fabrics), we tapped into our in-store archives of antique Japanese textiles for inspiration. After heartbreaking deliberations, we selected two 1920’s~1940’s plaid specimen (see our Boro Shorties for a range of these end-of-Taishō/early-Showa beautiful shuttle-loom Japanese fabrics turned into neckwear.) We then had limited yardage milled in India on old-school shuttle powerlooms, all that under the supervision of our friends and textile experts of Toyo Enterprises. The weaving process on antiquated machines contributed to the characteristic slub and charming ’imperfections’ typical of authentic madras fabrics.

Because our vintage Japanese swatches involved indigo-dyed yarns, it took some convincing to have the Indian mill use actual indigo, a reluctance probably dating back to woven madras plaids’ early days on the international scene… Besides its novelty popularity as resort garb for lucky travelers to the West Indies, the debut of madras garments in the American casual wear market got a cold shoulder, as 1940’s US consumers were not ready for unstable colors in their wardrobe. Savvy buyers had yet to be convinced to embrace the factory-distressed look, so it took a clever marketing stunt to start a non-colorfast madras fabric craze, allegedly involving an American textile importer , Brooks Bros, and Seventeen Magazine ! That interesting advertising story is related here, and if anyone managed to locate a copy of the original magazine article, we’d love to see it!
Anyways, after the 1960’s heydays of “bleeding madras” loomed in India, traditional indigo blue and vegetable dyes were to be gradually replaced by colorfast chemical dyes, and, today, fabric fading is somewhat a thing of the past for thriving Chennai textile mills.

The Mister Freedom® BERKELEY shirt will subtly “bleed” and naturally age and fade with repeat wear and wash, like vintage madras garments did, to the delight of the fashionable boys and girls of American campuses in the 60’s!

The MF® BERKELEY shirt is designed and made in California by Mister Freedom® in collaboration with Sugar Cane Co, from fabric milled in India inspired by antique Japanese textiles.

SPECS:
FABRICS:
Two distinctive selvedge woven plaids inspired by antique Japanese indigo textiles and vintage madras fabrics, 100% cotton, milled on shuttle powerlooms in India.

DETAILS:
* An original MF® shirt pattern inspired by vintage 1960’s Ivy League style and American campuses attire.
* Pull-over type.
* Short sleeve.
* Button-down collar.
* Corrozo wood “Cat-Eyes” buttons.
* Two inverted-pleat chest pockets.
* Selvedge side gussets.
* Tailored-style sleeve setting.
* Chain-stitch construction, featuring “Sportsman” green thread accent on inside.
* MF® woven “Sportsman” rayon label.
* Designed and made in USA from madras fabric milled in India.

SIZING/FIT:
Both options of the Mister Freedom® BERKELEY shirt come raw/unwashed and will shrink to the same tagged size after an initial 30mn cold soak, spin dry and line dry.
I wear a Medium (15-15½) in most mfsc button-down shirts and I opted for a comfortable yet trim Medium in the BERKELEY shirt.

Please refer to sizing chart for approximate raw/soaked measurements. Soaked = 30mn cold soak, spin dry and lightly heat-dried for 5mn.

CARE:
The BERKELEY shirt can be machine-washed on delicate cycle, cold water, minimal eco-friendly detergent. Line dry. Wash separately to avoid color transfer of the indigo.

Available raw/unwashed.
Sizes
Small (14-14½)
Medium (15-15½)
Large (16-16½)
X-Large (17-17½)
XX-Large (18-18½)

Retail: $249.95

Available from www.misterfreedom.com, our Los Angeles brick & mortar store, 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®
©2018

Mister Freedom® x Sugar Cane msfc FW2018 collection preview

Mister Freedom® x Sugar Cane mfsc FW2018 collection PREVIEW.

Dear Friends,

There it is.
Our Fall Winter 2018 collaboration with Sugar Cane Co.
Each item’s story, design background, fabric specs and ethical manufacturing journey will be documented on this blog as released.
All garments manufactured either in USA (MF® “Sportsman” mfsc catalog) or Japan (MF® “Surplus” mfsc catalog).
Drop dates will start sometime during August 2018.
The entire collection will be available from the MF® HQ (our Los Angeles brick & mortar store), on www.misterfreedom.com, and some select pieces from 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®
©2018

Mister Freedom “BREEZER” Windbreaker Type 2, Indigo Blue Cotton-Linen Chambray & Red Cotton-Rayon Sateen-back, Spring 2018 mfsc Surplus Collection.

 

 

Mister Freedom® “BREEZER” Windbreaker Type II, Indigo Blue Cotton-Linen Chambray & Red Cotton-Rayon Sateen-back.
Spring 2018 mfsc “
SURPLUS” catalog.
Made in Japan.

If it took us a little while to get to officially introduce the “Breezer”, an original MF® jacket produced in 2010 but only documented in 2017, we figured we’d step on it a bit for the release of the Breezer Type II on this blog.

Our 2010 Breezer jackets, originally available in four fabric options, were part of the motorcycle-inspired “Speedsafe Clothing For Modern Riders” mfsc collection, out of which the Mulholland Master was to become a classic highlight. The Breezer Type II is now part of our on-going SURPLUS collection, our selection of designed-in-USA and made-in-Japan classics.

Borrowing its puny moniker from the famous “Scottish Drizzler”, our “Breezer” combines several vintage styles of windbreakers. The “Drizzler” was the classic zipper jacket introduced in 1947 by sportswear specialist McGregor®, an iconic label with a genius design team, familiar to all vintage clothing aficionados. Departing from purely replicating the past, our Breezer blends 50’s swing tops, 40’s US Navy/USMC summer flight jackets (type M-421A), 60’s British vibes, into a casual classic-looking jacket.
The SS2018 Breezer Type II is a “simplified” version of its SS2010 forerunner. We removed the inner and rear pockets, the elbow diamond patch and underarm gussets, but tricked-out the two front patch pockets into a double layer hand-warming pocket pattern. We added narrow cinch tabs to the waist and wrists, as a 50’s sportswear reference.

The Type II comes in two distinct fabric options, both exclusively milled for mfsc in Japan.
The first is a fine indigo selvedge chambray, a slubby tightly-woven and crispy blend of 85% cotton and 15% linen. This blue chambray fabric is quite reminiscent of the 1950’s French Marine Nationale utility uniform fabric that had inspired our Sea Hunt Spring 2014 Crew Pants (see original blog post here), but features a darker and more reddish indigo hue, a denser weave, and a selvedge with white/red stripe ID. It was recently introduced with the release of our SS2018 Naval Chinos.

The second fabric option is a subtle nod to vintage Hollywood, more specifically “Rebel Without A Cause” from 1955. In the second half of the movie, Jim Stark drops slacks and tweed sportcoat, proper 1950’s High School attire, and gears-up in a red jacket, white Tshirt, Lee® 101-Z blue jeans and a pair of mean-looking engineer boots, laying down style rules for future generations of teenage rebels. The iconic red zip-up nylon windbreaker was apparently produced by the “Bud Berma” label, although some believe the movie jacket was a cherry red McGregor Anti-Freeze model…

Our Breezer pattern is obviously not a lift of that jacket, but we did borrow the Technicolor® red from the movie. The fabric of the red Breezer is the same as that of our original Breezer, a double-face woven textile, cotton face and rayon reverse aka cotton-back sateen, inspired by vintage 1950’s ‘weatherproof’ McGregor® Scottish Drizzlers. Our Breezer is cut cotton side-out, with the sateen rayon twill side visible from the unlined reverse side. The fabric face is rather matte, contrasting with the rayon sateen luxurious sheen.

Back in 2010, we had borrowed the design idea of the contrast tartan accents from the G9, a classic golf jacket introduced in 1937 under the British Baracuta label, “Aristocrat of Tailored Rainwear”. Our Type II Breezer features a “Dress Steward” woven plaid cotton/linen fabric, a selvedge New Old Stock textile from the MF® vault. It is displayed on the facing of the front panels, stand collar lining, and front pockets.

The MF® BREEZER Windbreaker Type II is designed in California by Mister Freedom® and manufactured in Japan by Sugar Cane Co.

August 24, 2023 EVO fabric update, after intermittent wear and a few washes:

FABRIC OPTIONS:
a) Fine, tightly-woven and crispy blend of 85% cotton and 15% linen indigo chambray, slubby texture, white/red stripe selvedge ID, milled Japan.
Partial lining: NOS woven tartan, cotton/linen blend.

b) Tightly woven blend of 50% cotton (matte face) and 50% rayon twill sateen (shinny reverse), aka cotton-back sateen, milled in Japan.
Partial lining: NOS woven tartan, cotton/linen blend.

SPECS:
* An original MF® design blending 1950’s swing tops, vintage British windproof jackets and 1940’s summer issue US Navy/USMC pilot jackets. This Type II is a modified version of our 2010 Breezer Jacket.
* Unlined body.
* “Dress Steward” tartan woven plaid accents, cut from NOS selvedge fabric, featured on front panel facing, stand collar and pocket lining.
* Two front patch pockets, doubling-up as hand-warmer pockets.
* Stand collar, double snap closure.
* 1950’s-style “TALON” metal zipper, cotton tape.
* Narrow cinch tabs for waist and wrists.
* Mfsc “Surplus” woven rayon label.
* Made in Japan.

SIZING/FIT:
The MF® Breezer Type II comes raw/unwashed, and we recommend an initial cold soak, spin dry and line dry. Both fabric options will shrink to approximately the same tagged size.

I opted for a size 38 in both models. I did use a heat dryer for a few minutes, for both fabrics, to maximize shrinkage and add puckering to the seams. If the fit on both fabric options is similar, the chambray Breezer feels a bit roomier than the red cotton/rayon model. This is mostly due to the very different drape of both textiles.
Please refer to sizing chart for cold soak/spin dry/line dry approximate measurements.

 

CARE:
Wash separately on delicate, cold water, mild eco-friendly detergent. Line dry.

Available raw (un-washed)
Sizes
Small (36)
Medium (38)
Large (40)
X-Large (42)
XX-Large (44)

Retail: $469.95

Available from www.misterfreedom.com, our Los Angeles HQ, 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®
©2018

Mister Freedom Naval Chinos, Type No.266ic, indigo chambray, selvedge cotton-linen, Spring 2018 mfsc Surplus Collection.

Featuring the MF® Roadsteader and Caban Peacoat.

Mister Freedom® mfsc Naval Chinos, Type No.266ic, cotton/linen indigo chambray issue.
Spring 2018 mfsc “SURPLUS” catalog.
Made in Japan

Our popular “mfsc Naval Chinos” are back this Spring!
These classic trousers are a nod to the “MFSC Naval Clothing Tailor” capsule collection of 2008, dating back to the earliest collaboration with our Japanese friends from Sugar Cane Co. With a pattern inspired by 1940’s US Army chino trousers, we initially issued them in a combination of subtly contrasting mil-specs khaki chino twills under the “Naval Chinos Type No.266” moniker. An edited version called Type II was released in 2010.
For our smashing 2016 Ten Year Anniversary, two new models were cut, one in a dark indigo canvas and the other in a khaki chino twill, both under “Naval Chinos Type No.266ac”.

We are releasing a very distinct version for Spring 2018, and are excited to introduce a luxurious vintage-inspired fabric new to our catalog. This fine indigo selvedge chambray, a slubby tightly-woven and crispy blend of 85% cotton and 15% linen, was exclusively milled for mfsc in Japan. Quite reminiscent of the 1950’s French Marine Nationale utility uniform fabric that had inspired our Sea Hunt Spring 2014 Crew Pants (see original blog post here), this 2018 textile features a darker and more of a reddish indigo hue, a denser weave, and a selvedge with white/red stripe ID.
The leg construction is a flat-felled seam type, same as vintage army chinos, so we played with the fabric selvedge by displaying it in the facing of the five pockets (front slash, rear welt and watch pocket.)

Our mfsc Naval Chinos feature a vintage silhouette, mid rise, with somewhat of a classic leg, neither slim nor baggy. The light-weight crisp chambray fabric makes them a stylish addition to one’s summer wardrobe, easy to pair with solid Skivvies, stripeys, Saint-Malo, …, or plain button down shirts. The indigo chambray will age gracefully with repeat wear/wash cycles, and we look forward seeing some outstanding worn specimen down the line!

The MF® “Type No.266ac” mfsc Naval Chinos, cotton/linen indigo chambray, are designed in California by Mister Freedom® and manufactured in Japan by Sugar Cane Co.

SPECS:

FABRIC:
A fine, tightly-woven and crispy blend of 85% cotton and 15% linen indigo chambray, slubby texture, white/red stripe selvedge ID, milled Japan.
Pocket bags and waist band are made from 100% cotton woven stripe ticking, milled in Japan.

DETAILS:
* Pattern inspired by vintage 1940’s US Army chino trousers.
* Stripe ticking 100% cotton pocketing and waistband facing.
* Button fly, featuring brown corozo wood buttons.
* Thin trousers-style belt-loops.
* Arcuate decorative stitching on front slash pockets and back welt pockets, with concealed selvedge ID on pocket facing.
* Watch pocket, with concealed selvedge ID.
* Flat-felled leg seams.
* Tonal 100% cotton hi-count stitching.
* Woven mfsc “Surplus” rayon label on inside waistband.
* Made in Japan, designed in USA.

SIZING/FIT:
The Type 266ic Naval Chinos, indigo chambray, come raw/unwashed, and will shrink to tagged size after an initial soak. We recommend a 30-40mn cold soak with occasional hand agitation, spin dry, hang dry. These are true-to-size, and I wear a comfortable Waist 32, my usual size in mfsc trousers.
Please refer to chart for soaked/line dry measurements, reflecting above method.

CARE:
Wash when needed. We recommend washing on delicate cycle/cold water/eco-friendly detergent. Turning the trousers inside out will help avoid marbling. Line dry.

Available RAW (unwashed)
Waist: 28, 30, 32, 34, 36 and 38.
Retail: $349.95
Available from www.misterfreedom.com, our Los Angeles HQ, 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®
©2018

Mister Freedom® NIXON Shirt, Selvedge Chambray, mfsc “Surplus” SS 2018, made in Japan.

Mister Freedom® NIXON Shirt, selvedge color chambray.
Surplus” catalog mfsc Spring 2018.
Made in Japan.

These shirts are the latest additions to our MF® “SURPLUS” Spring 2018 line-up, an on-going concept consisting of timeless classics given a twist à-la MF®, all expertly manufactured in Japan by our long-time friends and partners at Toyo Enterprises. The MF® “SURPLUS” collection is the made-in-Japan ethically-crafted companion of our popular made-in-USA “Sportsman” catalog.

The pattern of our ‘Nixon’ shirt is largely inspired by an original 1950’s vintage “Roomy Richard” chambray work shirt, a now-defunct American workwear label established in the late 1920’s. The main appeal of that vintage piece was for us the clever double-layer ‘cigarette’ chest pocket with flap pattern, somewhat reminiscent of the famous Big Yank® pocket, familiar to all vintage clothing aficionados. Originally devised to keep the worker’s cigarette pack dry, that practical little pocket can be used today as double storage for an iPhone and a public transportation ticket/smart card, etc…

Original 1940’s vintage “Roomy Richard” work shirt packaging.

Beside this tricky little feature (the design credit of which all goes to our friend Roomy Dick), the Mister Freedom® Nixon shirt boasts a 1930’s-style chin-strap, hi-count triple stitch construction and selvedge side gussets, all classic attributes of old-school vintage work shirts such as Big Mac®, Big Dick®, Big Yank®, etc…
Following the original red and navy blue printed corduroy release of our Nixon Shirt during Fall 2017, this season introduces a classic palette of selvedge color chambrays, milled in Japan. The three available options of this handsome light-weight crispy and slubby fabric are blue, red and black.
To subtly set each option apart, we played around with the stitching colors, opting for tonal or contrast, and with the shade of color of the corozo buttons.

The Nixon Shirt is designed in California by Mister Freedom® and manufactured in Japan by Sugar Cane Co.

SPECS:
FABRIC:
Vintage workwear-style lightweight 100% cotton slubby chambray, white/red stripe selvedge ID, milled in Japan.
a) Blue Chambray
b) Red Chambray
c) Black Chambray

DETAILS:
* A garment pattern inspired by an original 1950’s “Roomy Richard” chambray shirt, and other vintage work shirts such as Big Mac®, Big Dick®, Big Yank®, etc…
* Trim silhouette.
* Fancy double-layer left chest pocket with flap, known as “cigarette pocket”, featuring a concealed selvedge ID construction.
* Slanted opening right-side pocket with pen slot, featuring a concealed selvedge ID construction.
* Corozo wood buttons.
* Chin strap collar, with vintage-style mfsc-embossed metal buttons on the collar band.
* Hi-count triple stitch construction.
* Green bar-tack accents on pockets.
* MF® Surplus green contrast chainstitch on the inside.
* Side gussets featuring selvedge ID.
* Mister Freedom® mfsc “Surplus” woven label.
* Made in Japan.

SIZING/FIT:
All three versions of the Mister Freedom® Nixon Shirt Chambray come raw/unwashed and will all shrink to tagged size. We recommend an initial cold rinse/line dry. Further shrinkage can be achieved with full wash/machine dry, but we recommend a cold soak first since a shrunken chambray fabric will stretch back as much as an egg will un-break.
The MF® Nixon Chambrays are true-to-size. I wear a Medium, my usual size in mfsc shirting. After full wash/machine dry, the fit is quite trim, with a tapered waist for a slim silhouette.
Refer to sizing chart for approximate measurements, post cold soak/line dry. Again, further shrinkage can be expected with full wash/machine dry, and all three fabrics will reach similar measurements after full wash. Our chart reflects cold soak (not full wash) and line dry. The fit pic reflects a full (cold) wash and line dry.

CARE:
The Nixon Chambray shirts are low-maintenance. Launder when needed. Machine-wash on delicate cycle, cold water, minimal eco-friendly detergent, line dry or machine dry.

Available raw (un-washed)
Sizes
Small
Medium
Large
X-Large
XX-Large

Retail: $329.95
Available from www.misterfreedom.com, our Los Angeles HQ, 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®
©2018