“The Sportsman” Catalog
Mister Freedom® x Sugar Cane mfsc Spring 2017
Made in USA
These few items will be added to our Made in USA “The Sportsman” catalog this Spring 2017.
Introducing a brand new original pattern, the MF® “Conductor Jacket”, in 11 Oz. ‘Malibu’ selvedge denim, with a ‘matching’ bottom, an updated version of the Sportsman Slacks.
Our Californian Blue Jeans take on a new twist with the Lot. 674 edition, featuring a slimmer leg and all time favorite “Okinawa 301” sugar cane fiber denim. The rest of the line-up, the Workman shirt, Sportsman shirt and Sportsman chinos are cut from recently-dug-up vintage NOS fabrics.
Available sometime in Spring 2017…
Email sales@misterfreedom.com or call 323-653-2014 with any questions.
Thank you for your support.
Christophe Loiron
Mister Freedom®
©2017
“GYPSY BLUES”
Mister Freedom® x Sugar Cane mfsc Spring 2017 preview
We’ll be hoping around caves à Jazz and guinguettes this spring, from Saint-Germain-des-Prés to the Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer, for some hot Gypsy string Jazz evenings…
Freely mixing 1930’s ~ 1950’s French workwear and vintage European menswear with a Sinti bohemian vibe, the Mister Freedom® mfsc “GYPSY BLUES” Spring 2017 collection will feature:
* MF® Veste “Belleville”: indigo cotton-linen HBT and cotton covert stripe.
*MF® Liquette “Manouche”: red and indigo polka dot cotton poplin.
*MF® Liquette “Tzigane”: Kekfestes indigo.
*MF® Gilet “Gadjo”: indigo cotton-linen HBT and cotton covert stripe.
*MF® Pantalon “Valseur”: indigo cotton-linen HBT and cotton covert stripe.
*MF® Carré Provençal: red and indigo print.
Available sometime in Spring 2017…
Email sales@misterfreedom.com or call 323-653-2014 with any questions.
Thank you for your support.
Christophe Loiron
Mister Freedom®
©2017
Mister Freedom® CABANA Shirt, assorted vintage NOS selvedge fabrics.
Limited Edition, made in USA
In the year 2050, when a drone delivers the fashionable body wrapper that Siri selected just for you from World Global Outfitters, sole and official purveyor of fine unisex garments for all surveyed and indexed Earthlings, our Mister Freedom® one-of-a-kind Cabana Shirt will appear as relevant as a Motorola belt-clip pager in 2016.
Halfway into the 21rst Century, well-conditioned consumers enjoying Global Basic Income, clad in thermochromatic polymer fiber uniforms, will be shaking their head in disbelief in front of such obsolete artisanally-crafted artifacts.
“Jeeeeezus, what were they thinking…” they’ll ask Siri, to which she’ll probably have an answer.
Until then…
In the footsteps of an earlier manufacturing endeavor, the MF® “Adventure Beach Trunks” released in 2015, we decided to use limited yardage of vintage selvedge shirting fabrics collected over the years, and have them cut and sewn into an original Mister Freedom® pattern, a 1950’s-type short sleeve classic shirt. All painstakingly marked, cut by hand and sewn individually, our MF® Cabana Shirts are one-of-a-kind. Some of the fabrics yielded two or three shirts, but never enough for a full size scale. So each print is only available in very limited sizing options.
Due to scarce inventory and the very eclectic print options, the Cabana Shirts won’t probably make it to our webstore. These shirts will for now only be available from 7161 Beverly or via the relentlessly hard-working MF® team at sales@misterfreedom.com.
The Cabana Shirt is designed by Mister Freedom® in California, and made in USA from up-cycled vintage fabrics.
FABRICS:
Assorted NOS (New Old Stock) vintage novelty print selvedge fabrics. Mostly cotton, some rayon blends and natural fibers. Designs, weave, weight and texture vary.
DETAILS:
* Relaxed 1950’s style, vintage un-tucked fashion.
* Loop collar (loops made from NOS vintage color-matching silk rayon cord). Loop button is an antique 1920’s NOS bone button.
* Vintage style open collar, no top stitching.
* Single chest pocket.
* Vintage NOS silk or rayon fabric back yoke lining, assorted matching colors.
* Genuine coconut shell buttons.
* Fabric selvedge visible on the front panel fold.
* Tonal 100% cotton thread, chainstitch construction.
* Limited edition.
* Made in USA.
SIZING/FIT:
The Mister Freedom® Cabana Shirt is true to size, with a relaxed fit. We recommend wearing a Medium if you are usually a Medium in mfsc shirting, or in our Rock’n’Roll shirts.
To avoid shrinkage issues, each shirt was washed, on delicate with cold water, dried in a heat dryer, low heat setting, and THEN sized individually. A shirt cut from a Medium pattern might have shrunk to a Small, or stayed a Medium if the vintage fabric was sanforized.
We determined the sizing according to pit measurements only, laying the washed/dried garment flat and buttoned-up, without pulling. Shoulders and body length are pretty consistent, more-or-less matching across all the fabrics, with balanced proportions for that vintage style of un-tuck shirt.
Refer to this approximate chart for how we sized each shirt.
SMALL: 20 to 21 inches pit-to-pit.
MEDIUM: 21 to 22 inches pit-to-pit.
LARGE: 22 to 23 inches pit-to-pit.
X-LARGE: 23 to 24 inches pit-to-pit.
XX-LARGE: 24 to 25 inches pit-to-pit.
CARE:
Wash in cold water, delicate cycle, hang dry or low-heat tumble dry.
Available rinsed/pre-shrunk.
Limited assorted sizes.
Retail $ 149.95 (unless marked otherwise)
Available from 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®
©2016
 Photo Tadashi Tawarayama for Clutch Magazine Japan ©2016 
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Tad in action!
Mister Freedom® Mulholland Jacket, Indigo and Black jungle cloth Edition
Fall 2016 mfsc Anniversary Collection
Made in Japan
We’re about to cross the finish line for our Fall 2016 10th Anniversary collection, so we figured we’d do that with a checkered flag and on two wheels . Back in 2009, we released a British-style riding jacket, part of a “Speed Safe Clothing For Modern Riders” story.
This will be the 2016 limited edition of that little number…
Today a familiar silhouette in fashionable menswear, the origins of the classic “A7 jacket” arch back to the mid 1930’s. The jacket’s design, with its instantly-recognizable pattern featuring that single slanted chest pocket, emerged out of the UK. Originally developed by J. Barbour and Sons for the military, the jacket would later be associated with typical British motorcycle oil cloth riding gear. Similar styles from competing motor-cycling apparel brands were made available, such as wax cloth pioneer Belstaff‘s versions.
By the 1960’s recreational motorcyclists around the world, and select professional racers alike, had adopted the ‘European’ style riding gear fashion.
In 1964, the US Olympic Team would give the British motorcycle jacket its Lettres of Coolness during the International Six Day Trials (ISDT), with a little push from one of the official members, rider number 278.
Check out this nice photo essay.
 US Team ISDT 1964 (Photo © Francois Gragnon) We got the name of our humble interpretation of that classic from one of Los Angeles’ famous highway, a scenic stretch of asphalt turned playground for Californian motorcycle riders, automotive speedsters and local midnight cruisers.
The Mister Freedom® Mulholland Master‘s pattern borrows heavily from vintage UK apparel, but also from vintage US military gear such as 1940’s paratrooper outfits and BU. Aero US Navy flight jackets. It combines old school European moto style with US mil-specs fabric and hardware, keeping the 1960’s vibe while giving it a contemporary fit.
Our Mulholland Master is a versatile coat. Although not water-repellent, unless properly treated with some kind of water-proofing wax (a commitment and a real endeavor if you plan on DIY…), the jacket is quite suitable for diverse outdoor activities, spanning from sunny motorcycle rides to stylish city strolls.
The shell fabric of our Mulholland Master is a 14 Oz. “Jungle Cloth”, 100% cotton grosgrain, vintage US mil-specs, milled in Japan.
Two color options are available for this Anniversary edition, a jet black version, and an indigo-dyed version. The latter is the same fabric featured on the recently-released “Indigo Blouson de Quart”.
The body lining consists of a 100% cotton wide-wale corduroy, dark navy blue color. Each color option features its own matching tartan, a New Old Stock (NOS) woven cotton plaid, noticeable from the pockets/arms/throat-latch lining.
At about 5 pounds per beast, the Mulholland Master is a heavy jacket. It has proved to be an extremely complicated garment to manufacture, and has been dubbed by Japanese factories as the most challenging MF®-designed garment to cut and sew, out of 10 years of mfsc daring collaborations. For the expert Toyo Enterprises factory craftsmen, already well-acquainted with the demanding Buzz Rickson’s and Sugar Cane catalog, the “Mulholland Master” has become a bête noire…
For this reason, and other COO (Country Of Origin) challenging considerations, and in order to keep our Mister Freedom® garments in a certain price bracket so as to not instigate an upheaval on fashion forums, with savvy members well-versed in cost-of-goods and oh-so competent in setting responsible modern standards on garment manufacturing, our Mulholland Master pattern is likely to never be issued again.
The Mulholland Master is designed in California by MISTER FREEDOM® and produced in Japan by SUGAR CANE Co.
SPECS:
FABRIC:
Option A
Shell: Tight weave 14 Oz. “Jungle Cloth”, 100% cotton grosgrain, period mil-specs, dark indigo blue color, milled and indigo-dyed in small batches in Japan.
Lining: NOS cotton woven plaid, blue dominant tartan.
Option B
Shell: Tight weave 14 Oz. “Jungle Cloth”, 100% cotton grosgrain, period mil-specs, jet black color, milled in Japan.
Lining: NOS cotton woven plaid, blue dominant tartan.
DETAILS:
* Freely inspired by vintage classic British motorcycling apparel, 1940’s US Paratrooper jackets and other vintage military coats.
* Four front snap flap rainproof pockets and one back snap flap pocket, for maps/tools/documents. Top right pocket secured by concealed “Conmatic” zipper. Pockets lined with NOS plaid fabric.
* Inside chest pocket.
* Belted, featuring a solid US-made brass police garrison buckle. For the rowdy type, that removable belt can turn into a quaint flail, should you survive a close encounter with a texting ‘n driving genius in a SUV…
* Italian “Fiocchi” brass snaps, original manufacturer of Italian military snaps, along with their cousin counterpart Company DEWEY.
* 1950’s-type US mil-specs oxidized black metal TALON zipper front closure.
* Wind flap secured by snaps.
* Removable throat latch (make sure it is securely snapped in place or store in pocket before hitting the highway!)
* Stand collar with adjustable buckle strap, corduroy-lined.
* Diamond elbow patches, M-421A BU. Aero US Navy jacket-style.
* Adjustable gusset wrist snap closures.
* Tonal stitching, cotton-wrapped poly thread.
* Made in Japan.
SIZING/FIT:
We had these jackets professionally rinsed. NOT distressed, but gently rinsed without detergent, and tumble-dried. So, no shrinkage guessing, the Mulholland Master is pre-shrunk, and true to size.
I wear a comfortable 38 in this coat, with room for a thick shirt or wool sweater underneath. In general, go with your usual size in mfsc jackets.
We have taken the measurements to the best of our abilities. Refer to our sizing chart and remember that measurements are from the outside of the fabric.
CHART
CARE:
Please DO NOT attempt to wash this jacket in a home washing machine! You risk ruining both machine and jacket. The Mulholland Master weights a ton when wet, the jungle cloth fabric will get marbling marks etc…
Activities and frequency of wear will obviously dictate when cleaning is needed. Please use common sense with spot cleaning, or take the jacket to a professional eco-friendly cleaner. This jacket can also be hand-washed in a tub filled with cold water, for the adventurous type. Use eco-friendly detergent for delicate colors. Hang to dry.
IMPORTANT: Treat your zipper as you would a vintage one, rub wax to lubricate at times, and use common sense rather that brute force to zip and unzip, making sure tabs line-up when zipping.
Available rinsed/pre-shrunk.
Sizes
36 Small
38 Medium
40 Large
42 X-Large
44 XX-Large
Retail
A) Indigo: $999.95
B) Jet Black: $899.95
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®
©2016
 It was about 95°F in San Pedro that day… The Waterfront Coat, HBT cotton Linen, Troy Blanket lining.
Fall 2016 mfsc Anniversary Collection
Made in Japan
The final drop in the ocean of goodies issued for Fall 2016 will be the Waterfront Coat.
Not yet a wrap for our mfsc Ten Year Anniversary adventures, merely the last page of its nautical chapter. After two deck jackets, a couple of naval chinos, a blue shirt, and a souvenir jacket, all we needed was …one peacoat!
Anchors aweigh!
The familiar silhouette of the Waterfront Coat is another homage to the early pattern of the classic USN P-Jacket, a.k.a. peacoat.
Sometime in Spring 2008, we released a denim version of that iconic manly garment, part of the “MFSC Naval Clothing Tailor” concept, our first full-fledge collection in collaboration with Sugar Cane Co. If a 10-button peacoat made from selvedge denim didn’t necessarily sound like a good idea back then either, it kinda caught on. Some of our jackets even made it to unlikely retail doors, finding their way to Sir Paul Smith’s store shelves in swinging London, or on J.Crew’s catalog, eventually ending-up on sale partly because, you know, raw denim in 2008 was not exactly the most convincing selling point in menswear…
In case you missed it and enjoy a bit of Costume History at times, a previous blog post, concocted while introducing the MF® indigo twill Caban Peacoat, quickly taps into the history of peacoats, a garment adopted by Navies around the World for over a Century.
For Fall 2016, our design approach was to ‘demilitarize’ the famed War Department-issued blue jacket, twisting a USN regulation uniform into a civvy garment, morphing the peacoat into a mackinaw coat.
The shell fabric we chose is an old mfsc favorite, a blend of linen and cotton woven in a heavily-textured herringbone twill pattern, milled for us in Japan. Inspired by the fabric of late 1800’s/early 1900’s Sapeurs Pompiers (french firemen) work uniforms (bourgerons), we originally issued a handsome ‘gunpowder black’ version of it, as featured on the Faro sack coat, waistcoat, and britches of our 2012 Men of the Frontier Collection.
Recognizing at the time how attractive this HBT fabric looked in its un-dyed, un-bleached state, our design department kept it on the back burner, as a contender for a future project. So here it is, at last, in all its natural beauty!
For the lining, we went with an American vintage classic. Canteen blankets have been a bit overplayed in ‘Heritage Fashion’ in recent years, cut and sewn into all kinds of improbable garments and accessories, so we opted to keep it fully concealed on the inside.
Troy Blankets come in several colorways, our 2010 “N-1H Tr0y” featured one of them, and we chose a stripe pattern of warm tones that was new to us this time, the flecked brown-dominant version.
Replacing the classic foul anchor black buttons with natural brown corrozo wood buttons contributed to the ‘maritime to workwear’ make-over.
If the resulting jacket looks quite different from previous MF® iterations of the classic USN peacoat, it still fits our eclectic vintage aesthetics, this time Corto Maltese meets Terry Malloy and his docker comrades.
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Corto Maltese by Hugo Pratt (1981) Courtesy of Cong SA
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Terry Malloy and the waterfont crew (1954) Courtesy of Getty Images
Photo credits:
* Corto Maltese watercolor courtesy of Cong SA. Official website here.
* On set of “On The Waterfront” (1954), courtesy of Getty Images.
The “Waterfront Coat” is designed in California by Mister Freedom®, and manufactured in Japan by Sugar Cane Co.
SPECS:
PATTERN:
An original MFSC pattern, freely inspired by early 1910’s -1930’s USN and US Coast Guard sailor wool peacoats, and 1930’s-40’s vintage mackinaw-type outdoor coats.
FABRIC:
Shell: A fancy 80% linen and 20% cotton blend fabric, HBT pattern, selvedge, milled in Japan.
Lining: Soft-hand “Troy Blanket” wool blend fabric, 60% re-used wool, 28% cotton, 12% rayon). Brown dominant stripe. Woven in Japan.
NOTE: The combination and specifics of these two fabrics make the Waterfront Coat quite unfit for foul weather and extreme cold temperatures, but quite appropriate for moderately chilly days, and in-between seasons under temperate climates.
DETAILS:
* Early USN peacoat pattern.
* Canteen-type “Troy Blanket” wool blend stripe lining, brown dominant.
* 10-button front closure.
* Brown corrozo wood buttons.
* Four outside pockets, two ‘hand warmer’ slash pockets and two flap closure pockets. All lined with golden brown cotton-wool blend corduroy.
* Inside chest pocket and traditional ‘cigarette’ pocket.
* Leather arrowhead reinforcement on pocket edges.
* Fabric selvedge conspicuously displayed inside pockets and on back vent.
* Removable chin strap (displaying either fabric if left dangling, or concealed if buttoned under the collar.)
* Traditional Zig-Zag pattern under-collar reinforcement stitching.
* Double labeling, original MF® and mfsc woven labels.
* 100% cotton stitching, tonal.
* Made in Japan.
SIZING/FIT:
The Waterfront Coat comes raw/unwashed/loomstate.
Although this garment can be worn as-is (raw), for a clean, pressed look, the pattern was adjusted to match a specific silhouette after an initial cold soak/hang dry process. Aside from fabric shrinkage, the HBT linen-cotton material takes on a ‘new life’ after this process. Linen fibers expand, the high-count stitching causes ‘roping’ and subtle twisting, the lining pulls the seams up a bit… and the garment looks about 50 years older, without the use of obnoxious chemical ‘vintage washes’ dear to our industry.
We suggest soaking the garment in cold water for about 3omn, occasional hand agitation, spin dry and hang dry. Please note that unless you live in the Atacama Desert, the Waterfront Coat might take about three days to fully dry. We do not recommend using a heat dryer. We do not recommend boiling this garment either, as the leather trims and lining will probably get ruined.
Please refer to the sizing chart to see if this garment’s proportions work for you. We suggest sizing down on the Waterfront Coat. I usually wear a Medium (38) in mfsc jackets, but opted for a Small (36). After the initial soak/hang dry procedure, I still had enough room to layer a mid-weight shirt and a close-fitting Cowboy denim jacket.
Do take in consideration that the Troy Blanket lining adds a bit of ‘puffiness’ compared to a thin cotton twill lining.
CARE:
After the initial cold soak, we recommend taking the Waterfront Coat to your local eco-friendly dry cleaner for cleaning. Do not use a home washing machine to launder, as the coat is quite heavy and stiff when wet. Spot cleaning can be performed by using a damp cloth and common sense.
Available raw/unwashed.
Sizes
36 Small
38 Medium
40 Large
42 X-Large
44 XX-Large
Retail $799.95
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®
©2016
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