Pit Stop Shirt
“The Sportsman” Catalog, Spring 2014
There aren’t many rules in the Garment Industry, but it is often agreed upon that one should avoid the word ‘pit’ when considering a moniker for a men’s shirt.
As a winning formula for a high sell-through, it is not unlike an entire collection of flesh colored polyester overalls.
So, let’s proudly introduce Mister Freedom® ‘Pit Stop Shirt’, another addition to our Sportsman catalog for Spring 2014.
One could think that this was, again, heavily influenced by my personal musical hero, JB.
 JB Courtesy Getty Images ESPN However, we had two finely woven striped broadcloth selvedge fabrics milled in Japan for the occasion. Inspired by vintage swatches from our archives, these two light weight fabrics have somewhat of an old work/uniform feel to them. Milkman meets delivery driver meets filling station attendant on the Pacific Coast Highway circa 1935, meets Le Mans.
What a party.
     
The pattern of the ‘Pit Stop’ is that of our original Sportsman Chambray shirt, featuring some MF® Sportsman signature details that our entire block envies us for. Including across the street.
Things like inverted box-pleat pocketing, shoulder expansion pleats, inside green chain-stitch, metal cast buttons, side gussets, chin strap, American manufacture… to name a few.
Our Pit Stop Shirt is designed and made in California by Mister Freedom®, in collaboration with Sugar Cane Co.
SPECS:
PATTERN: An original MFSC pattern, inspired by our usual vintage influences.
FABRIC:
Two options
a) Blue: fine and light-weight 100% cotton woven stripe broadcloth, selvedge, milled in Japan.
b) White: fine and light-weight 100% cotton woven stripe broadcloth, selvedge, milled in Japan.
DETAILS:
* Relaxed silhouette and fit.
* Original chest inverted box-pleat double pockets.
* Slim chin strap.
* Full button front.
* MF® original olive green painted embossed metal buttons, combination solid and MFSC branding.
* White cotton popeline button facing strip.
* Double front & back expansion pleats on shoulder yoke.
* One piece cuff gusset.
* 100% cotton thread, high stitch count.
* Flat felled seams, with inside green chain-stitch MF® signature.
* Side gussets with self fabric.
* Original “The SPORTSMAN” woven rayon label.
* Made in California, USA.
SIZING/WASHING:
The Pit Stop shirt comes unwashed and will shrink to tagged size. If you are a usually a medium in other mfsc shirts, go with a medium. Both fabric options size and fit the same.
Although a very light-weight and fine fabric, this is a low maintenance shirt, no special care. Machine wash and tumble dry as needed.
Please refer to chart bellow for measurements.
Available RAW/unwashed.
SIZES:
14½ (Small)
15½ (Medium)
16½ (Large)
17½ (X-Large)
18½ (XX-Large)
Retail $289.95
Soon available on www.misterfreedom.com
Please call 323-653-2014 or email sales@misterfreedom.com with any questions not answered above.
Thank you sincerely for baring with us and for your support.
Indian Madras Sportsman Shirt
“The Sportsman” Catalog Spring 2014
Originally a plain cotton muslin of loose weave, madras textiles were lightweight and breathable fabrics, a perfect fit for the hot climate of the Madras (now Chennai) region, Southeast India.
In the 1800’s (I know, at least I left out the early Dutch settlers stories), the area many weavers were also producing ‘Madrasi checks’, a local interpretation of the Scottish tartans some occupiers were sporting. Out of some 200 weaving villages came out countless patterns of hand loomed plaids, in bold vegetable dyed colors…
The typical and desirable slubby aspect of a madras type fabric is due to the fact that the yarn is carded and not combed, resulting in variations of thickness and fluctuating texture. That slub is something close to impossible to duplicate for modern factories instructed to emulate random ‘imperfections’. In Chennai, they had it…
 Photo Courtesy of A.K. Muralitharan For those interested in historical anecdotes, here is a quite interesting twist of event. How a croaking problem turned into a oh-so-desirable effect, thanks to a last minute marketing strategy concocted to liquidate defective stocks of non color-fast madras fabrics.
One of the version of the “Guaranteed To Bleed” story goes like this. It dates back to sometime in 1958 or 1956 (according to the source) when…
“… the leading textile importer William Jacobson embarked on a trip from the U.S. to Bombay in the hopes to return with this exotic fabric from India.
Upon his arrival, the local textile Commissioner Mr. Swaminathan directed him to Captain C.P.Krishnan Nair the proprietor of Leela Scottish Lace Ltd, a textile exporting company from Chennai ( modern day Madras) who presented Jacobson with a fabric that he fell for right away. It was a Madras plaid fabric with a strong smell of vegetable dyes and sesame oils that was dyed in vivid colors that was originally made for export to South Africa. Mr. Nair was delighted to supply Mr. Jacobson with the Madras fabric at $1 per yard, warning him that the fabric required utmost care when laundering because the color would run out if it wasn’t gently washed in cold water.
The American exporter sold ( 10,000 yards ) of the same fabric to Brooks Brothers who manufactured trousers and jackets (which sold for $50) . However Jacobson failed to fully explain the properties of the fabric and did not issue washing instructions to Brooks Brothers.
Customers were furious when they saw the colors run that ruined their expensive summer apparel. Jacobson was likewise furious and summoned Mr. Nair to the United States where his attorneys threatened to sue Mr. Nair and the Leela Scottish Lace Ltd.
Instead of fighting each other they came up with solution that was sheer marketing genius! One of the attorneys arranged an interview for Mr. Nair with the editor of Seventeen Magazine in which he created a story about this miracle Madras fabric from India that was exclusively made for Brooks Brothers in New York. In the following issue, the editor ran a seven-page article about fabric titled “Bleeding Madras — the miracle handwoven fabric from India”. And since pictures say more than 1,000 words, they added beautiful photographs with the caption “guaranteed to bleed”.
Within a days of the magazine hitting the newsstands, Brooks Brothers was flooded with thousands of requests for the Madras items and it became an overnight success. Both, Mr. Jacobson and Mr. Nair made a fortune from the sale and paved the way for future Indian fabric exports of millions of yards of Madras cloth.”
Of the power of a few photos and chosen words in a magazine, eh?
If only the Fashion media would put that magic formula to good use more often… But, paying sponsors are about moving more widgets, not about doing less damage. So we might never see the end of factory distressed garment ads…
  
Randomly fast forwarding to the summer of ’65, direction the preppy side of Southern California. If you owned two shirts on Campus, chances are one of them was a short sleeved cotton Madras plaid shirt. For many preps, and even a few tambor beating beatniks, these were the go-to shirts. ‘Inland’ surfers wore madras plaid regatta shirts. Golfers figured madras plaid pants were a great idea. Greasers couldn’t be bothered…
For Spring 2014, we were fortunate to get our hands on two limited runs of genuine Indian Madras.
Although the lots we secure were not hand loomed by Anakaputhur villagers in the summer of 1912 and of a fairly recent manufacture, the fabrics are reminiscent of vintage Madras. Loose weave, light weight, breathy, slubby… These two specifically caught my eyes as I originally flipped through a few thousands swatches of available madras stock last year. There was, what I thought of, a cool sixties vibe to both, a non-contemporary feel.
In the 1990’s, I was lucky to be schooled on vintage madras shirting by my good buddy Kenny Thomas, then a designer for Ralph Lauren, constantly looking for inspirational plaids to adorn the little guy on a horse with. Kenny is now both the talented front man and designer behind the Grayers brand. Yes, he also takes photos and makes timeless comments on Instagram…
Back to our horses here, please note that our madras are not ‘bleeding madras’, as non color-fast dyes have proven too challenging for the average customer through the years, and have slowly disappeared from garment manufacturing.
Our Sportsman Madras Shirts will just fade like regular garments do when washed and worn repeatedly.
We arbitrarily called our two madras fabric options ‘Beach‘ and ‘Sierra‘, however tempting Padmanabh (One With Lotus In His Navel) and Gajanan (One With Elephant Face) were. We decided to go with simple on this one.
For the pattern, we used our ‘classic’ Sportsman shirt specs, featuring some MF® ‘signature’ details such as original pocketing, shoulder expansion pleats, inside green chain-stitch, metal cast buttons, side gussets, two arms…
Style wise, the unlikely pairing of a 60’s plaid madras vibe with workwear type shirting sounding like a big no-no, we immediately went for it.
The result is a simple, casual looking long sleeved cotton plaid shirt. It’s easy to match with denim, chinos, wheat jeans, pleather bikinis… Although not shirtjak (ie. cropped by contemporary streetwear standards), this shirt can be worn tucked-in or out.
For more exquisite pairing inspiration, the interweb abounds in illuminated suggestions. And so do, at times, vintage ads…
 A fierce 1963 ad Our Indian Madras Sportsman Shirt is designed and made in California by Mister Freedom®, in collaboration with Sugar Cane Co. Made from genuine imported Indian Madras.
SPECS:
PATTERN: An original MFSC pattern, inspired by our usual vintage influences.
FABRIC:
Two options:
a) Madras ‘Beach‘: 100% cotton woven plaid muslin, with dominant brown/sky blue/washed-out-plum, woven in India.
b) Madras ‘Sierra’: 100% cotton woven plaid muslin, with dominant turquoise/white/brown/yellow, woven in India.
DETAILS:
* Relaxed silhouette and fit.
* Original chest inverted box-pleat double pockets.
* Slim chin strap.
* Full button front.
* MF® original olive green painted embossed metal buttons, combination solid and MFSC branding.
* White cotton popeline button facing strip.
* Double front & back expansion pleats on shoulder yoke.
* One piece cuff gusset.
* 100% cotton thread, high stitch count.
* Flat felled seams, with inside green chain-stitch MF® signature.
* Side gussets with self fabric.
* Original “The SPORTSMAN” woven rayon label.
* Limited run.
* Made in California, USA.
SIZING/WASHING:
The Sportsman Madras shirt is pretty low maintenance. Wash and wear type stuff.
Due to the loose weave of the fabric however, we recommend to wash on delicate cycle, to avoid snagging.
Cotton madras looks and feels also better after laundry than when raw. When dry, the wrinkled aspect is desirable with this type of textiles. I am not a big fan of perfectly ironed shirts anyways, personal preference. My socks however…
Both fabric options will shrink to close-call same measurements, according to who takes them and how much pulling and attention is applied.
Our sample in-house rinse tests were done with cold water/gentle cycle/machine dry.
If you are usually a medium in MFSC Sportsman shirting, wear a medium in the Madras.
Shirts will shrink to tagged size. Please refer to chart below for measurements:
Available RAW/unwashed.
SIZES:
14½ (Small)
15½ (Medium)
16½ (Large)
17½ (X-Large)
18½ (XX-Large)
Retail $289.95
Soon available on www.misterfreedom.com
Please call 323-653-2014 or email sales@misterfreedom.com with any questions not answered above, such as the name of our fruit sponsor etc…
Thank you for reading and the continuing support 🙂
Yours Truly,
CL
 Perso Ranch Blouse Lot.64, about 6 months wear, different model, same denim.
Lot.64US (Uncle Sam) issue, Ranch Blouse and Californian blue jeans
Spring 2014 ‘The Sportsman’ Catalog
For Spring 2014, additions to the Mister Freedom® ‘Sportsman’ catalog have a bit of a 60’s Endless-Summer-meets-Uncle-Sam vibe. We are releasing a small batch of modified Lot.64 Ranch Blouse and Californian, a special ‘Uncle Sam’ issue of two MF® classics we will refer to as Lot.64US.
You’re saying ” Son… whadaya mean classics?!? Ya barely been around the block. Cheeeeses crust…”
Not untrue, good point.
Anyways, as I was saying, before getting rudely interrupted by my imaginary friend here, think old Army/Navy surplus, GI stuff, piles of blues and greens gathering dust on shelves… and the oversized grenade on the counter saying “Complaints Dept, Take a Number”.
For our Lot.64US jeans and jacket, the main fabric/style/fit/shrinkage/pattern remain the same as Lot.64, but with a few detail changes.
Emulating an imaginary but plausible Government contract/war effort/requisitions affecting a 1960’s jeans manufacturing factory, we are using mil spec fabrics for pocket bags/lining/labeling: 1940’s fatigues USMC type herringbone twill (HBT) lining and WW2 type USN chambray for patches, minimal branding.
We are also introducing another small detail this season, an embossed MF® brass button, replacing our previous ‘silver’ type. Just thought we would alert the media.
Both of these riveted button designs were obviously ‘freely’ inspired by vintage denim hardware, in other words lifted from old Levi’s.
I believe that, for back in the days Levi’s, the silver type buttons were used on shrink-to-fit denim fabric, while the brass type buttons went on sanforized fabrics or as waist buttons of zip-fly jeans? As always, don’t quote me on that, ask an expert, unless you you want to make a fool of yourself on the interwebs…
For Spring 2014, the Californian Lot.64 “Uncle Sam” issue features a solid natural leather patch on the rear pocket, a (selvedge) blue chambray waist patch (minimal Lot/Size marking), olive green HBT USMC type pocket bags, brass waist rivet button.
The Ranch Blouse Lot.64 “US” issue features a newly-shaped collar, olive green HBT collar facing and pocket flap facing, brass buttons and a generically-stamped blue chambray inside patch.
Cosmetic details you say. Maybe.
But in 2525, a savvy denim collector stumbling across a beat up pair of blue jeans with a chambray patch might want to bore his girlfriend to death with all of this, as they glide off to Kepler-62-e for breakfast.
Designed and made in California by Mister Freedom®, in a collaboration with Sugar Cane Co.
Please note that the photo montage of the worn Lot.64 is for reference ONLY, it is a different model but made of the same denim. Production of the Lot.64US comes UNWASHED.
RANCH BLOUSE Lot.64US SPECS
PATTERN: An original mfsc pattern, influenced by early denim ‘trucker’ type jackets.
FABRIC: 13 3/4 Oz selvedge indigo denim. Right hand twill. White/pink selvedge ID. Milled on shuttle looms in Japan. Aka SC1966.
Under collar and under pocket flap lining: 100% cotton OD Herringbone Twill, 1940’s USMC type, mil specs.
DETAILS:
* Modified collar pattern.
* ‘Vintage’ boxy but fit silhouette.
* Original MF® lower chest pocketing, yellow “M” stitching.
* Pleated front with MF® original ‘dart’ stitching.
* Selvedge front panel fold.
* Olive Drab HBT collar/pocket flap facing.
* Brass cast MF® branded buttons.
* Buckle back, concealed selvedge strap, adjustable, riveted.
* Copper rivet reinforced, unmarked, leather washer.
* Combination yellow/orange 100% cotton stitching.
* USN type chambray patch (courtesy Buzz Rickson’s), minimal branding.
* Made in USA
SIZING/WASHING:
We recommend an original 30mn cold soak with hand agitation, spin dry and hang dry. Please note ‘spin dry’ refers to a spinning cycle in the WASHING machine, NOT the dryer.
You can briefly put the jacket on when damp, to give it (your) body, then hang to dry. Once fully dry the denim will be quite stiff from the starch, which is a good thing as this ‘sets’ some creases. You’re on your way to a pleasing patina after repeat wear.
Those who have an issue with stiff denim should reconsider, as demand for ‘soft denim’ lead to the plague of stone washed garments, and acid wash in the 80’s.
The Sportsman “Ranch Blouse” comes UN-WASHED and “oversized” (ie. will ‘shrink to fit’) so that the measurements match the labeling AFTER an original cold soak/line dry.
I wear a 38 in the Ranch Blouse, and it has the old school fit I like after the original cold soak.
Refer to chart for raw/rinsed measurements (please note that, although really not recommended, more shrinkage is to be expected if you ‘boil’ your jacket and machine dry it.)
Please note that we did our best to hide this chart in our fancy webstore, and you need a recon patrol to find it. It is there however, for each item, under the “Add to Cart” yellow button. It is labelled “Size Chart:” and it will pop up if you click on it.
Available Raw (unwashed) ONLY
Sizes
34 X-small
36 Small
38 Medium
40 Large
42 X-Large
44 XX-Large
Retail $369.95
CALIFORNIAN blue jeans Lot.64US SPECS
PATTERN
Original Mister Freedom® pattern, inspired by traditional 1950′s era blue jeans with a 1960′s twist. Silhouette inspired by vintage fits and old photography, BRMC meets Beatniks.
Like the previous Lot.64, the Lot.64US features a traditional mid-rise with straight slightly tapered leg.
FABRIC
13 3/4 Oz. selvedge Right Hand Twill indigo denim. White/pink selvedge ID. Milled on shuttle looms in Japan. (aka SC1966)
POCKETING
100% cotton OD Herringbone Twill, 1940’s USMC type, mil specs.
DETAILS
* Five pocket, button fly, selvedge leg seams,…
* Original “M” stitch design and solid un-branded cowhide leather patch.
* Blue (selvedge) chambray patch on waist band, minimal stamping.
* Hidden back pocket rivets with top pocket reinforcement zig-zag stitching.
* Pocket bags and back pocket lining: OD HBT.
* Coin pocket with concealed selvedge.
* Twelve types of all cotton threads (gauge and color combination) used for construction. Main colors are yellow and orange.
* Selvedge button hole flap (yes, it’s under the overlock, we’re vicious.)
* Original MF® metal cast waist/fly buttons.
*Unmarked copper riveting for reinforcement.
* Made in USA
SIZING/WASHING
The Californian Lot.64US comes UN-WASHED and is cut so that the measurements match the labeling AFTER an original cold soak/line dry. A tagged W32 x L34 “Californian” actually measures about 34” x 36½” before wash. It will shrink to approx. 32” x 34” after rinse/dry.
Which size works for you depends on how you like your jeans to fit. I wear a comfortable tagged waist 32 in the Lot.64
We recommend getting your usual waist size, although proper fit is a subjective matter and everyone has their own idea of what looks good.
As with all denim twill, shrinkage and stretching will occur for a while and will depend on the wearer’s body, activities and initial fit.
Although some like to wear their jeans raw, a more practical option is the cold rinse/line dry route.
Please refer to sizing chart for approximate raw/rinsed measurements. Please note that in our case, ‘rinsed’ means a 30mn cold soak, spin dry and line dry (ie minimal shrinkage).
Available RAW/unwashed/Un-sanforized
Sizes
W29 x L32
W30 x L32
W31 x L32
W32 x L34
W33 x L34
W34 x L34
W36 x L34
W38 x L34
Retail $329.95
Available soon from www.misterfreedom.com
Please email sales@misterfreedom.com with any questions not addressed above.
Thank you for your support
For the up-coming endless Spring Summer 2014 season, we are adding some “60’s beach movie meets Uncle Sam” vibe to the mfsc “The Sportsman” catalog.
All made in USA.
The line-up will include:
* Board Shorts: NOS cotton twill, stripe and indigo
* Indian Madras shirts: ‘Sierra’ or ‘Beach’ plaid
* ‘Wheat’ Ranch Blouse and Speedway jeans: off white 10 Oz. Pique
* ‘Uncle Sam’ Edition Lot.64 Ranch Blouse and Californian Blues Jeans: 13 ¾ Oz. selvedge denim (SC66)
* ‘Pitstop’ broadcloth shirts: blue and white
* Sportsman Chinos: ‘Beach’ selvedge chino twill and Indigo ‘métisse’ cotton/linen
All items in production right now, full specs as each item drops, sometime during Feb/March 2014.
Please email sales@misterfreedom.com with any question not answered above.
Thank you for your support.
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