“RANCHERO Shirt” Mister Freedom® MFSC
‘Viva la Revolución’ Collection, Fall 2013
You guessed it, our ‘Ranchero’ shirt is inspired by vintage shirting, classic movies, old photos, traditional silhouettes…
We mixed a bit of early work shirts, Indian ‘traditional’ tunics, Old West flavor, Old World shirting, some cilantro, stirred it all up, and dipped it in the MF® salsa.
BAM, we had a noïce shoït.
The ‘cut away’ one-piece collar pattern was inspired by several 1900’s French rural homemade shirts and early Mexican blouses. Nothing literal as always, just our interpretation and adaptation, as we, city dwellers, tend to spend more time in traffic than in fields swinging a scythe or a cavalry sword.
The ‘Ranchero’ shirt was introduced during Spring 2013, in both a white dobby stripe and indigo calico popeline.
This season, we added two new fancy fabrics, exclusively milled in Japan:
a) Plaid: a linen (60%) cotton (40%) woven indigo x mader red plaid, 6.2 Oz., selvedge, a mid-weight hand.
This fabric was originally developed based on a turn of the Century homespun cotton/linen work apron, scored from a French country side market.
b) Covert: An 100% cotton indigo yarn covert twill, 8.5 Oz., selvedge, a warm and quite heavy hand. In appearance somewhat similar to a ‘salt and pepper’ work fabric, with a quite thick feel.
We are using this covert as a ‘common thread’ for this Fall 2013 collection. It is featured in our ‘El Americano’ waistcoats and blousons.
This fabric was originally the lining of a pair of gentlemen’s trousers from the 1890’s. I have only seen this fabric once. Unusual then, it is not common either today.
With an all original MF® pattern and two fabric options, the ‘Ranchero’ is a pretty versatile shirt that can go dressy or casual, according to what you will match it with. It is a comfortable fit, due to cut and the expansion pleats of the shoulder yoke.
Designed in California by Mister Freedom® and manufactured in Japan by Sugar Cane Co under our MFSC collaboration. Limited Edition.
SPECS:
PATTERN: An original MFSC pattern inspired by vintage early shirting from the Americas and Europe.
FABRIC: Two options
a) “Indigo x red plaid”: woven checks, 60% Linen and 40% cotton, selvedge, 6.2 Oz.
b) “Indigo Covert”: 100% cotton indigo dyed ‘salt and pepper’ yarn twill. Selvedge, 8.5 Oz.
DETAILS:
* ‘Old West’ type silhouette.
* Full button front.
* Double button collar closure.
* Real horn buttons.
* Original MF® box pleat single chest pocket
* Single piece ‘cut away’ collar.
* Cotton indigo popeline button hole placket facing, white cotton popeline button facing strip.
* Rounded front tail and square back tail.
* High stitch count chain stitch flat felled seam construction.
* Selvedge side gusset.
* Sheared wrist cuffs.
* Double front and back shoulder yoke expansion pleats.
* 100% cotton tonal stitching.
* Made in Japan
SIZING/WASHING:
Both fabric options come raw/unwashed and will shrink to tagged size after an original cold soak and line dry.
Washable in cold water, gentle cycle. Line dry.
Please note that it is of the nature of linen garments to look wrinkled after laundry. Some like it that way, and some, in order to solve this First World problem, use an iron.
I wear a comfortable Medium in both options.
Please refer to chart for sample raw/rinsed measurements.
CHART (coming up)
Available RAW/unwashed
Sizes: Small, Medium, Large, X-Large
Retail
a) Plaid $359.95
b) Covert $359.95
Available from www.misterfreedom.com , from our Los Angeles brick & mortar and fine retailers worldwide.
Thank you for your support.
NOTE: The ‘Ranchero’ shirt and the ‘Americano’ waistcoat pictured come separately.
The “APPALOOSA” Denim Shirt
mfsc Sportsman Fall 2013
The Appaloosa, the ‘spotted horse’, has always fascinated me as a kid. Indians rode them in the western movies, how cool is that.
Because Appaloosa horses were scarce where I grew up however, I settled for local alternatives.
Please note that there is absolutely no evidence of the above anecdote, due to its pre-smartphone era when meals and daily footwear choices went undocumented.
Oh, wait…
 
What does all this have to do with a denim shirt? Not much indeed. So. Take two.
A denim shirt was a wardrobe staple for many of the usual cool suspects back in the days, on or off set. Hud, Henry Thomas… you name ’em.
  
We have issued a few denim shirts in the past at Mister Freedom®. The “Utility Shirt” and “CPO Shirt, Liberty Issue” in our early Naval days, the “Prairie Shirt” in our Frontier days…
But we do not have one yet in our ‘The Sportsman’ catalog. So let’s introduce the “APPALOOSA” Denim Shirt, an addition for Fall 2013.
It’s moniker has been scientifically approached above, so we’re good. For the design, we have combined several details of vintage western and work shirts, trying to stay clear from the ‘traditional’ cowboy cut denim western yoke shirt, aka the Wrangler shirt, denim shirt ol’ timer.
As previously with our Sportsman printed flannel shirts, we shamelessly borrowed their painted metal snaps from 50’s Ranchcraft or Blue Bell shirts. Our front yoke is of a vintage ‘Roebuck’ type rather than the usual western arcuate style, its seam also locking the pocket flaps.
The Appaloosa also combines two stitching colors, yellow and orange, in what appears to be a random pattern. The idea here being to emulate old school work wear, during days when a pressed for time factory often used what was on hand to fill an order. That is fabric and thread used.
With workwear and sportswear manufacturing, consistency seems to be somewhat of a modern concept, considering the many examples of ‘craftsmanship funkiness’ seen in (real) vintage clothing. Unintentional mismatched fabric panels (different dye lots, sometimes different fabrics) or odd stitch lines are just a few challenging points to the ‘clothes were better made back then’ usual theory.
 
It might sound a bit silly to go the extra mile nowadays to ‘mimic’ the manufacturing mistakes of the past, but there is to me definitely beauty in flaws. 侘 寂 some call it…
Along these lines of charming inconsistency, and because we know better than to make it simple, we have selected four different New Old Stock (NOS) rolls of 2×1 denim from our stock to get cut and sewn into Appaloosa shirts.
Similar in weight and appearance, all four denim have their own specifics and subtle differences:
* Lot A: Approx 9 Oz. Random ‘snowy’ spotted appearance. No, I don’t mean 80’s acid wash, that’s next year’s collection. Rather, a slub quality due to fluctuations of the weft spun yarn gage. Blackish dark navy, white selvedge with yellow line.
* Lot C: Approx 9 Oz. Bluish shade. White selvedge ID with red line.
* Lot D: Approx 8 Oz. Purplish sheen. White selvedge ID with double red line.
* Lot E: Similar to Lot C but solid white selvedge ID.
Now I know you have some important questions you want to ask:
1) What happened to LOT B? We’re looking for it.
2) Do they shrink the same? Pretty close.
3) What’s your favorite? A, C, D, E, in no particular order.
Designed and made in California, USA, by Mister Freedom®, in collaboration with Sugar Cane Co.
SPECS:
PATTERN: An original mfsc pattern, inspired by vintage workwear and western shirting.
FABRIC:
Four options of New Old Stock 100% cotton selvedge 2 x 1 denim twill, with limited size availability for each.
* Lot A: About 9 Oz. Random ‘snowy’ spotted appearance. No, I don’t mean 80’s acid wash, that’s next year’s collection. Rather, a slub quality due to fluctuations of the weft spun yarn gage. Blackish dark navy, white selvedge with yellow line.
* Lot C: About 9 Oz. Bluer shade. White selvedge ID with red line.
* Lot D: About 8 Oz. Purple sheen. White selvedge ID with double red line.
* Lot E: Similar to Lot C but solid white selvedge ID.
Please note that, due to limited yardage of each NOS denim, we were not able to cut a full size scale in each Lot.
DETAILS:
* Slim ‘western shirt’ type silhouette and fit.
* Painted metal DOT snaps. The white paint will chip with age.
* Vintage ‘Roebuck’ type front yoke
* Western style back yoke.
* Two chest pockets, snap flaps, locked into yoke construction.
* Selvedge ID on button front facing panels.
* Double snap cuffs.
* Orange and yellow 100% cotton stitching combination.
* Double chainstitch construction with green color thread “Sportsman” inside signature.
* Selvedge ID side gussets, chainstitch run offs.
* Original mfsc “The Sportsman” woven rayon label.
* Made in USA
SIZING/WASHING:
All four denim options come RAW/Un-washed and will shrink to tagged size. We recommend an original 20-30mn cold soak, machine spin dry then line dry.
I wear a Medium in mfsc shirting and am a tight Medium a LARGE in the ‘Appaloosa’ denim shirt. I might have once been a medium, but life happens…
The Appaloosa shirt fits very snug, more ‘Hud’ than ‘Hip Hop’. It might not accommodate all body types, see measurements.
For the hardcore denim aficionados, wear the shirt briefly when still damp to shape it and set creases in, then hang back to fully dry. When using this method, the shirt will feel stiff when fully dried, due to the starch still in the fibers. This is normal/expected and the fabric will soften up with normal wear.
Please note that the demand/need for ‘soft’ denim garments led to the stone-wash plague of the 1980’s. Talk about creating a monster…
Subsequent washing when needed: Shirt turned inside out, hand wash or very gentle cycle with cold water and minimal environmentally friendly detergent. Line dry.
Please refer to sizing chart for raw/rinsed measurements (soaked/dried according to our recommended method).
 Size Chart Lot A-C
 Size Chart Lot D-E Available RAW/Un-washed
Sizes S, M, L, XL, XXL
Retail $289.95
Soon available from our Los Angeles store and online from www.misterfreedom.com
Thank you for your support.
Time for yet another updated version of our original denim ‘Tripper bag‘ we made in 2010, sold out for some time.
The pattern has not changed from the original Type 1 or Type 2 “Tripper”, but we have updated several elements such as the lining/webbing/trims…
We found a roll of selvedge New Old Stock camo twill, older but of uncertain origin, and decide to have a ‘Jungle’ version of our ‘Tripper’.
It will become very handy when flipped inside out and worn over your head, during an angry gorilla attack in the jungle. Stand still. You will notice that the charging primate, having lost all traces of you, usually loses interest. If not, swiftly remove the bag and retreat.
This limited edition “TRIPPER Bag, Type 3, Camo″ is ‘Mister Freedom® built’, right here in our Los Angeles atelier. In other words, designed and hand made in the USA.
SPECS:
PATTERN: Original Mister Freedom® pattern
FABRIC:
* Shell: Assorted New Old Stock indigo selvedge raw denim, ~13+ Oz.
* Lining: NOS 100% cotton selvedge twill, camo print, ‘tiger stripe’ style.
DETAILS
* Webbing handles: NOS Cotton webbing, mil-spec 1670-360-0540, olive green with red woven ID stripes.
* Top closure: Recycled military cotton webbing. Inside metal “D” ring for keys.
* Approx. Size: Length 16” x Width 8” x Height 15”
* Pocketing:
Two outside box-pleat pockets, vintage A2 type “United Carr” snap closure for flap.
Two inside side pockets
One inside large pocket 14.5” by 11” , snap closure (fits a Mac Notebook, or a phone book, because we all carry a phone book around)
* OD dyed HBT tape on inside seam, mil-specs.
* Visible denim selvedge on inside only.
* Tonal stitching.
* White ID tape underneath outside pocket, for your perso custom marking/stenciling.
* “Property of MF” original stencil.
* Limited Edition.
* Made in USA.
(Cold soaked and hung dry, One Size. Retail $449.95)
Available from www.misterfreedom.com
Thank you for your support.
-
-
Raw Ranch Blouse Lot.64
-
-
Rinsed Ranch Blouse Lot.64
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
MF® Ranch Blouses ©2013
-
-
-
Holding the wall ©2010
-
-
-
“See, Tom, the problem is that you’re making us look bad”
-
-
“Well, first you need more hair”
-
-
“Then you work it like a pro”
-
-
“But that’s enough about me”
-
-
“Look, it’s easy”
The “RANCH BLOUSE” Lot.64 Sportsman Edition
MFSC FW 2013
We’ve had requests… but we made another denim jacket anyways.
Following our original ‘Ranch Blouse‘ made from some twenty-two different NOS selvedge denim types, here is the ‘Sportsman Edition’ of that fine jacket.
To make everyone’s life easier we have settled on ONE denim twill, the same we used for our Californian Lot.64 blue jeans, a sturdy 13.75 Oz. right hand twill selvedge denim, milled in Japan, known to some as the SC 1966.
When originally deciding to crowd the denim world with yet another jacket sometime in 2010, we combined vintage influences ranging from the three majors LLW to some more obscure now-defunct work wear off-brands. Again, no wheel got reinvented, we just added some MF® flava to a well established classic, tweaking things to our liking.
 Early 2010 Ranch Blouse prototype Our denim Sportsman ‘Ranch Blouse’ has a 1930’s ~ 1940’s flare with the traditional bell and whistle ie. the pleated front and the buckle back.
The denim ol’ timers will know but, for the new comers, the front pleats were originally not a fashion statement. In early types of work cotton twill jackets (canvas or denim), front expansion pleats meant more room to the wearer. The stitching was just there to keep the pleats in place, and removed or pulled if needed.
My own Ranch Blouse has seen the table of the sewing machine several times over the past two years, following the vicissitudes of its aging owner’s belly.
The 1920’s influenced round collar of our denim jacket was never a staple in ‘trucker’ type jackets to my knowledge, although I have since then seen several contemporary denim companies implementing that detail on their jackets. Some famous brand even used both round collar shape and our arrow head darts pleat stitching. As always, we’re flattered…
For this Sportsman Edition, we have added some concealed goodness in the form of NOS indigo ‘Wabash’ type fabric, for both the collar and pocket flap facing. Only you will know, but that’s the idea.
The 100% cotton stitching consists of a color combination of yellow and orange thread, in what appears to be a random manner but is actually a confusing and long list of instructions for the Los Angeles factory.
The two front pockets are lower than usual chest pockets, allowing the wearer to use both shirt and jacket pockets without creating too much bulk.
Branding comes in the form of a yellow “M” stitched on the front pockets, which is probably what McDonald’s would do if they made a denim jacket. May we never know.
Also, for ze Ladies, we made a few size 34 😉
As a patina example I have added my original 2011 Ranch Blouse in some photos. It still has plenty miles to go, as NO chemicals or nasty sanding was involved in the fading process.
For those on a mission to the ultimate fade, I believe it is less about the denim itself than what you do with it and the way it fits you. I have seen some great fades on contemporary non-selvedge jeans, made from non-premium denim and originally sold unwashed. Motion, not ocean.
Having awesome whiskers and tracks reaches obsession status sometimes, however, the process of wearing a well and ethically made garment that fits fine should be plenty satisfying, fade or no fade.
Designed and made in California by Mister Freedom® in collaboration with Sugar Cane Co, part of our “The Sportsman” catalog.
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: NOS 100% cotton indigo ‘wabash’ type twill.
DETAILS:
* Early round-type collar, A-1 style.
* ‘Vintage’ boxy but fit silhouette.
* Original MF® chest pocketing with “M” stitching. There was just no room for the “F”.
* Selvedge front panel fold.
* Wabash type twill lining for collar and pocket flap.
* Metal cast MF® branded buttons, ‘oxidized’.
* Buckle back, concealed selvedge strap, adjustable, riveted.
* Copper rivet reinforced, unmarked, leather washer.
* Original mfsc printed cloth label. You’ll notice we don’t even have our full brand name on that label… Oops.
* Made in USA
SIZING/WASHING:
We recommend an original 30mn cold soak, spin dry and hang dry. 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.
The Sportsman “Ranch Blouse” comes UN-WASHED and “oversized” (aka 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.)
Available Raw (unwashed) ONLY
Sizes 34, 36, 38, 40, 42, 44
Retail $369.95
Please email sales@misterfreedom.com or call 323-653-2014 with any questions unanswered in the above ramblings. Available for purchase on www.misterfreedom.com
Thank you for your support, always.
 Courtesy of Men’s File Archives ©Matt Hind 2012
Following an epic photo-shoot by talented photographer Matt Hind of “Men’s File” paper magazine, it became obvious to the editors that there were just too much goodness captured on that two-day session around 29 Palms, California.
Inspired by John Huston 1961 movie “The Misfits”, Matt directed the shoot, coordinating it all. Two real cowboys (Douglas Brown & Anthony Panzarella), three horses (Dusty, Tank and Trigger), trailers, cow girls, burlesque extraordinaire Miss Banbury Cross, props, wardrobe… were involved, relegating Ben-Hur to vacation movie status.
Dinner on location was not a sad affair either. But there are thankfully no photos of that.
Mister Freedom® provided most of the outfits for the guys. A keen eye will spot Ranch Blouse, Californian Lot.44, Blouse Chaparral, Buckaroos, Wool Dover Blouse… and some vintage items from the store.
Some of Matt’s photos were featured in Men’s File #8, a special ‘Denim’ issue with forewords by famed Nick Clements, founder/writer/photographer of the UK publication.
I have previously posted some behind-the-scene shots of that photo session. However, the REAL DEAL is now unveiled in this new box set publication, the latest from Men’s File Archives. Many of Matt Hind’s photos could not make it in the original Men’s File #8 due to space limitation. Now they are, in this box set…
What’s in the box you ask me? Well i’ll tell you Jack.
Two soft cover books, “The Westerners” (format 9½” x 7½”, 100 pages) and “Miss Banbury Cross: A burlesque Performance” (format 9½” x 7½”, 38 pages)
And just like that wasn’t enough, a Mister Freedom® printed silk scarf.
Did I hear someone say “NO MORE, please NO MORE”?
Fine.
We have some of these limited edition sets available on www.misterfreedom.com
They are also available from Nick Clements’ The Curator website.
Warm thanks again to Nick and Matt for involving us in that fun desert adventure!
It’s not everyday that I get to ride a horse for work.
DISCLAIMER: The box sets DO NOT include the hat, boots and denim jacket.
Don’t laugh, you’d be surprised…
|
