Mister Freedom® SCUBA Utilities, “Okinawa 301” left-hand twill denim
mfsc SS2022 FROGSVILLE
Made in Japan
These came about as we were considering turning the Scuba Trunks pattern – inspired by old school UDT combat swimmer shorts – into a pair of pants. The mission? Coming up with a pair of dungarees not related to the ubiquitous 5-pocket jeans, that could have existed.
“Wanna turn shorts into pants?”, I quipped, “Here it is, Barney-style, just add legs!”
The Mister Freedom® Design Dept kindly remarked that morphing our swim trunks into a pair of practical work pants may take a few more cups of brain juice.
First, we needed front pockets for functionality, so we borrowed the patch pocket design (sandwiched in the outseam) of our Utility Trousers from 2015.
For the back of the pants, the single square pocket of the trunks felt too plain, so we tapped our Swabbies for a more visually-pleasing rear pocketing design. We also needed two pockets, to balance with the absence of back yoke, also a feature of our classic Speedways, anecdotally. The four pockets are cut using horizontal warp, in contrast with the traditional vertical warp used for the legs, which always makes for interesting fabric roping and patina.
We of course kept the no-belt loops style waist band and D-ring cinch strap, pure vintage UDT shorts legacy.
There it is. A modern day wearable blending vintage military aesthetics and utilitarian clothing functionality, as featured in the “Chairborne Commando” star-studded Hollywood blockbuster.
Our Scuba Trunks may have challenged some in the Heritage Fashion community regarding “how short can you go?”, and, incidentally puzzled a few beach goers in my coastal neighborhood for a couple of years now, but its long-legged successor, the Scuba Utes, shouldn’t raise too many eyebrows in public. At least initially. Just wait for the “sick fades” on that sweet “Okinawa 301” indigo left-hand twill denim, and watch the crowds part and jaws drop!
The MF® Scuba Utilities are designed in California by Mister Freedom® and manufactured in Japan in collaboration with Sugar Cane Co.
FABRIC:
Fancy “Okinawa 301” denim, 12 Oz. left-hand twill indigo premium denim, “hairy” and slubby, solid white selvedge ID, a Sugar Cane Co proprietary fabric. Milled in Japan on narrow shuttle looms, from a blend of 80% cotton and 20% Okinawan recycled sugar cane fibers.
SPECS:
* An original mfsc pattern inspired by vintage military swimmers trunks and UDT shorts, US Navy dungarees, Army field trousers and other utilitarian classic garments.
* Old school high rise, classic straight leg cut.
* Adjustable waist strap with Mil-Specs double D-ring buckle, ½ inch ~ 1 inch cinch.
* Waistband facing displaying denim selvedge ID.
* No belt loops.
* Front patch pocket original pattern, sandwiched in flat-felled outseam.
* Double rear pockets, concealed selvedge ID on inside fold.
* All four pockets cut using horizontal warp, in contrast with vertical warp of legs.
* Button fly, black painted metal “donut” wreath tack buttons.
* Chainstitch seam construction.
* Black tonal stitching, 100% cotton thread.
* Original mfsc Frogsville woven rayon label.
SIZING/FIT:
The MF® SCUBA Utilities are true-to-size after a cold rinse/machine spin dry/line dry.
We recommend the following simple initial process.
- Cold soak garment for about 30 mn in bathtub or washing machine, with occasional hand agitation.
- Spin dry (spinning cycle) if using a washing machine.
- Line dry/drip dry.
The resulting stiffness of the garment is due to the reactivated starch in the denim fabric, and is normal. Stiffness will easily subside with normal wear, fabric will soften.
The D-ring waist strap allows for about ½ inch to one inch cinch. I opted for a W31 in the Scuba Utilities, fully cinched, for a comfortable fit (I wear a W32 in all models of Scuba Trunks.) I’m about 5’7 / 145-150 lbs.
CARE:
Wash when necessary, as other premium denim garments.
We recommend turning the pants inside-out to avoid potential marbling of the denim fabric. Wash separately from light-colored garments.
Machine wash with cold water, gentle cycle, eco-friendly mild detergent and line dry. Using a heat dryer may result in excessive and irreversible shrinkage.
As with all indigo-dyed denim, temporary croaking (color bleeding) is to be expected, and the indigo color could potentially rub on light color garments and furniture. Indigo rubs can easily be spot cleaned using a small amount of laundry detergent on a clean damp cloth.
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®
©2022
 Redneck hat optional
Utility Trousers, Denim
“Saigon Cowboy” mfsc spring 2015
utility
u·til·i·ty
yo͞oˈtilədē/
adjective
* functional rather than attractive.
Example: “utility clothing”
There is it.
We previously introduced the featured trousers of our Saigon Cowboy spring collection with their recent experimental camo release. The same pattern was used for this denim issue. The Utility Trousers, Denim borrow details from US Navy dungarees (CONTRACT DA-30-352TAP-2031 to be precise), Army chino trousers, M-51 field trousers, Marine Corps M1941 trousers… all blended in the MF® shaker.
The fabric is that of the Utility Jacket, Denim, inspired by the lightweight 2×1 denim of original 40’s-50’s US Army barrack bags.
Expertly milled in Japan based on a vintage US Army un-issued barrack bag from 1951, our new 10 Oz. indigo-dyed selvedge denim features a slight nep (woven ‘imperfections’ in the form of tiny whitish cotton balls), with the stiff-dry-crispy feel of NOS denim.
 Blue inspiration As a work-type garment not having to rank high in attractiveness, our Utility Trousers are quite inconspicuous, in and out. And, do mark your calendars, we went as far as not show the selvedge anywhere. Refreshing, isn’t it. For the selvedge galore, and a tantalizing KP duty tuxedo, check out the trousers’ matching top.
To complete the unassuming appearance, our utes feature black-painted ‘burst of Glory’ type metal buttons, black oxidized donut fly buttons, and black color cotton thread tonal stitching.
The specific sizing S,M,L,XL applied to trousers could sound odd, but is a nod to old military field pants featuring cinch tabs. Those are often tagged with a ‘size range’ as opposed to a precise measurement, reflecting the waist-adjusting pull tabs.
The “US” stamp stands for sizing following American standards, as opposed to the “A” stamp differentiating Asian standards garments with CISO-issued gear.
Along with our Evac Jak and Utility Jacket, Denim these Utility Trousers, Denim are extrapolations of historical events we are briefly evoking as we unfold this Saigon Cowboy collection. Some will be familiar with these pages of History, some will wonder why on Earth we’re turning them, some will enjoy learning tidbits, some will want to burn the book, some will zip to the washing instructions…
I personally consider the Past to be valuable forewarning material, rather than mere dust for under the rug. You don’t agree or not with factual History, you are either aware of it and learning a lesson, or ignoring it and perpetrating more of the same. Most readers of this blog are probably too young to have either fought or protested the Vietnam war. Still, mentioning it in 2015 seems important food for thought to me. I won’t be sharing macabre combat photography that no one wants to look at, nor glamorize events either. I won’t even tell it like it is, because I was 10 when it ended and have no idea how it was. But enticing one to look things up with these brief posts will hopefully prove more useful than sharing self-coaching quotes on cutesy sunset photo backgrounds, or other such inspirational platitudes social media grace us with. History comes in handy in the voting booth.
“How are you tomorrow?”
Michael Herr, Dispatches (1977)
The Utility Trousers, Denim are designed in California by Mister Freedom® and manufactured in Japan by Sugar Cane Co.
FABRIC:
10 Oz. indigo-dyed 2×1 denim, solid white ID selvedge. Milled in Japan.
DETAILS:
* Inspired by vintage military utility trousers.
* Mid-high waisted.
* Front patch pockets locked in side seam, rear patch pockets, horizontal HBT.
* Side cinch tabs, mil-spec slide buckle.
* Flat black-painted Metal “13 Stars” tack waist button.
* Oxidized black donut-type fly buttons.
* Flat felled seams, chainstitch.
* 100% cotton tonal stitching.
* Made in Japan.
SIZING/FIT
This garment comes raw/unwashed and will shrink to tagged size after an original cold soak/line dry. Further shrinkage to be expected with the use of hot water and heat dryer.
I decided to size down in those, as I had done with the Crew Pants of the Sea Hunt spring 2013 collection, and I am wearing a Small (30). When both fully cinched, the waist tabs can tighten the fit by about 2 inches, but a Medium looked too baggy on me. A tagged Small technically corresponds to a 30-32 inch waist.
Please refer to sizing chart for measurements reflecting a 30mn cold soak no agitation/line dry.
CARE:
Launder when hygiene dictates and common sense prevails.
Machine wash. Cold water, gentle cycle, eco-friendly mild detergent and line dry. We recommend turning indigo blue/denim garments inside out to avoid marbling when washing.
Patina will develop according to activities and frequency of wear.
Available RAW/unwashed
SIZES:
X-Small (28)
Small (30)
Medium (32)
Large (34)
X-Large (36)
XX-Large (38)
RETAIL $329.95
Available from www.misterfreedom.com, fine retailers around the World, and our dusty Los Angeles brick & mortar store.
Email sales@misterfreedom.com or call 323-653-2014 with any questions unanswered above.
Thank you for reading and for your support
 Utes Cachou.
 Utes Hiland.
 Utes Loland.
Utility Trousers, “Utes” Experimental Camouflage
Mister Freedom® “Saigon Cowboy” Spring 2015
For those into the jungle tuxedo, our MF® Experimental Camo is now available in fine looking trousers as well! For those lucky to have missed it, the account of how our original camouflage pattern came to be was summed up in the Evac Jak spiel.
For today’s story, who needs fiction when you have CIA declassified intel? Here is some of it, revisited…
The year is 1961.
American taxpayers have been unknowingly forking over $400 million to the French imperialist war effort in Indochina from 1945 to 1954 (thereby funding about 80% of the French Guerre d’Indochine), but we are still four years short of the ‘official’ engagement of the United States in Vietnam’s affairs of 1965.
In those years, some felt that if you didn’t stop the red devils (‘commies’) in the jungles of South East Asia, “they would have to be stopped in Honolulu or on the beaches of California.”
President Kennedy, a man of his times and a believer in the efficiency of US Special Forces guerilla tactics, sends 400 tiger stripes-clad intensively trained men to the highlands of South Vietnam in May 1961, in an effort to contain the spread of the National Liberation Front (NLF), China’s protégé…
Men in green berets immerse in the local culture, assess the situation and organize local resistance. Montagnards and local villagers receive training in jungle warfare. The enemy du jour? The Việt Cộng (Vietnamese Communists) guerrillas, VC (NATO’s Victor Charlie), or Charlie as often referred to by US boots on the ground.
A program called CIDG (Civilian Irregular Defense Group) and originally designed by the CIA has the task to assist in the transformation of local minorities into anti-communist paramilitary forces.
To more efficiently handle logistics, the highly-classified Counter Insurgency Support Office is established on the island of Okinawa, Japan in 1963. Headed by a mysterious individual working for the Department of Army by the name of Conrad Benjamin Baker, CISO was “assigned the mission of supporting the Special Forces programs through triservice depots and local procurement sources (…) Many items of clothing and equipment, for example, had to be obtained from markets in other countries because of size problems, composition of material, and equipment which had to be tailored to Montagnard measurements.” (source)
CISO acquired or produced ‘sterile’ (untraceable if captured) weapons, along with unmarked clothing and equipment to outfit US Special Forces or advisors heading out to South Vietnam. Locally screen-printed tiger stripe camo fatigues, “bowie” knives, VC-style black pajamas, rations, machetes, Seiko watches for recon teams, black 1-0 rain jackets, North Vietnamese Army-inspired rucksacks…
Basically, if it proved needed in the field, CISO sourced it out in Asia, or designed it and manufactured it locally. At a fraction of the price compared to US-made mil-specs issued gear, and quicker delivery than its state-side bureaucracy-laden official channel alternative. What exactly went on is not well documented, but Ben Baker’s account of his involvement in the original design and R&D of the famous SOG knife is available for download in pdf form here.
Note:
I am no expert on the topic and more accurate facts are available to those interested in History preservation willing to do the research. The “SOG” book by John L. Plaster probably answers many questions, but I admit having only flipped through its photo album companion (ISBN 1-58160-058-5) due to time restriction.
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Courtesy of “Fighting Knives” magazine (1991)
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1-0 CISO Jacket (Courtesy Jim Brzozkiewicz)
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3rd Force Recon Patrol (Courtesy Doc Cassidy)
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LRRPS (Photo Albert R. Brown 1968) Courtesy www.lrrpranger.org/
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Montagnard in training (1962)
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Montagnard Civilian Irregular Defense Group force attached to Company D MIKE-FORCE in the Dak To SF Camp fire-base
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Special Forces Lt. Rich Entlich (1966) Courtesy Charlotte Sun newspaper
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VC Guerrillas South Vietnam (1968)
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The feared “Men in black pajamas” (NVA photo 1968)
(Above photos credited to the best of our knowledge and provided for educational purposes only.)
I had found the logistics side of this CISO story quite fascinating when originally coming across it. As usual, we didn’t take any of this literally in our ‘Saigon Cowboy‘ venture. Imagination took over authenticity. We didn’t go black pajamas, decided to improvise instead, mixing things up into a somewhat plausible garment. Or maybe our ‘utes’ are just a pretext for sharing a slice of ‘behind-the-scene’ History…
The pattern for the featured MF® trousers this season blends details of US Navy dungarees, Army chino trousers, M-51 field trousers, Marine Corps M1941 trousers… a joint operation if you will.
The term ‘utes’ was lifted from the old USMC expression “boots ‘n’ utes” (boots and utility uniform).
As mentioned with the Evac Jak, the MF® Exp. camo combines camouflage with a simple solid side. The solid side cachou color is a reference to the caramel-like color typical of 1930’s French military canvas gear. Although this fabric is designed to be reversible, the trousers are not. Three options are available for the Exp camo utilities:
a) Cachou out/HiLand in.
b) HiLand out (arid terrain, lighter)/cachou in.
c) LoLand out (jungle, darker)/cachou in.
The sizing S,M,L,XL applied to trousers is a nod to old military field pants featuring cinch tabs. Those are often tagged with a ‘size range’ as opposed to a precise measurement, reflecting the waist-adjusting pull tabs.
The “US” stamp stands for sizing following American standards, as opposed to the “A” stamp differentiating Asian standards garments with CISO-issued gear.
Our ‘utes’ have a slimmer silhouette than typical standard-issue cargo pocket camo utilities, a reference to a silhouette favored by ARVN troops of the period.
The “Utes” are designed in California by Mister Freedom® and manufactured in Japan by Sugar Cane Co.
SPECS
FABRIC:
Somewhat of an original Mister Freedom® camo pattern, double-side rotary screen printed (one side solid, one side camo), white 100% cotton Herringbone Twill (HBT) fabric base.
Fabric milled and printed in Japan.
DETAILS:
* Inspired by vintage military utility trousers.
* Slimmer ‘ARVN’-type silhouette.
* Mid-high waisted.
* Front patch pockets locked in side seam, rear patch pockets, horizontal HBT.
* Side cinch tabs, mil-spec slide buckle.
* Flat black-painted Metal “13 Stars” tack waist button.
* Oxidized black donut-type fly buttons.
* Flat felled seams, chainstitch.
* 100% cotton tonal stitching.
* Made in Japan.
SIZING/FIT
This garment comes raw/unwashed and will shrink to tagged size after an original cold soak/line dry. Further shrinkage to be expected with the use of hot water and heat dryer.
All three MF® Exp. Camo fabric options will shrink the same.
I decided to size down in those, as I had done with the Crew Pants of the Sea Hunt spring 2013 collection, and I am wearing a Small (30). When both fully cinched, the waist tabs can tighten the fit by about 2 inches, but a Medium looked too baggy on me. A tagged Small technically corresponds to a 30-32 inch waist.
Please refer to sizing chart for measurements reflecting a 30mn cold soak no agitation/light machine dry.
CARE:
Launder when hygiene dictates and common sense prevails.
Machine wash. Cold water, gentle cycle, eco-friendly mild detergent and line dry. We recommend turning garments inside out to avoid marbling of the fabric during the washing cycles.
Because the base HBT fabric is white before being printed, toning down of colors will naturally occur. This fading should not be considered a quest nor a defect, only the natural consequence of the wash/wear process over the years.
Available RAW/unwashed
SIZES:
Small (30)
Medium (32)
Large (34)
X-Large (36)
XX-Large (38)
RETAIL $229.95
Available from www.misterfreedom.com, fine retailers around the World, and our dusty Los Angeles brick & mortar store.
Email sales@misterfreedom.com or call 323-653-2014 with any questions unanswered above.
Thank you for your support
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