The Continental Trousers, New Old Stock indigo moss blue cotton-linen crosshatch twill, Sportsman Spring 2016, Made in USA

 

The “Continental Trousers”
NOS Italian Cotton-Linen crosshatch denim twill, indigo moss blue
Sportsman Collection Spring 2016

We decided to break the Internet this Spring.
Just by adding a new three-piece type concept to our Sportsman catalog. It will consist of three new garment patterns with a suiting vibe that we’ll exotically call the Mister Freedom® Continental Trousers, Continental Vest, and Continental Sportcoat.
Our intention is less an urge to have Savile Row shopkeepers and bespoke tailors lose sleep over an American invasion than a desire to add an elegant classic touch to our Mister Freedom® Made in USA catalog. So expect a bit of unpretentious suiting for the Worldly Gentleman á la MF® in the Sportsman collection for the coming seasons.

According to how lucky we are digging up New Old Stock loot, each season will welcome a new member to our Continental family. With the finished garments, the idea will be to mismatch pieces according to one’s personal taste and need for a not-so-formal yet sophisticated wardrobe. If all goes according to plan, the MF® Continental concept should make us insanely rich, and you incredibly handsome.
For the TV marketing campaign, our CEO will grow a beard and deliver this heartfelt message:
“You’re gonna like the way you look, but I don’t guarantee it.”

Sometime in 2015, we scored a pretty incredible lot of three different slubby cotton-linen crosshatch twills, milled in Italy. Fallen-off Guido’s truck and acquired in exchange for several kidneys from the Mister Freedom® crew, not much is known about these fabric rolls, besides yarn content, weight and Country of Origin. All three would technically qualify as denim twill, typically featuring a dark-colored warp and a natural-colored weft, but the 30 to 40% linen fiber adds an elegant and crispy touch to the grouping. The three colors we will be releasing the Continental series in this season are charcoal grey, slate grey and indigo blue. There will not be full matching sets available for each color, both intentionally and due to limited yardage.

Our first release is the Continental Trousers, a new 2016 pattern for us. The keen eye will notice the obvious similarities with the Mister Freedom® Sportsman Chinos, already available in several irresistible iterations. But these MF® trousers now feature a slick late 1950’s-early 1960’s silhouette, with a slimmer leg and a mid-rise fitted top block. The belt loop width has also been slimmed down, for a Gentleman trousers feel rather than a workwear/utilitarian vibe.
Fit wise, the Continental Trousers are designed to have a classic slim silhouette. And because, aesthetically speaking, no one cares to experience the Battle of the Bulging Pants around here, the Continental Trousers will not be following contemporary skinny legwear standards.

The fabric choice for the first round of our new pant style is the indigo-colored twill batch, an 11 Oz. crosshatch twill (= a very slubby warp and weft), an attractive 70% cotton and 30% linen blend. It is the inherent nature of linen-blended textiles to wrinkle and, when made into garments, to noticeably stretch according to wear and wearer. More on that in the Fit/Sizing section.

Please note that the Continental Trousers come un-hemmed, with an overlocked leg bottom. The choice of hemming (plain or cuffed) is left up to the wearer. I opted for a classic “American” 1¼ inch fold on my pair, somewhat of a late 50’s reference. We suggest wearing the trousers around the house a bit, before settling on a length that works for you, somewhere in-between 1960’s flood length and the traditional single trousers-break. For grown-ups, resisting the unsightly over-stacking accordion-leg look favored by fashionable streetwear hipsters is always worth the effort. Having said that, to each his own.

The Continental Trousers are designed in California by Mister Freedom® and manufactured in California by Mister Freedom® in collaboration with Sugar Cane Co.

SPECS:

PATTERN:
An mfsc original, a re-vamped pattern of the Mister Freedom® Sportsman Chinos featuring a slimmed down silhouette with an elegant late 50’s-early 60’s attitude.

FABRIC:
11 Oz. crosshatch denim twill, indigo moss blue (blue with a greenish sheen), slubby 70% cotton 30% linen blend, milled in Italy. New Old Stock.
Pocketing: NOS two by one (2×1) 100% cotton blue denim, about 8 Oz., origin USA.

DETAILS:
* Elegant late 1950′s early 1960’s type silhouette and fit, straight leg.
* Navy blue corozo wood fly and waist buttons.
* Flat-felled side seam “caballo” all around construction.
* Rear welt pockets.
* Trousers-style belt loops.
* Crotch gusset pattern.
* Adjustable back cinch strap, with vintage NOS metal slide buckles.
* 100% NOS blue denim pocket bags, waist band and fly facing.
* Apple watch pocket.
* Tonal 100% cotton thread construction, with inside green chainstich MF® signature.
* Original “The SPORTSMAN” woven rayon label on back waistback, concealed when wearing a belt.
* ‘Open’ overlocked leg bottom, to suit your cuffing preferences.
* Made in USA.

SIZING/FIT:
Linen-blended textiles wrinkle and stretch. For example, freshly laundered linen garments fit tighter in the morning than at the end of the day.

We recommend the usual initial 30mn cold soak/occasional hand agitation/spin dry/hang dry process. This indigo blue cotton-linen crosshatch twill can pretty much be considered as sanforized, as it will tend to stretch back out to raw measurements after wear, despite the noticeable shrinkage following the initial rinsing procedure.

The Continental Trousers are true to size. If you are a measured-waist 32 inches, you are a stamped W32 in the Continental Trouser. Do not size down on these.
Please note that the Continental Trousers pattern might not be a good option for all body types. Proportion-wise, those with very muscular legs will probably look better in our regular Sportsman Chino models.

Hemming: After the initial soak/hang dry process, we recommend settling down on the final length of the bottom hem after gently wearing the trousers around the house a bit. The crispy cotton-linen fabric tends to naturally bunch/wrinkle and pull the leg up slightly. Letting this specific fabric react to your own body for an hour or so will allow you to decide on a proper classic leg break that works for you.

Please refer to sizing chart for approximate raw/soaked measurements. Soaked = 30mn cold soak, spin dry and line dry.

CARE:
Hand wash or machine wash on delicate, pants inside-out, cold water with minimal environmentally friendly detergent and line dry.
Natural fading of this fabric is to be expected with normal repeat wash/wear cycles, although we have yet to see any faded/worn examples.

NOTE: Full washing cycle in hot water and machine dry might result in maximum shrinkage and color loss. NOT recommended.

Available Raw/unwashed
Sizes (W stands for Waist. I know, but we’ve been asked)
W 28
W 30
W 32
W 34
W 36
W 38
Retail $289.95

Available from www.misterfreedom.com, our Los Angeles brick & mortar store, and fine retailers around the World.
Email [email protected] or call 323-653-2014 with any questions unanswered above.

Thank you for your support,
Christophe Loiron
Mister Freedom® 2016

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