Faribault Woolen Mills - Blankets and Throws

Faribault Woolen Mills is one of the excellent American makers that has been around for ages (since 1865), however not too long ago they went under and closed their production of quality woolen goods like blankets and throws. Luckily their mill was revitalized a couple of years ago, and their now up and running again. I read one place that half of all blankets sold in the US were made by Faribault, and they made not being doing that well, but judging from the press that they are getting, they're doing better than they have in a long time.

Ever since reading about Daiki Suzuki of Engineered Garments recommending the West-End blanket from them, I've been in the market for one, but thing is, I don't really need it at the moment. But I can appreciate it and wait for a time when I might actually have use for a good, solid blanket. Like when I get a small cabin in Sweden for instance - which will hopefully happen someday. Their military blankets can be found under the "Foot Solider" category.

Some retailers have also picked up some scarves made by Faribault. They're made out of merino wool, which I personally think is excellent for scarves. This scarf has some resemblances to the iconic Hudson Bay   blanket and is a favourite of mine. And so is and actual blanket with the Hudson Bay stripes.

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Needles - Arrow Jacket

Lately a lot of products have surfaced which features Harris Tweed. This is definitely one of the better so far. Needles is a Japanese brand, which is part of the Nepenthes company, which Engineered Garments is also a part of. Needles is almost entirely made in Japan, and I find it very hard to place in terms of style, as they produce some very funky pieces sometimes, but if you find some of their lookbooks (especially the older ones), you'll get a sense of the myriads of styles they're able to mix.

This jacket is called the Arrow jacket. It's made in Japan of Harris Tweed fabric. Other than that it features deerskin patches on the elbows and deerskin accents of the cuffs and pockets.

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Want - Batten Sportswear Parka

With the summer rapidly approaching I find my woollen jackets and coats being a bit obsolete, therefore I find myself wanting a good mountain parka to complete the full 70's ivy look.

I really like the collection by Batten Sportswear, which is another American/Japanese brand lead by designer Shinya Hasegawa, who cut his teeth as Daiki Suzuki's assistant for the Woolrich Woolen Mills project. The whole collection is very, very strong with a nice surf/outdoor vibe, that is very easy to wear during the summer. To me the stand out piece is the "Travel Shell Parka" in the iconic 60/40 fabric with a lot of yesteryears functional details. On another important note it's made in the US - as is the whole collection.

You can get yours at End Clothing

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The Gentry Man - The Book

I can't exactly remember, when or how I cam across Gentry Magazine, but I think it was through some Japanese designer. For some time I was thinking about becoming a collector of it. Mostly due to the fact, that the magazine was short lived and only 22 editions were made, but I never really got the collection started and only purchased one edition, which was in poor condition and it got lost while moving at some point. But it was without a doubt a great magazine.

Gentry Magazine was aimed at a upscale market and it covered subjects like fine dining, art, graphic design, history and of course fashion or rather style. It was a quarterly magazine and came with a pricetag of $2 each - making it $8 a year, which was quite a hefty price considering, that it only existed in the 50s and never made it into the 60s. What made the magazine stand out was probably the way the magazine was put together. No expenses were saved using first grade paper, embossing, fold out pages and of course the use of fabric swatches.

The reason for me covering the history of Gentry Magazine is that a book titled "The Gentry Man: A Guide for the Civilized Male" featuring best of Gentry Magazine has just been released in the US and will soon be released in the UK and EU. I've pre-ordered mine through Amazon and it was very reasonably priced, so I suggest, that you all order the book and then you can start collecting the magazines one by one afterwards. That's what I'm planning on doing.

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