The Friday Find: Rag and Bone Cigarette Trouser

What's on sale RIGHT NOW.


Current price: $130.00 (FREE SHIPPING)

Percent off: 55%

Remaining colors: light blue

Remaining sizes: 29, 31 and 34

Where to buy: Forward



These Rag & Bone "Cigarette Trousers" are handcrafted in the United States from 100% cotton seersucker. Cut for a slimmer fit than the standard trad fair, the pants feature convertible flap pockets and an engraved metal button. Stock is limited. Mandles not included.

On Good Authority: Archival Clothing


With all the bombastic product-worship that appears daily on the pages of this site, it can be easy to forget that not shopping can be (and often is) the most socially responsible act of all. Thankfully, the esteemed antiquaries from the always excellent Archival Clothing have used this month's On Good Authority to remind us all of that very fact. Expanding on one of the 10 tenets from their worthy-of-daily-recital 2010 New Years resolution list, AC editors Lesli Larson and Tom Bonamici have put together a how-to guide for "shopping" one's own wardrobe, and rediscovering the lost and forgotten treasures contained within.

Shopping From Yourself


Shopping from yourself involves scanning your wardrobe for items you've neglected and bringing them back into active use. Typical candidates for "purchase" include eccentric items (oddball or out of date), expensive items (too dressy for daily wear), forgotten items (buried in a pile or packed away) and items that don’t fit or that would require an additional investment in tailoring or repair work.

As a matter of course, shopping from yourself will help you screen your general wardrobe and identify items that should be re-homed to new owners. However, I do not advocate discarding items too hastily. In fact, I encourage the build up of archival collections — clothing that reflects earlier personal styles or the folly of an expensive purchase.

Shopping from yourself is a personal experience, so each person's trip will be different. Make sure to stay focused and selective. Pay attention to the item. If it needs repairs or a polish, do it. Tailoring is cheaper than buying something new (and it is always good to support your local seamstresses). Wear items on a regular basis (or pick a specific day and wear them in combinations). Call attention to your new purchase. Don't be afraid to wear dressy items just because their original purchase price might warrant extra care. Wear eccentric items for non-traditional applications - while cycling or visiting the dog park or grocery store (these are good places to practice outfits).

Favorite "Purchases"

Lesli:

Calvin Klein Herringbone wool coat-jacket for women. Found at Value Village in Springfield, Oregon, the jacket reflects the quality of mainstream department store offerings from the past. My favorite details include the full lining, tailored fit, top grade wool fabric and spread collar. There is also a tag proving that it was made in the US by the International Ladies Garment Workers Union. I would most certainly purchase this jacket from the past.

Hunting World field bag. These bags are extremely hard to find these days outside of Japan. I purchased this one years ago on eBay for a surprisingly low buy-it-now price. The finish details on the bag are perfect (stitching, debossing, webbing and hardware). But the battue “leather” is starting to crease and chip and the bag leaks in heavy rain. I’ve been trying to keep the bag nice, but now I’m just going to use it until it dissolves.

Holland and Holland brogues. These are my nicest shoes and I typically store them with shoe trees on a shelf in the closet. Because I always default to loafers, I forget to wear them. But when I do, I feel regal. Need to set a schedule to "buy" them on a weekly basis.

Tom:


One of my standard SFY items is this terrific Carhartt chore coat that I found at the incomparable Listen Center. It fits like a feed bag and is frayed beyond repair, but every now and again it's exactly what I need. Notice the special-edition branding - "100 years 1889-1989." Last Spring, I was featured wearing this jacket on the Velocouture blog.


Though I love to shop from myself, I'm a transient youth, so I move around and don't have a great deal of storage space. I therefore recommend a few other methods of shopping from yourself that don't require maintaining a deep collection of past garments, but rely instead on a horse trading attitude towards one's wardrobe.

SWAPPING FROM YOURSELF
Swapping from yourself merely requires exchanging an old, unused item for a new one without spending over $5. My favorite example comes from a trip to Buffalo Exchange earlier this year, when I entered the store with four pairs of ill-fitting dress pants and left with a pair of like-new Filson oxfords. Total cost, after trade-in: $1.25.

SHOPPING FROM YOUR FRIENDS
One advantage to a garment archive like Lesli's is that forgotten clothing might find a new life on someone else's back. Try asking your well-dressed friends if they have anything that they aren't wearing any more. Although I'm 6'2" and Lesli is a foot shorter, I was able to turn up a beautiful Holland & Holland shooting sweater that she had bought from the flagship store in NYC. I have it checked out on a long-term loan. We're still working on what I'll be loaning in return - details forthcoming at www.archivalclothing.com.

Nothing but Knit: Folk People Cardigan


A perfect outer layer to take you from winter to spring, the People Cardigan from playful-in-all-the-right-ways Scottish brand Folk is responsibly hand knit in Peru from humanely harvested Alpaca wool. Cut slim and woven thick, the sweater features a wrap-around Peruvian inspired pattern (of people...hence the name) and natural corozo nut buttons.


One of the few still-available items from Folk's AW09 collection, the PC is now a whopping 40% off at Hickoree's Hard Goods (the excellent e-commerce site run by the brothers behind CwaC favorite The Hill-Side). Size medium only.

Company info here.

Best price: $370.00 $220.00 (SHIPPED) at Hickoree's Hard Goods

The Monday Murse: Duluth Pack Scout Pack


The Scout Pack, from veteran Minnesota bag makers Duluth Pack, is a paragon of rugged American portage. Lionized in both print and web for its timeless design, heirloom-quality construction and ideal dimensions for every day use, the SP is, for many, the quintessential Duluth Pack bag. Every Scout Pack is painstakingly handcrafted in the company's century old Duluth, MN facility from domestically sourced canvas and leather. Available in eight (!) colors, the envelope-styled pack features one main compartment, an interior zippered pocket and, like all DP products, a solid-as-their-goods lifetime guarantee.


In addition to bag making, Duluth Pack is also responsible for a number of community-based initiatives, including a program in which production scraps are made into rugs by area adults with disabilities, product donations to local youth groups and an active company-wide recycling program.

Measurements: 17" top to bottom / 14" side to side

Company info here.

Best price: $97.95 (SHIPPED) at Duluth Pack
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It is entirely possible to be well dressed without compromising your morals, or spending beyond your means. All it takes is a little research. That's why I'm here.

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