Work It , Baby.

Ah....The allure of vintage work wear, the big E, big money denim, the elusive "genuine" barn jacket, the everyday clothing of the most ordinary people of long ago, just like you and I. The flip side of the coin to the coveted, priceless beaded dresses, Victorian silks and taffetas and dapper, expertly tailored walking suits and fur bowlers.

The January 09 issue of Outside magazine features a profile of Brit Eaton, a self made vintage clothing/workwear Indiana Jones, pretty much leading a life I akin to running away and joining the circus. Forget dreaming about the inner reaches of the closets of socialites, heiresses & other well clothed luminaries. Fashion inspiration (and it's jackpot) lies in the crumbling mortar of old ghost town chimneys, sideboards, underneath rotting floor boards, privies & such. Armed with a flashlight,a can of Raid and a fair amount of gumption one can plumb history's closet for raggedy finds that have survived long after the mine let out. And suffice it to say this fellow fashions a pretty fair living out of plain cloth.

But garments such as these Levis and other "well worn" denims commanding such lofty amounts and in such high demand surely must hold more than design secrets. Without a boring lesson in the history of blue jeans and Levi Strauss, it's safe to say that civilization as we know it at least in this corner of the world would not be what it is today without the advent of the denim jean. Everything relates. They may not be a work of art but they are truly American, a tangible touchable part of the Old West, a manifestation of good ole pioneer spirit and the lure of the unknown, and a product of necessity and ingenuity and hard work. They were probably really, really comfortable too.

Loose fit for sure.


What is it about these garments that fascinate and inspire the chicest designers working today. After all these were the most functional of garments meant to withstand heavy labor, the wardrobe of proverbial "old salts". It's plain stuff, unadorned, all straight lines with no unnecessary extras, zippers and buttons were meant to open & close, a pocket is more than a place to put your hands.
You can wax all philosophical about how nowadays the well off really just want to look poor, the idle rich seem rugged and adventurous and we all want casual comfort, in layers to boot.


Perhaps what Ralph Lauren and others like him are reaching for when they deconstruct these vintage garments into new designs is a definition and presentation of Americanism that possibly we're losing grasp of. Maybe recalling a time when American men (women & children too) toiled long hard hours in sweatshops and factories to produce the everyday wardrobe of a people totally totally immersed in the business of building and expanding a nation, in the most literal sense.

Or maybe he and others like him know a buck to be made when they see one (an innately American characteristic).

If you are what you eat are you what you wear too? Do you want to be? In this time when the exterior artifice of clothing can mean so much, what can a well worn jean jacket and a pair of Lees really say?