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Mister Freedom® mfsc “GYPSY BLUES” Fall 2017 recap.
Full collection (SS2017 & FW2017) available from www.misterfreedom.com, our Los Angeles brick & mortar store, and fine retailers around the World. Christophe Loiron
Mister Freedom® “Liquette Tzigane”, indigo cotton/wool herringbone twill. The grand finale of our Hot Jazz opus, the mfsc “Gypsy Blues” 2017 collection, a venture into the world of ‘swing manouche‘, wraps-up with a Fall iteration of the Liquette Tzigane. The pattern of this garment is inspired by several vintage 1920’s-30’s fancy shirt specimen, twisted à-la MF®. Liquette is an old French argot (slang) term designating a man’s shirt, as-in the recently released Liquette Manouche. The word Tzigane (or Tsigane) can be used to designate a person of Eastern European Romani ancestry, although the term hints at a specific culture within the Gypsy world (often with a musical connotation) rather than a geographic origin. Sounds of lamenting violins playing “Les Yeux Noirs” around the campfire, with a string of caravans in the background, come to mind. Initially released in a fine indigo calico discharge-printed cotton popeline, our Spring 2017 take on the vintage Hungarian folk textile family called Kékfestés, the colder-months’ counterpart of the Liquette Tzigane comes in a 9.5 Oz. indigo yarn-dyed cotton-wool blend. With the 70% cotton content, this handsome fabric feels quite ‘dry’ to the touch, without any itchiness. It has a very dark navy blue tone, anecdotally reminiscent of vintage US Navy wool CPO shirts. The Liquette Tzigane indigo HBT is designed in California by Mister Freedom®, and manufactured in Japan by Sugar cane Co. Musical Note: I had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Samy Daussat this summer, during the 2017 Los Angeles Django Festival. A knowledgeable Gypsy Jazz aficionado and talented guitar player, Samy is also blessed with teaching skills. Attendees to his master class held during the two-day event attested to that. The 2017 LA Django Festival was organized by Mr. Tommy Davy, himself expert on everything manouche guitar-related and a skilled musician. For vintage Selmer-Maccaferri-type guitar urges, browse through Tommy’s inventory of Django-style goodness, and listen to his own recorded musical prowess. Tommy also draws on traditional gypsy folk music to fuel his Trio Dinicu slavic and Tzigane-flavored repertoire.  A glimpse of Mr. Davy’s collection on display at the 2017 LA Django Festival. ✌? SPECS: DETAILS: SIZING/FIT: Please refer to chart to figure out which size works for you. “Rinsed” means soaked for 30mn in cold water, spin dry and hang dry.
CARE: Available raw/unwashed. Available from www.misterfreedom.com, our Los Angeles brick & mortar store, and fine retailers around the World. Christophe Loiron
Mister Freedom® NIXON Shirt, printed corduroy. This is the fourth addition to our MF® “SURPLUS” Fall 2017 line-up, an on-going concept consisting of timeless classics given a twist à-la MF®, expertly manufactured in Japan by our long-time friends and partners at Toyo Enterprises. The MF® “SURPLUS” collection is the ethically-made-overseas companion of our popular all-made-in-USA “Sportsman” catalog. For the office anecdote-inclined, we used to refer to this pattern as the ‘Dick Shirt’ during R&D, but eventually settled on ‘Nixon’ for the official release, for obvious reasons. The pattern of our ‘Nixon’ shirt is largely inspired by an original 1950’s vintage “Roomy Richard” chambray work shirt, a now-defunct American workwear label established in the late 1920’s. The main appeal of that vintage piece was for us the tricky double-layer ‘cigarette’ chest pocket pattern, somewhat reminiscent of the famous Big Yank pocket, familiar to all vintage clothing aficionados. That pocket was designed to keep the worker’s cigarette pack dry.  Original 1940’s vintage “Roomy Richard” work shirt packaging. If most of us today know better than to donate towards the cause of tobacco companies by purchasing their wares, the practical little pocket can still be used as double storage for, say, both an iPhone and a public transportation ticket/smart card. The fabric we opted for is a 16 wale all-cotton corduroy, discharge-printed with a traditional plaid pattern typical of 1940’s-1950’s vintage outdoor gear, mimicking the appearance of woven checks. Because of the limited bleed-through printing, the reverse of the fabric displays the solid color of the base fabric, not unlike our Sportsman printed Camp Flannel Shirt from 2013. This printed corduroy was exclusively milled for mfsc in Japan, and is released for Fall 2017 in two color options, red plaid and blue plaid. The Nixon Shirt is designed in California by Mister Freedom® and manufactured in Japan by Sugar Cane Co. SPECS: DETAILS: SIZING/FIT:
CARE: Available raw (un-washed) Retail: $329.95 Available from www.misterfreedom.com, our Los Angeles HQ, and fine retailers around the World. Christophe Loiron
Mister Freedom® “M-17 Parka”, indigo-dyed jungle cloth. This is the third addition to our MF® “SURPLUS” Fall 2017 line-up, an on-going concept consisting of timeless classics given a twist à-la MF®, expertly manufactured in Japan by our long-time friends and partners at Toyo Enterprises. Basically, the MF® “SURPLUS” collection is the ethically-made-overseas companion of our popular all-made-in-USA “Sportsman” catalog. The choice of indigo-dyed jungle cloth for the shell became obvious after witnessing how this handsome fabric evolves overtime, with normal wear and exposure to the elements. Before the recently-released Jungle Riders, this same fabric was featured on two MF® oldies, the Mulholland Master and Blouson de Quart of our 2016 tenth Anniversary collection. Promising evo shots should be emerging on the social media in a few winters… Those into waxing their gear for weatherproofing, or for the rugged aesthetics, can do so with Otter Wax or natural bees wax. Do consider that this would not only be a no-turning-back commitment, but a real endeavor considering the size of the fabric panels to be waxed… I will personally leave my M-17 in its original condition and let the indigo do its thing for a while. Then again I live in Southern California, where rains only briefly interfere with drought alerts… The “M-17 Parka” is re-designed in California by Mister Freedom® and manufactured in Japan by Sugar Cane Co. SPECS: DETAILS: SIZING/FIT: DISCLAIMER: Color crocking (temporarily bleeding onto other lighter-colored textiles) is to be expected and will temporarily ‘stain’ light color garments worn as under layers. Indigo rub-off should wash-off eventually. However, because it is unlined, do not wear a white shirt or light color jacket directly under the M-17 Parka. Please refer to sizing chart for approximate raw/cold soaked measurements.
CARE Available RAW/unwashed ONLY. Available from www.misterfreedom.com, our Los Angeles brick & mortar store, and fine retailers around the World. Christophe Loiron
Gilet Gadjo, sienna brown 8.5 Oz. cotton moleskin. Our elegant-yet-rugged Gilet Gadjo, previously released in indigo cotton-linen HBT and stripe covert cloth, makes a come back this Fall! The pattern of our classic vest is inspired by 1910’s-1930’s French Gentlemen’ waistcoats. The shawl lapel, fine sateen back, cinch back strap and fancy lining make for a choice addition to the discerning gadjo‘s closet. We took the dandy vibe a notch down by donning our gilet a set of donut-shape metal buttons as front closure, hardware parts usually reserved for vintage utility garments. If black and navy blue are typical colors of old-school French workwear, brown and cream moleskin garments were quite popular with the Gardians of Camargue, the gritty Provençal cowboys dreamed-up by the legendary Old-West-obsessed Folco de Baroncelli in the early 1900’s. In the old days, these famed horsemen of the delta of the Rhone, Southern France, typically wore moleskine boot-cut riding pants, with the characteristic contrast piping running down the leg seam. A matching moleskin vest, flamboyant plaid or printed cotton shirt, low-crown western-style hat, and a pair of Camarguaises (local traditional rough-out leather boots) often completed these work outfits. Familiar to the European vintage clothing aficionado, French waistcoats from the 1920’s-30’s typically feature a stern shell (often black wool serge) and an unusual inner lining (fancy printed fabric probably left-over from a custom shirting project). It is not uncommon to come across such tailor-made vintage specimen with a formal appearance and an unusual inner lining. Digging through the archives, we found limited NOS yardages of forgotten textile goodness from past mfsc collections, and have used then as linings on all iterations of the Gilet Gadjo. The fancy off-white calico-print cotton sateen twill featured on the moleskin version was originally milled for our 2011 Les Apaches collection, but was never used. Indigo-dyed cotton poplin inner panels complete the lining. A classic amber brown cotton sateen back adds to the elegant vintage vibe. The Gilet Gadjo is designed in California by MISTER FREEDOM® and manufactured in Japan by SUGAR CANE Co. SPECS: DETAILS: SIZING/FIT: Please refer to chart to figure which size works for you. Take your favorite waistcoat, measure it laying flat (as the chart’s b/w photo suggests), and see which size/measurements combo most-closely matches.
CARE: Available raw/unwashed. Available from www.misterfreedom.com, our Los Angeles brick & mortar store, and fine retailers around the World. Christophe Loiron |
