CSL

So this happened last week... Went outside with the dogs & saw this on the neighboring property. No one lives there but the people had come to mow the perimeter (required by law). Likely their mower blade hit a rock & sparked (apparently they had some remote controlled device). Could also have been an electrical spark. Luckily the wind was blowing away from us although we had all the pets in our vehicles ready to go. Fire crews arrived promptly, all by road rather than air although a plane did fly over to observe at one point. There is a house on the property which was spared. They lost two junk trailers which the fire crews kept a close eye on. The wind took the fire across to another property where no structures were damaged but much of the land was blackened. Once the trailers had burned down the crews made sure all hot spots were extinguished This was a second spot where I could see flames. I went & called them over but I expect they were aware. Later that night we walked around to inspect the overall damage & scope of the burn. And the day after. One of the things I found interesting was that the undergrowth had burned while the taller weeds were still present. I guess the straw/hay type dead growth burns so fast that the fire wave quickly passes by anything green. Needless to say we were relieved & thankful that our place didn't sustain any damage. Hard to say what would have happened had the wind been blowing in our direction. I had mowed a pretty wide firebreak which should have been adequate to stop the spread. This was the closest fire we had ever experienced.

Reminds me of that comedy song 'The Rochdale Cowboy'. "All the people laugh as I ride past on our Alsatian dog".

Yup. ^^^Looks great, vIGGiou riou!

Thanks, vIGGiou riou! Nice to hear someone else picked up that piece.

Thanks, Geeman!

Thanks, Indigoeagle!

I imagine most FC fans are not into the brand for full on retro/repro cuts but perhaps some will find this of interest. I had picked up the 30th anniversary jeans from Standard & Strange back in November 2022. They were reasonably priced initially & then when a sale kicked in I decided to buy a second pair which are still unwashed/unworn. I'd been hoping the matching jacket would turn up, similarly priced at S&S but it never did. After seeing the price ($500, I think) on the FC site I decided to pass. Recently I got the bug to search & see if one might be available somewhere online, & found a size 46 at Son Of A Stag. The price was still high but with first time buyer discount it came down to where I couldn't resist. I noticed that the cardboard tags were different from those that had had been on the jeans. Also the jeans had come in a cloth bag emblazoned with "1946", while the jacket had no bag & was described as 1944-45. Consequently I was crossing my fingers that the jacket would be made from the same denim as the jeans, which I like a lot. Happily it turned out the denim is the same on both items. Not sure if my photos best demonstrate that , but to my eyes the look & feel appeared identical. I'm including a photo side by side with the Freewheelers 1944 jacket. The FC is a wider shape which is accentuated by the stiffness of the denim.

FC Anniversary jacket / RMC / Shoe's Like Pottery (Will post details about the jacket on the FC page)

Actually, Graytrain, the whole thing went down while I was in sweat pants & slippers. I'll know what to expect next time & dress appropriately.

Pardon the quality of the photos. They are screenshots from video. So yesterday around noon my dogs started freaking out. I thought a coyote perhaps, but when I looked out the window here's what I saw... After a moment of disbelief, thinking where did they come from & how did they get here, I went outside to take a look. Apparently I seemed untrustworthy & they wandered off to the far end of our property. Luckily our fences are decent, but they really didn't seem like they wanted to get out. So after making some calls 911, & getting a referral to Animal Control, someone came around & checked the ear tags. Not long after the owner showed up. He asked if I would mind driving his truck & trailer while he went in on horseback to bring them out. Would I mind?? I've been waiting all my life for an adventure like this!! Here's the rancher guiding the cows out to the road. Initially I had thought the plan would be to load them in the trailer right there but apparently cow behaviour requires a more complicated procedure. This consisted of getting the cows onto a neighboring property where there is a corral. The white car contained Mrs CSL, coming home from work btw. On first attempt rather than going to the right, the cows veered off to the left into the wrong gateway which luckily was closed. After this I was instructed to bring the truck ahead of the desired entryway & park in a position that would guide the cows in. The second attempt was successful the three cows were herded a ways back on to that property to a corral. The next operation was to get the cows into a smaller corral & back the trailer up to that gate, accurately so they animals couldn't get tangled in any gaps around the trailer. Once this was done, the rancher shoo'd the cows into the trailer, and then loaded his horse. Then back to Chez CSL to drop me off & we were done. Kinda blew my day but it was a fun adventure & I learned a few things about cows.... And I came home to find my Fullcount 30th anniversary jacket had arrived, so a good day all around. (Rinsed today) IMG_1483 2.HEIC

Off the top of my head, without checking the closet - FW WW2 RMC type 2 blanket lined MF Ranch Jacket x 2 (one in Okinawa denim). LVC triple pleat Lee Japan one pocket model (20+years old) Vintage - Levis Big E type 3 JC Penneys blanket lined Off brand type 3 style - kinda cool. been meaning to post pics... Might be missing some. Will adjust list if necessary. On the way - Fullcount 30th anniversary WW2

Thanks, MJF9!!

Indeed, fabes. A FW chore coat is a winner in my book.

Living out in the country, I feel ok about owning some garments that combine practicality & vintage vibe, while not necessarily being the most flattering cuts. I consider the Ooe vests to be in that category. There are a lot of items in my closet that never make it further than our acreage & the road that surrounds it. That's ok. They probably get more hours of solid wear than the 'playing a show' / 'going out to somewhere, trying to look cool' pieces. I do have a pretty large vest section in my closet. Some are right for wearing out. There's a nice Rising Sun piece that combines the half moon pockets with an old west vibe. And a Mr Freedom vest that goes with a pair of pants in the same fabric. I have some FW vests too, all of which are great. I've been an avid collector. Apparently it's in my nature...

In Tehachapi, CA for the Western Swingout. FW, Codina belt, Old SC bought in Japan 20+ years ago, vintage dead stock boots (1st time on). 2nd pic with a band I played with (Southwest Biscuit Company). Vintage shirt 1930s, FW pants.

I've worn the denim vest quite a bit. I have it in the largest size they offered. I also bought the duck vest one size down (Hiro's opinion was that it was too small but after examining the test photo from Inspiration I liked the look so I got it after the fact from S&S). That light weight kind of denim doesn't seem to show wear very fast. I'll examine it tonight & see if it's worth photographing. As far as practicality goes, it will hold a bunch of stuff especially if sizing up for a loose fit. Pockets everywhere including the internal game pockets. I've considered trying put one of the terriers in there. Might have a go tonight lol. Update - dog didn't quite fit...

While I've had issues with some of their items, I've been happy with their t-shirts & henleys.

LazyS, Yes. It could be that. The only time I've seen a WW2 Levi jacket in person was at Inspiration. A fellow was wearing one & it looked superb. I engaged him in conversation about it. I didn't go over it with a fine tooth comb but it didn't look wonky at all.

Point taken, rbeck. The example you've shown definitely demonstrates some sloppy sewing. I guess it's this stitch line on the right side of the buttons that is my main head scratcher. I think to myself would someone actually buy that (speaking of back in the era it was made)? I guess there were situations where employers bought in bulk & handed out to their workers who would have had no say in the matter. That all being said, if SC will just admit it's a factory second, & slash the price, I'll buy one (wink).

That's the direction I went, Shredwin & I'm not disappointed although I will say I liked the fit of the TCB contest jeans better, and also the old LVC model.

Those look pretty tight compared to the highly asymmetrical SC jacket. I see some overlapping stitching where they've run out of thread & started over, but all the lines look on target.

It's certainly been a lively discussion.

Thanks, beautiful FrEak.

Right, beautiful_FrEak. The first time I read the blog post that was my interpretation. Then on the second reading I picked up this in the text [with a focus on faithfully replicating the “character”] and that caused me to question whether it was a full on replica job or more of a philosophical excursion, type of thing. If it is a replica, then I find the level of wonkiness rather shocking. Makes me think people must have been pretty desperate to get a denim suit, in order to tolerate that level of slop. Of course I understand denim history fanatics of today being turned on by those elements. One thing I'm wondering about, I believe Lee (& Wrangler?) were making jeans & jackets in 1944. I've never heard anything about their products having the sloppy sewing element. Perhaps someone here can shed some light on that subject?

So what do we think about the new SUGAR CANE SUPER DENIM COLLECTIBLES 1943 models? Has the wonkiness finally been taken too far?...