1860's heavy woven hemp farmer's work coat, 1950's rayban aviators..

[merz]

this piece has been discussed a good deal in the wywt thread, and although i've owned it quite sometime, i haven't really gotten too much of an opportunity to wear it. being that i'm in serious need of liquidity, i'm down to liquidating things i would otherwise keep in order of how much wear they see.

noragi workwear in heavy hemp/linen and recycled cotton (boro technique) comes from the north of japan. up until the mid-1800s, it was primarily hemp-based. though after the railroads reaching into the northern parts of japan were constructed, such work wear appeared in the previously-uncommon cotton. the recycled fabric technique and tradition seen in this style of garment itself comes from abject material scarcity and relative lack that constituted a reality in which the people wearing these clothes existed. the clothes would be worn in the course of heavy field/farm work by both men and women (in varying cuts, styles and modes of wear) and rigorously maintained through additional grafts of whatever materials and scraps of fabric would be on hand. the style of garment is characteristic for pieces that are almost entirely composed of indigo-dyed patchwork of different textures and sashiko-stitch patterns, everything grafted together in layers encompassing days to weeks of the sort of manual labour that has become nearly unimaginable in our present day.

the particular example is a men's work coat. squared-lapel collar, cutaway hem, side-vents, full 3/4 length trumpet sleeves (no sleeve vents) 8-10 layers of hemp fabric sandwiched together to produce a fabric of considerable weight, some fraying at the edges of the lapels and hem vents, through which underlying layer is made visible. though the piece was originally an indigo blue, over a century of exposure and oxidisation/sunlight have made the outer layer a shade of cool-graphite-grey. there are also three large patches which are made from an even more-oxidised material, and are completely black with the same vertical sashiko stitch. these are two square patches reinforcing the inner sides of the trumpet sleeves at the elbow-to-cuff area and a large black square patch reinforcing the seat of the jacket. the inner side remains in many vibrant shades of indigo blue.

free size, though measurements can be taken. i'm a small 44, and this is a kind of oversized fit it affords. can accommodate likely up to a 48-50 with similar sort of proportion, depending upon height and desired fit.

775, shipped anywhere.

cheers.

still need to take photos of the aviators, in original case.. green-black antiglare lenses.. $75, shipped.