MISTER FREEDOM

[akuma no uta]

Whenever there's wear enough to show you must post pictures!

[tmadd]

There is a fair amount of subtle wear on the light blue but it is hard to capture in photos. It is also significantly lighter than when new but I would need a new one to illustrate that. Now there's an idea!

[edmond]

tmadd fit pics ont hose mf shirts pls i need to see how you wear em i wanna rock mine soon!

[PETEROCK1]

thanks kiya for the 7161's!

oh, i just tried on practically all of the winter 09 collection samples (minus the rider dungarees) and i must say... i want almost everything (i can do without the greaser hat, club shirts, and backpack). but kiya won't let me get the mulholland master jacket. it's ok, i'll take the bronco champ leather jacket over that any day

.

[jacob_davis]

Hey Peter rock . What do you think of rider d's compared to 7161s ? Fit ,color,etc. Also what's the sweatshirt like ? Oh yea what the back pocket s like on the pants ?

[blacbird]

i want almost everything (i can do without the greaser hat, club shirts, and backpack)

.

Hey Peterock- mind if I ask what you didn't like about the greaser hat? (Price? Material? style/color?)

...And thanks to Bill and Kiya for your replies. I realize not everyone can pull off a horsehide casquette. And I'm pretty certain a hat like that will be an heirloom piece. On top of being badass.

Katherine told me that the hats were going to be one size fits most.

[shark jacobs]

do heirloom pieces still exist?

which is to say, in this age of infinite comsumption, do we really think, even if these things last through generations, that our kids or whatever will care to inherit them?

i mean, its great that mister freedom has genius styling and amazing construction and brilliant details and all that but really? 60 years from now you think your kids are gonna be inheriting your leather hat and your vintage repro workwear?

or anything for that matter. the days of leaving your "second best bed" to anyone are long gone, i'm pretty sure that the conceit of inheritance being anything other than assets and maybe jewelry is an outdated one. when your dad dies you're not gonna retailor his suits to fit you and start wearing them, even if they did cost twelve thousand dollars and he took exquisite care of them.

[Leonard Leroy]

Yo, my child/grandchild is going to have an awesome leather jacket by the time I'm through.

[Baeyer-Drewson]

do heirloom pieces still exist?

which is to say, in this age of infinite comsumption, do we really think, even if these things last through generations, that our kids or whatever will care to inherit them?

i mean, its great that mister freedom has genius styling and amazing construction and brilliant details and all that but really? 60 years from now you think your kids are gonna be inheriting your leather hat and your vintage repro workwear?

or anything for that matter. the days of leaving your "second best bed" to anyone are long gone, i'm pretty sure that the conceit of inheritance being anything other than assets and maybe jewelry is an outdated one. when your dad dies you're not gonna retailor his suits to fit you and start wearing them, even if they did cost twelve thousand dollars and he took exquisite care of them.

Disagree... Sure, most clothing is just disposable crap pumped out of a myriad of identical factories in China but I think some items of clothing are inheritable. If any of my ancestors ever game me a pair of old boots or a leather jacket I would definitely rock em.

Fashion is essentially cyclical; certain styles return re-invented, often generations later. If you have any clothes that will last that long (well constructed leather goods for example) then I'm sure someone will be happy to inherit them. This is (sort of) how the vintage fashion market works.

[zissou]

60 years from now you think your kids are gonna be inheriting your leather hat and your vintage repro workwear?

No, I am going to be buried in five layers of Mister Freedom.

[Ark Sakura]

do heirloom pieces still exist?

I wore a mint 1961 tuxedo on my wedding day. I wear my grandfather's felt hat sometimes. 25% of the clothes in my wardrobe are vintage.

I think there will always be people with an eye on the past.

And I fully expect my great grandchildren to fight over my iron heart type III : )

[blacbird]

do heirloom pieces still exist?

which is to say, in this age of infinite comsumption, do we really think, even if these things last through generations, that our kids or whatever will care to inherit them?

i mean, its great that mister freedom has genius styling and amazing construction and brilliant details and all that but really? 60 years from now you think your kids are gonna be inheriting your leather hat and your vintage repro workwear?

or anything for that matter. the days of leaving your "second best bed" to anyone are long gone, i'm pretty sure that the conceit of inheritance being anything other than assets and maybe jewelry is an outdated one. when your dad dies you're not gonna retailor his suits to fit you and start wearing them, even if they did cost twelve thousand dollars and he took exquisite care of them.

Well, matter of fact, SJ:

My father passed a few years ago, and I wear his watch, as well as use his tobacco pipe on occasion. If I were not so much taller than he was, I would have kept a few items of his clothing as well. I recently was the recipient of a handful of neckties from the late 1930's of exquisite quality, that once belonged to the father of my patient. So in the spirit of that, I most definitely think that should I have kids, they will have dibs on certain items that are dear to me.

I am not sure what your cultural background is, but certain ones (I am Taiwan Chinese for example) do still have a tradition of keeping heirloom items (even clothing). In my earlier post, I was just thinking aloud about when it's my time- if my children are anything like me (chances are good) that they would appreciate the same things I do. It depends on if you raise kids who will appreciate the inheritance of old things. If not them, I assure you someone will.

Where's the next crop of amazing vintage items from our generation going to come from? Where's our generation's 1947 Levis/Hair on Hide Lee's? It's in Hollywood- IMHO, it's coming out of Christophe's studio loft.

The reason I am drawn to Mister Freedom is that same "genius styling and amazing construction and brilliant details" you speak of. He has always been doing his thing, regardless of prevalent fashions and trends. It just so happens that for the last few years when the market was receptive, Christophe had an opportunity to get a lot of his ideas made into garments for us to enjoy, and learn from. Military and Workwear trends in the general public are now shifting away towards prep and whatever the next flavor is. But I (as well as some others on SF) was drawn to MFSC stuff because it is classic, practical and EXTREMELY well made- thus always relevant to me. At least 25% of my wardrobe is vintage as well.

It's not like I'm talking about a zoot suit or a leisure suit, here (or a Thom Browne suit for our modern times). You have to admit there are certain cuts and fits that have proven to stand the test of time. Like Baeyer-Drewson said, fashion is cyclical, and we've had a few cycles to learn which silhouettes and materials always make the cut. I don't think that has escaped Christophe's attention. I own Japanese repro jeans, and a ton of EG stuff too. But I wouldn't think they have the same timelessness as MF's stuff does.

I own the very first MFSC denim peacoat, as well as the WWII peacoat it is patterned after identically. I'm pretty certain that both of those items will still be appreciated in another 40+ years by someone. A horsehide cap would be a perfect candidate. And I will take exquisite care of it by beating the shit out of it with frequent wear...provided I actually decide to buy the hat.

[rnrswitch]

I pay top dollar for quality items simply for the fact that they will last me. I take pride in, at least attempting to, under consume. I would rather pay a lot for something to last me a long time, than something that will pass with the trends. A few articles of clothing that I wear often, rather than a plethora of crap I wear a couple times. Some people on this board buy a plethora of nice stuff that they won't ever wear, but maybe a couple times. I still think that is a shame and waste of nice craftsmanship.

[akuma no uta]

Wait, there's a fucking backpack? Where see pics now???!?!?!?

[Turntabloid]

[zissou]

In case any of you guys missed out on the white chambray, they are now at J Crew. I would guess that these are one-wash only because I doubt J Crew would sell raw chambray shirts.

[akuma no uta]

Oh damn they Also have t shirts by him but they look like just regular tees not like 50s deadstock. Oh and they still have 2 foul weather coats.

[Happy Hooligan]

next you'll see middle-aged obese women shopping at Walmart with their "Mister Freedom" T's on buying hostess Cupcakes... in bulk...

[Charlie Delta]

The copy J.Crew puts up along with their pics of the MF stuff is misleading!

Mister Freedom didn't team up with J.Crew to do that shirt, nor did he make it exclusively for them, with them or whatever.

People are already re-blogging it as "J.Crew exclusive" blah blah...

smh

[kiya]

This is the same shit that went down when they got the Foul Weather Coat 3 months after it was released.

[Lendo]

Maybe "collaborated with" is code for "begged him to let us sell"?

[zissou]

I'm not trying to defend J Crew, but I don't think they say it is a J Crew exclusive. Surely, Christophe had some knowledge that they were going to sell it, no? I realize all they are doing is taking his shirt and putting their label on it. In this case 'teaming up' really is just buying at wholesale. Yes, their marketing is retarded.

Over on SF, the guys thought it was new for FW09, and I had to explain that you, kiya, have been selling it for months and are pretty much sold out of it.

[Lendo]

They don't, but the copy on that and the foul weather coat (initailly anyway, looks like they've changed it now) both make it sound like they worked w/ MF.

"We partnered with Mister Freedom, the master of old-school cool, for this original naval supply off-duty chambray shirt."

[zissou]

So that's a copy made by someone other than Sugar Cane?

[deminslut]

yes i am dying to know why JC crew is selling MF stuffs in the first place

[vamks]

I always thought Jcrew only sold them in the 2 men's stores they opened up in NYC. If that were the case I think it would be okay, but I had no idea it was sold online.

[Scoobersti]

I'm an idiot I wanted one of those foul weather coats and I thought Self Edge was completely sold out of them. Didn't know they still had one left, I probably would have bought it if I knew during last weekend's sale.

[Charlie Delta]

Couple reasons why I think the way J.Crew approaches/has been approaching this is wrong.

"Partnered up" in my eyes means something along the lines of "collaborated with"/"worked together with" and I know for a fact that this is not the case with the white chambray, nor with the foul weather coat.

They are not specially labelled, let alone developed alongside, or produced especially for J.Crew, it is simply them carrying MFSC product!

I believe Christophe did those tshirts exclusively for J.Crew, which is fantastic for them, but that's that.

Essentially, what they, or their pr/marketing dept is doing is coming up with some story to make the product even more interesting, while MF doesn't need any of that.

Let the product speak for itself, highlight some of the things that make it special instead of coming up with random facts such as "hand-painted metal buttons"... What the heck is a hand-painted button???

(Or even better, the "only 7 made" claim that came with the foul weather coat, quoted before...)

Despite the attention it has been getting, what Mister Freedom does is essentially very niche, even on a place like superdenim.

J.Crew carrying selected pieces is a good way for the MF to reach a wider audience.

J.Crew markets itself as part of this whole "workwear/heritage/vintage" family of brands, and operates on the lower end of the spectrum.

Meaning they have a wider, less hardcore/educated audience.

In my opinion, the biggest chance they are missing by pulling stunts like this is that of educating the customer.

While they could be saying "let us show you something good, special and made with care and an attention to detail you don't see much anymore these days", instead they went for the "partnered with, blah blah, hand-painted buttons, blah blah...". Pity!

Anyway, repeating myself...

/rant

[vamks]

Couple reasons why I think the way J.Crew approaches/has been approaching this is wrong.

"Partnered up" in my eyes means something along the lines of "collaborated with"/"worked together with" and I know for a fact that this is not the case with the white chambray, nor with the foul weather coat.

They are not specially labelled, let alone developed alongside, or produced especially for J.Crew, it is simply them carrying MFSC product!

I believe Christophe did those tshirts exclusively for J.Crew, which is fantastic for them, but that's that.

Essentially, what they, or their pr/marketing dept is doing is coming up with some story to make the product even more interesting, while MF doesn't need any of that.

Let the product speak for itself, highlight some of the things that make it special instead of coming up with random facts such as "hand-painted metal buttons"... What the heck is a hand-painted button???

(Or even better, the "only 7 made" claim that came with the foul weather coat, quoted before...)

Despite the attention it has been getting, what Mister Freedom does is essentially very niche, even on a place like superdenim.

J.Crew carrying selected pieces is a good way for the MF to reach a wider audience.

J.Crew markets itself as part of this whole "workwear/heritage/vintage" family of brands, and operates on the lower end of the spectrum.

Meaning they have a wider, less hardcore/educated audience.

In my opinion, the biggest chance they are missing by pulling stunts like this is that of educating the customer.

While they could be saying "let us show you something good, special and made with care and an attention to detail you don't see much anymore these days", instead they went for the "partnered with, blah blah, hand-painted buttons, blah blah...". Pity!

Anyway, repeating myself...

/rant

Agreed, good post.

I do appreciate the approach J.Crew takes to their brand as a whole, which gives a lot of us on the "lower end of the spectrum" some decently priced clothing and footwear that other gigantic mall brands don't even attempt. But to market a product that is clearly masterminded by Mister Freedom and not J.Crew as the opposite is unethical at best.

[rnrswitch]

Agreed, good post.

I do appreciate the approach J.Crew takes to their brand as a whole, which gives a lot of us on the "lower end of the spectrum" some decently priced clothing and footwear that other gigantic mall brands don't even attempt. But to market a product that is clearly masterminded by Mister Freedom and not J.Crew as the opposite is unethical at best.

Yeah, but something tells me MF is not going to pull its garments from JCrew for this unethical behavior.