MISTER FREEDOM

[tmadd]

Here's another thing,

talking to Christophe last week about my jeans I told him that I kept track of the days I've been wearing them. I do it in my diary but he asked if I did it prisonstyle with stripes on the inside.

I thought that was a very nice idea, but decided to change it a little.

So after a couple of hours catching up, here is the back of my lower right leg.

177 days, 1 wash (at 99 days marked with red):

From now on at the end of every day I've worn them I will add a stitch, and to be able to do that properly here's a small sewing kit I quickly made. It goes in my left back pocket.

They just keep getting better, and better, and better. The evolution of these jeans has been a great example of how to truly "own" a piece of clothing and let it grow with you.

[Charlie Delta]

Thanks. (Looks like something went wrong when you quoted though.)

Show us yours, would be fun to see a fresh pair in this thread.

[tmadd]

Pics coming as soon as I get my hands on a camera.

[MisterFreedom]

(The verso of a card that shows the ticking lining fabric)

Dear friends,

Thank you for all the kind remarks...It is a lonely route I took by doing what I'm doing, such a small niche, that it feels good to see that there are a few people out there who appreciate your work.

Tmadd, sorry we didn't get a chance to talk, i get wrapped up with things sometimes @ work...Make sure you let me know next time you visit! You DID get the last 32, and i am happy it's you and not a design office, where a lot of them went (I am sure they'd rather stay anonymous...)!

As far as the Peacoat, a little slice of history about the origin: Sailors have been wearing this type of jacket for more than 200 years. The fabric used was called "Pilot Cloth" (an heavy coarse twill). They became know as Pilot-Jackets, then P-Jackets...now Peacoats. Badabing!

As far as a wool Peacoat, there is nothing better made than an original USN Peacoat, in the original Melton wool. Check your local vintage stores and look for 10 buttons front. Also look for the corduroy lining in the 2 vertical front pockets, with the "NAVAL CLOTHING FACTORY" label on the inside black cotton lining (that make the coat an original WW2 USN issue). You can pick one up for around $100, and the quality would beat every "designer's" Peacoat out there. Should last you until WW3 as well!

For the collection, I decided to make it in denim because I wanted something I could wear all year long. Just imagine the fade on that coat after getting 'worked on' right!

Right now, only partner-in-crime-Kiya @ Self Edge and MF® will carry the collection.

Should be out by mid-March.

Now...Mr. DUCK... You're a GENIUS! Those marks look like USAF nose art! Brilliant.

(I won't blow my next concept i was working on now, but I'll tell you about it...)

Your positioning on the marks is also genius! The still untouched dark part of the bottom hem... You da man!

OK, getting ready to go to France in 2 days so I'd better start getting my 'stuff ' 2gether.

Cheers,

C.

[40ozprophet]

thanks for the pics, and i must say again how impressed i am with the p coat. I hope i will have the chance (and the funds) to purchase one. thanks!

[Charlie Delta]

Sorry Christophe, but had to change another thing.

The pockets aren't very deep and while they were perfect for my bi-fold I felt that it was a bit of a tight fit for my new Flat Head wallet, especially since I bike quite alot, and I didn't want to risk it popping out. So the obvious thing was to add some fabric to the top of the pocket.

Also decided that everything I do to them from now on will be done completely by hand.

To make it blend in more with the jeans and prevent it from being an obvious extra piece I decided to make the piece of denim come out of the pocket and cover up the rivet

Used very nice green line selvedge denim from a pair of Levis RED's

And done!

For comparison, this about how much the wallet came out with out the extra piece (folded down for the picture)

[masuerte]

I second that completely. Though I wonder if its just a beautiful coincidence, cause I could imagine a lot of people that those jeans would not look so great on.

This is funny, because when I first saw the denim I thought "WHOA, way too busy/forward/nextlvl/potentiallyugly" for me. But the strange thing is that I've seen these denim on at least 5 people now, all of them of GREAT varying body-types and height and they have ALWAYS looked great. Blows me away everytime I think about it because the design still freaks me out w/o anyone wearing it.

[tmadd]

This is funny, because when I first saw the denim I thought "WHOA, way too busy/forward/nextlvl/potentiallyugly" for me. But the strange thing is that I've seen these denim on at least 5 people now, all of them of GREAT varying body-types and height and they have ALWAYS looked great. Blows me away everytime I think about it because the design still freaks me out w/o anyone wearing it.

I have totally done a 180 on this myself. I ended up buying a pair of these a few days after posting that. They feel amazing on, and all the things that initially were red flags in my mind ended up being the things I love the most about them. Also, after seeing pairs that have been worn in my different people and how different they look, you start to realize what a cool design it is.

[beatle]

Cotton - ur Mister Freedom should be exhibited as a piece of art !

[Charlie Delta]

Currently at day 197, day 200 will be washing day. Will document ofcourse.

Counting down.

Oh and also, tmadd, you promised us pics...

[tmadd]

Camera is sitting in my amazon.com shopping cart waiting for me to enter the magic numbers and summon it home to papa. It's funny you called me on this, because today is actually day 1 for me...I am trying to figure out what shoes i like with them...not sure if my cordovan chukkas look right...right now I am actually wearing white chuck taylors with them ala your hawaiian shirt picture with them from early on.

[Charlie Delta]

Chucks are always good, and think that chukkas could work depending on how you roll them and at what length.

Did you leave the turn ups?

Assuming that shrinking worked out for you then?

Will look forward to pics.

[tmadd]

I am pretty short, so yeah, I left the turn ups, and with the pants cuffed so that only the turn-ups are showing (no weft visible) and the pants hit the top of my feet with almost no break. The shrinking worked out...they are definitely tighter in the waist than I would like a pair of cinch-back jeans to be, but they are stretching, and I am on a weight loss endeavor, so I am thinking things will work out nicely over time. Now I have to figure out if I can make my Flathead wallet work with these, or if I need to pick up another wallet...the Ironheart looks great, but if its anywhere near as expensive as I imagine it will be, if I buy it, I won't have any money to put in it, just maxed out credit cards.

Update: Camera will be here by monday at the latest...a lot of fun pictures to come.

[Charlie Delta]

I'd say try to cuff them a little higher, maybe roll the turn up part on itself, though it might very thick then. Or if you're up for it, check a page back how Mr Freedom himself wears them. Really high cuffs.

Don't worry about the waist, it'll stretch.

And about the wallet, I made mine work...

[Charlie Delta]

More in approx 24 hours...

[40ozprophet]

you're killing me. pictures!

[tmadd]

I thought I would sneak in some pictures of my new MFxSCs....fit pics soon.

The fact that my birthday is April 11th sealed the deal when I saw this tag:

[Charlie Delta]

It's actually quite nice that you just posted those, to see how mine started.

200 days, two initial hot tub soaks to get the shrinkage out of the way

one wash at 100 days, another one at 200, both 40 degrees machine wash, with black wash detergent, air dried.

They are darker than this though, but all my pics came out so light. Lovely...

Ok, I lied earlier on, 201 days!

Edo Ai refuses to fade really...

[Charlie Delta]

The stitching on my keystrap was coming loose so I decided to hammer a rivet through instead of restitching it...

[Charlie Delta]

Tasty wrap around pockets, two of 'em:

Buckleback fade:

Backside of buckleback wear and rust:

Fading chambrey patch!

[denimdestroyedmylife]

the hash marks gives one the sense of a prison sentence

nice jeans!

[headtowall]

Amazing. Can't rep you anymore, Cotton.

[tmadd]

Plus rep if I could....those are amazing, they make me want to shelf my Iron Hearts and work on my Mister Freedoms exclusively. I hope these will be getting a lot more wear.

[Charlie Delta]

I feel that they are just now starting to show some wear, really since the last month and a half or something, and the wash mainly got rid of all the dirt so that lightened them up a little bit.

[40ozprophet]

pretty incredible cotton! those pockets look amazing.

[percy]

very nice. do you have a favourite element to the jeans and do you have a favourite of the denims used? sugarcane stuff is so awesome. how long did it take for the scent to go?

cheers

[Ahlvahroe]

I feel that they are just now starting to show some wear, really since the last month and a half or something, and the wash mainly got rid of all the dirt so that lightened them up a little bit.

tell you the truth i thought that they would fade slower. isnt it made up of the different natural indigo, sugarcane denims, which have proven to be stubborn to fade.

truly the stuff of denim nerd dreams.

[kiya]

tell you the truth i thought that they would fade slower. isnt it made up of the different natural indigo, sugarcane denims, which have proven to be stubborn to fade.

truly the stuff of denim nerd dreams.

The "Sugar Cane 50/50 denim fades slowly" thing is a myth... The denim fades just as quickly as any other denim from Sugar Cane.

Another thing to note, cotton dyed with natural indigo versus synthetic indigo doesn't necessarily fade any slower.

[Ahlvahroe]

youve actually just shaken my foundations, cause you are more knowledgeable about this stuff than i am ill take your word. from pictures id seen it always seems like the natural stuff is more stubborn.

[Charlie Delta]

the hash marks gives one the sense of a prison sentence

nice jeans!

More like keeping track of the days while on a long journey...

To me atleast.

And thanks all for all the nice responses.

Percy, it's hard to say one favorite element of the jeans, but if I had to choose it would probably be the side pocket. It's really convenient and exactly the right size for my hand and also to quickly slip things in and out, (it holds two beer cans for example...)