SECRET FORTS

mrforts — Tue, 25 Dec 2012 06:52:52 +0000

FIVE YEARS IN THE MAKING : THE OAK STREET TRENCH BOOT.

mrforts — Thu, 20 Dec 2012 17:44:31 +0000

When OSB‘s George Vlagos set out to create the Trench Boot, based off an old beat up pair of GI’s boots from the 40′s he’d picked up years before, it turned into a design process that would span five years, countless tweaks and modifications and plenty of wear testing. To hold just the right shape, and not satisfied with what was available, an entirely new last, the Elston, was created embodying the spirit of the Windy City and named after the street on which the citys’ own venerable, 107 year old Horween Leather is located. The result, two versions of The Trench Boot, a seriously handsome, seriously tough boot and like all OSB footwear, designed for longevity. After the jump, your first look at the all new Oak Street Bootmakers Trench Boot.

The Natural Trench Boot, $426: Natural Horween Chromexcel leather. True Goodyear Welt Construction. Oiled leather Waterlock soles(the soles are soaked in oil to prevent water from seeping in). Stacked leather heel with Vibram toplift. Calfskin vamp lining.

Vibram Sole Cap-Toe Trench Boot, $426: Natural Horween Chromexcel leather. Brogue Cap-Toe. True Goodyear Welt Construction. Vibram Cristy sole. Calfskin vamp lining.
And of course, both boots, like all Oak Street footwear, are fully recraftable and made in the good ole USofA(#duh).
Available today exclusively at Oak Street Bootmakers. Side note, if you’re in the Chicago vicinity, be sure to stop in to Independence. Where else but on Oak Street.
47 East Oak Street
Chicago, IL
60611
(312) 675-2105

FIELD TRIP : THE HILL-SIDE VISITS OLD VIRGINIA.

mrforts — Tue, 11 Dec 2012 23:50:54 +0000

Recently, Emil and Sandy Corsillo from The Hill-Side took a trip down to rural Virginia to pay a visit to “Old Bob the Weaver”, the man behind The Hill-Side’s “Old Virginia Modified Herringbone“. While there, aside from feeding Bob’s chickens and drinking numerous varieties of good ole corn liquor(#sojealousduh), they took some video and made a damn good video documenting the process, pretty much the same today as it was a hundred + years ago. According to Emil and Sandy, “Old Virginia Modified Herringbone fabric is woven for The Hill-Side in rural Virginia by Bob, whose family has been weaving fabric in Virginia since the 1870s. He weaves this fabric in a weaving building in his back yard, on a 1939 Crompton & Knowles W3 shuttle loom. With the help of his wife and one assistant, he winds the warp beams, ties in the warp, winds the bobbins, and runs the loom all under one roof. Bob designed the “Modified Herringbone” weaving pattern himself.”

THE FALL THREE : TODD BARKET, UNIONMADE.

mrforts — Mon, 10 Dec 2012 14:55:07 +0000

Todd Barket. Long time friend of Secret Forts. Of THE always wonderful and ever-evolving Unionmade and most recently, Mill Mercantile. All around great guy and certainly one of the hardest working guys in #menswear. Happy to have Todd contribute again this year. Here’s Todd’s Fall Three.

1) The new Bergdorf Goodman Window Book by Assouline: This is the best book because it catalogs all the Bergdorf Goodman windows by idea. It’s amazing to see everything in one place and a great design resource. They are the last of the department stores that actually do full window displays.

2) Lunch at Bar Tartine: Bar Tartine here in SF, sister to Tartine Bakery, has been working hard to get their new bread ovens from France installed and are now offering lunch service. The menu is different from the bakery. The chef has fused Japanese, French and Hungarian. The open face sandwiches are amazing. It’s luxurious to break away in the afternoon to have a quiet lunch.

3) Kapital Wool Scarves: I love scarves and since I live in San Francisco I can wear them year round. We just got Kapital from Japan at the stotre. It’s my favorite denim line and they make the best scarves hands down. I always pick one up when I’m in Tokyo. I love the bandanna print scarf that we have. They are amazing keepsakes and I know I’ll have them for years to come.
Thanks Todd.

HEAD TO TOE : BLACK AND BLUE.

mrforts — Tue, 04 Dec 2012 15:42:01 +0000

* Hikaru Noguchi lambs wool/cashmere knit cap (JOINERY) / Warby Parker Crystal Fillmores
* WWM Poplin Upland BD / J. Crew Flecked Wool Sweater / Engineered Garments Wool Chalkstripe Brookline Jacket / Fox River Ragg Wool Gloves / The Hill-Side Blanket Lining Scarf
* Filson Red Label Zipper Tote / MWC W10 1970s Mil-Spec Automatic Watch
* RRL Black as Black Selvedge Jeans / Vintage Cadet Web Belt / Case Sod Buster jr. / The Hill-Side N21-077 - Jacquard Woven Polka Dot Chambray Pocket Square
* SolMate Covered Bridges Socks / New Balance 998s

HAPPY BIRTHDAY : THE 990 TURNS 30.

mrforts — Mon, 03 Dec 2012 14:06:14 +0000

On the occasion of their iconic M990 turning thirty, New Balance has reproduced the shoe in its original, stripped down style. A style very familiar and dear to me and one I’ve been waiting for some time to see put back into production. I’ve written about these before. (it was even published in Martha Stewart’s Whole Living a while back.) In the early 80′s, as a boy, I was given a pair of 990s by my father, an avid marathoner, that I wouldn’t be able to actually wear for a few years to follow. As soon as I was able to fill them out however, and ever since, I’ve spent the last couple of decades wearing them damn near into the ground.

My father swore by New Balance. Whether running Boston, New Orleans, New York or wherever, they were, without question, his shoe of choice. There seemingly was just no other option in his book. It was something that went beyond any simple sense of brand loyalty, but something more like a craftsman or technician plying his trade, using the exact right tool for a very particular job.
That capital “N” is as closely related a symbol of my father as most anything else. it’s nice to see that 30 years after their debut, the M990 has finally come full circle. As for my old pair of 990s, now 30 years old and just barely held together by globs of cracked shoe goo and age-yellowed thread, they’ll always be with me. Though now that they’ve been re-issued, there may be room in the closet for a new pair.

Available at Unionmade.

GET HANDSOME : POP UP FLEA. (#duh)

mrforts — Fri, 30 Nov 2012 15:32:56 +0000

Pop Up Flea. A Continuous Goldberg’s fifth go around. This needs little by way of introduction or description. Lots of great people involved, loads of great stuff. Man up, get over there and get handsome. Today Through Sunday.

Pop Up Flea V
Friday, Nov 30th 3pm – 9pm
Saturday, Dec. 1st 11am – 7pm
Sunday, Dec. 2nd 11am – 6pm

Drive-In Studios
443 W. 18th Street (nr. 10th Ave.)

BY THE OFFICE OF CHARLES AND RAY EAMES : THE POLAROID SX-70 LAND CAMERA

mrforts — Thu, 29 Nov 2012 22:20:31 +0000

“From infinity down to ten inches.”

HEAD TO TOE : SAY CHEESE.

mrforts — Thu, 29 Nov 2012 16:37:18 +0000

* Filson Cover Cloth Packer Hat / Salt Optics Braun
* WWM Chambray Camp Shirt / The Hill-Side Speckled Blanket Lining Tie / Apolis Indigo Wool Chore Coat / Batten Travel Shell Parka
* Stanley & Sons 23oz Selvedge Denim Tote / Vintage Polaroid SX-70 Land Camera / Seiko SNK809
* RRL Buckle Back Selvedge Chino / Leather Man Ltd.Trace Carrier Belt
* Two Feet Ahead Indigo Tweed Socks / Mark McNairy New Amsterdam Pebble Grain Cap Toe Boots

MOVING PICTURES : A JACKET FOR LIFE.

mrforts — Wed, 28 Nov 2012 17:34:36 +0000

Attendant to the recent post on my 12+ year old Bedale comes “an intimate portrait of the relationship between Barbour and its customers seen through the Customer Services Dept at South Shields…” This wonderfully shot video directed by Jan Cawood & Magali Pettier for Tin Man Films UK, not only focuses on the plainly functional, enduring (repaired when necessary) quality of the Barbour but more so the deep attachments formed between garment and wearer. That and the strange things people leave in their pockets. All of which I can personally attest to.