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Styleforum Centralia Knitting Mills Varsity Jackets--order closed

shoreman1782

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If you're a tl;dr type, scroll down for the specs and the cost.

As has been discussed on a few occasions before, Centralia Knitting Mills has been making dandy woolen products in Washington state since 1939, and they make a sweet varsity/letterman jacket. The American-made quality, never-changed-never-needed-to-change styling, and tradition of heritage have a lot of appeal for Styleforum types. Lines like Engineered Garments have (reportedly) used CKM as a maker for knitwear, and their custom varsity/letterman jackets fetch $300+ on Rakuten. They use 24 oz. boiled melton wool (all virgin) and full-grain leather to craft jackets that are little different today than they were 30 years ago or more.

Evolving from the letter sweaters worn by college athletes in the late 1800s (supposedly, originally at Harvard), varsity jackets have been the mark of proud sportsmen for nearly a century (and straightedgers since the 80s), but the past few seasons have seen a new explosion of these pieces in the collective consciousness, in designer collections and men's lines. Pedigreed vintage jackets hang in shops like Mister Freedom; Supreme does a varsity most years; APC put out a S/S09 bomber with varsity styling that sold out quickly; Hedi Slimane has been photographed wearing an embroidered version; Comme des Garcons made varsity-influenced sportcoats for F/W08; and Balenciaga's long, lean take is out this fall. Fuuma almost bought it! He's Canadian and arguably cooler than anyone.

In trying to arrive at a consensus design for the Styleforum buy, I polled this to death. I've talked with Centralia and I've talked with Mauro Farinelli (of Farinelli's in Arlington, VA; Mauro's getting involved as a favor to Styleforum to make the ordering and shipping process easier"”essentially so you don't have to count exclusively on me). The final design for this group buy is a minimal version that keeps some of the unique elements of CKM jackets (e.g., foldover collar and cuffs) while eschewing details like chenille letters that might make you look like you're a sad alum trying to relive the glory days. I'd rather you recognized other Styleforum members by the general cut of their jib(s), not because you both have a big fuzzy SF on your chest. As for customization, you can order any color combo in the American extracurricular athletic spectrum (see swatches below). I expect to go with dark cardinal wool and dark gray leather, coincidentally not too far off SF colors and the colors of Enfield Tennis Academy.

I hope to get us a piece of classic, American-manufactured sportswear, made to SF standards, for a reasonable price. This initial run will be limited to ease logistics. If it goes well, we may be able to make more jackets and/or different designs.

The specs:

"¢\t24 oz. boiled melton wool body
"¢\tFull-grain leather raglan sleeves
"¢\t"Swiss knit" wool foldover collar, cuffs, and hem
"¢\tSnap button front
"¢\tLeather trim at pockets
"¢\tNylon lining
"¢\tAthletic cut for ease of movement"”Centralia is not Balenciaga or ToJ. Sizing down may give you a less full cut, but unfortunately I will not be able to accept returns. I stole a size chart from a .jp site to give people an idea of sizes.
Code:
SizeShoulder \tchest\t length\t sleeve
34(xs)
36(s) \t44cm\t54cm \t61cm \t62cm
38(m) \t46\t57\t64 \t63
40(l) \t49 \t59 \t68 \t65
42(xl)\t51\t62\t70\t67

Which equals APPROXIMATELY

36(s)\t17in\t21in\t24in\t24.5in
38(m)\t18\t22.5 \t25\t25
40(l) \t19.5\t23 \t26 \t25.5
42(xl) \t20\t24.5\t27.5\t26.5​

Larger sizes and extralong arms are available.

The fare:
Final price, including CONUS shipping, will be $175.
If you would like international shipping, contact me and we'll figure something out.

We are trying to finalize orders soonisher than later (order deadline Friday August 7) so, with the estimated 6-week lead time, the jackets should be ready in September.

If you would like to order, copy and fill out the order form below, send it to [email protected] and [email protected], and Paypal $175 to Mauro at [email protected].

Color options are below the form, rendered as well as possible with my crappy point and shoot.

NAME:
STYLEFORUM USERNAME:
ADDRESS:
PHONE:
E-MAIL:
SIZE (numerical):
BODY COLOR:
SLEEVE COLOR:
POCKET TRIM COLOR:
SNAP COLOR (snaps generally match body color):
KNIT COLOR (collar, cuffs, hem):
STRIPES ON KNIT TRIM? Y/N
STRIPE STYLE (Single, Double, Triple; feathered or not)
STRIPE COLOR(S):
WEARER HEIGHT (yes, CKM requests):
WEARER WEIGHT(yes, CKM requests):
COMMENTS:

Wool colors:
meltonsheet.jpg


Leather colors:
lthrsheet.jpg


Knit trim swatch sheet (for sweaters, but just for reference--knit trim colors correspond roughly with melton colors)
Centralia_Sample.jpg


521583480_2e4b98f001.jpg


CKM sign and knit swatch sheet sued with permission from Archival Clothing.
 

Jekyll

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Looks good. I'm probably gonna go with ToJ just cuz I'm such a skinny asshole, but I can't wait to see how these turn out.

You deserve major rep for all your work on this, shoreman.

Originally Posted by shoreman1782
Fuuma almost bought it! He's Canadian and arguably cooler than anyone.

I thought Fuuma was French.
confused.gif
 

Transcendental

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This is cheaper and probably better made than my own high school letterman

contemplating the buy
 

willy cheesesteak

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Wait, so you don't have to get the burgundy/grey SF colors, you can choose other colors?
 

romafan

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i never visit streetwear, but i'm down!
fing02[1].gif
 

Mauro

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^^ you should its where the cool kids hang.
 

Django

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Possibly get some better pictures of the swatches?

Looking at something between that willow and gold color
 

AR_Six

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Originally Posted by Django
Possibly get some better pictures of the swatches?
Just shots in natural light would make it easier to differentiate between shades, ie purple vs. nw purple.

I am on board, merely a matter of scrounging up 175 bucks by the deadline.
 

mgoose

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Originally Posted by shoreman1782
I expect to go with dark cardinal wool and dark gray leather, coincidentally not too far off SF colors and the colors of Enfield Tennis Academy.

A great guy and DFW fan. Anyways thanks again for all the work, we'll see how my budget looks by the end of august what with all the weddings I'm going to soon, but it looks very tempting.
 

shoreman1782

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I'll see what I can do re: pics. My camera is terrible and currently not in my possession. Maybe I'll just pay the ransom at kinko's for a color scan.

I may be mistaken, but there was discussion of XS at one point. I pressume that's not happening?
To be honest, I'll have to look at my notes and their catalog again. I believe 36 is the smallest standard size they offer in men's (but see the pic below, labeled 34?!), but they make women's and kids, too, so I'll see what we can do.

Just for ref, some pictures. These aren't necessarily AVAILABLE in this run--many use materials not in the CKM standard offering, but they are the work of CKM.

Vintage skookums
19975a.jpg

23AAE0009E364DEDA952EF6B87023BF3.jpg


Surcoat by CKM
img10594742002.jpg


CKM jackets for sale on rakuten
img55713143.jpg

skm-le-st-nvc_1.jpg


Non-skookum varsitys, just for fun-

77.jpg

vj1.jpg
 

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