Mighty Mac Spring 2012--All Around, Everyday Carry
The classic Mighty Mac Deck Jacket.
Words and photos by Jon Moy
Founded in the early 1900s in Gloucester, Massachusetts, Mighty Mac could be seen as just another American heritage brand revived by the Japanese. However negative a connotation that can have these days (Americana is dead bro, workwear is extinct, all Neapolitan everything), Mighty Mac makes some excellent outerwear. They even threw in some nice surprises.
Mac's standard fabric is a 65/35 cotton poly blend that is light to the touch but very water resistant. In their revival, Mighty Mac held on to the signature aluminum T-bar zipper pull, but they've tweaked the fit and styling to update the classic sailing brand. Clearly the coolest thing about the T-bar zipper pull is that it doubles as a flashlight. It is little details like this that demonstrate the practical functionality of the gear. ‘Cause, you know, a small flashlight that serves as your zipper pull may be the only way you can signal the fighter jet in Morse code to abort shooting your plane down and that you’ve got the situation under control. (No one else appreciates an Executive Decision reference? Kurt Russell AND Steven Seagal, in one movie!)
Off the Steven Seagal tip, but remaining on the cool functionality tip, the collaboration Mighty Mac did with Porter is quite nice. The small bag can be used as is, a small bag to carry every menswear aficionado’s every day carry. Or it can be clipped to all the jackets in the collection via D rings attached to their shoulders. I know! The pieces in the collection come together and form a Mighty Mac Voltron.
The Aro (ARO standing for “All aRound Outerwear”) Deck Jacket is a simple hooded jacket and a classic Mighty Mac design. The Aro Jacket is a hybrid mixing the technical Mighty Mac fabric with a more traditional sport coat silhouette. But not to worry, you can still clip your Porter bag to it. The Aro Turn Jacket is more of a parka, longer than the other two jackets, and features three external pockets. The Aro Turn also has a collar separate from the hood piece, which means you can turn the collar up without having to raise the hood.
Fit on the ARO Jacket.
Regatta stripe version. Also available in khaki.
Mighty Mac has also used their fabric to make shorts and trousers. Somehow they’ve made trousers with synthetic fibers that don’t look or feel like they have tear-away snaps on the side of the legs. The shorts have camp pocket details and could probably double as swim trunks. The colorways available range from navy blue to ‘lobsta’ red as Mighty Mac puts it, all the way to a nautical themed print as well as white with blue stripes.
For more information on Mighty Mac, head over to 35 Summers (http://35summers.com)
