S.E.H Kelly

[Superb0bo]

for other Balmacaan fabrics, I mentioned a raincoat earlier, and I think a long balmacaan-style coat in a waterproof fabric would be fantastic (and quite classic).

 

[Thibault S]

Wait people dislike the pockets of the trench coat? What? That is outrageous

You took words out of my mouth. Unthinkable

 

[RCD33]

There's a couple of items that I'd immediately shell out for, although one has at least already been partially referred to:

A field jacket or coat, whatever the terminology, in navy canopy cotton with as many pockets as possible, with perhaps a wool lining to make it toasty through late fall and early spring. Essentially your own personal take on an M-65, but also particularly (bad) weather-friendly.

A return of the triple patch pocketed SB jackets. Ideally in a dense navy tweed or thick rumply olive cotton, and maybe with a bit more length than the original SB1.

Lastly, I'll go against the grain and say the currently balmacaan length is perfect; don't change a thing! Granted, I already own one so I may no longer be the target audience. And I'll second the request for a shawl collar cardigan. I'd love to get your take on that style considering how beautiful your other woolen knitwear looks.

 

[zenosparadox]

A nice shawl collar cardigan is actually on the top of my to buy list for next Fall, so I'll provide a third for that idea. I have the cotton cardigan from last Spring and would love to have a version of that in an 8-ply wool with a nice thick shawl collar.

 

[NO MERCY]

@sehkelly, I'm curious what your knitwear maker would have to say if you asked them the same question you're asking us? What haven't they had a chance to do?

 

[Chris02]

I second the shawl collar cardigan...

How about something with denim?

And what about a mix of the trouser types? I'd be very interested in trousers with the tapering of the standard, the top of the slim (buckle back, fly, ect.), and an even higher rise than the proper with the coin pocket hidden in the waist band?

More pockets on the inside of jackets, and mid layers is always best! Plus slanted/ side entry hand warmer pockets!

A heavy weight popover?

And lastly, a very light linen shirt, for the hottest of days.

 

[sehkelly]

@sehkelly, I'm curious what your knitwear maker would have to say if you asked them the same question you're asking us? What haven't they had a chance to do?

We truly only skim the surface of what can be done.

There are hundreds of stitches (we employ only three) and umpteen yarns (we use only cotton or geelong, and sometimes cashmere) and lots of different advanced knitting techniques (such as intarsia).

It is mindboggling, the world of knitting, and what we offer at the workshop is a fraction of a fraction. We're not only limited by our imagination (!) but also by the self-imposed limitations of the brand. We only pursue a very certain style, which is consistent and complementary with our other garments — hence why it always tends to look much the same!

 

[sehkelly]

I second the shawl collar cardigan...

How about something with denim?

And what about a mix of the trouser types? I'd be very interested in trousers with the tapering of the standard, the top of the slim (buckle back, fly, ect.), and an even higher rise than the proper with the coin pocket hidden in the waist band?

More pockets on the inside of jackets, and mid layers is always best! Plus slanted/ side entry hand warmer pockets!

A heavy weight popover?

And lastly, a very light linen shirt, for the hottest of days.

Great suggestions!

The heavyweight popover would work well, I think. We have an idea for a similar sort of thing that might materialise after the summer (or earlier, if we have an abundance of time in the spring). It would be like the popover but longer and with a different style of collar.

We have lots of trouser ideas that some day will crystalise into actual developments, too. I think my love of coats and jackets is to blame for the slow progress there.

There are very few weavers of denim cloth in the British Isles, and I haven't yet seen any that I really love or hold in the same esteem as the maestros in e.g. Japan. Having a personal aversion to twills doesn't help! The same is true of lightweight linen, in my limited experience: we encounter every year an abundance of amazing heavier, highly textured linens, mostly from Northern Ireland (where most linen in the British Isles is made) ... but few very light ones that excite us to the same degree, or indeed as much as we see sometimes from mills in sunnier countries which specialise in the light and diaphanous linens.

 

[sehkelly]

A nice shawl collar cardigan is actually on the top of my to buy list for next Fall, so I'll provide a third for that idea. I have the cotton cardigan from last Spring and would love to have a version of that in an 8-ply wool with a nice thick shawl collar.

We're on the case with that one. Every winter we inch closer to actually trying to make one, I promise!

 

[sehkelly]

for other Balmacaan fabrics, I mentioned a raincoat earlier, and I think a long balmacaan-style coat in a waterproof fabric would be fantastic (and quite classic).

Hopefully the long coat we're working on now will satisfy that one. It'll be a bit like the balmacaan but much longer.

 

[Superb0bo]

when will it be revealed to the world?

 

[sehkelly]

when will it be revealed to the world?

August-ish!

 

[sehkelly]

Here is the first of many photographs I am working through for the new flight jacket.

You can see how the collar is buttoned to the collar stand, and thus it can be worn well ... with or without a collar. We came to the decision to do this out of absolute and complete indecision as to whether the jacket looked better with or without a collar, rather than whimsy or gimmickry. Plus it should give the jacket more use for more of the year, with the no-collar option better in summer.

The main challenge is making the collar sit well and stand well so that it doesn't *look* like a detachable collar.

There's a large pocket on the inside of the jacket to store the unused collar, too.

 

[sehkelly]

A few more of the flight jacket, with and without collar, and the little pocket inside to store said collar.

It has the saddle shoulder, which is a derivation of a raglan shoulder, but tricks the eye into thing it's a very soft set-in sleeve. And elastic cuffs (and half the hem, too) which for us is a first.

 

[sehkelly]

Thanks to everyone for the bountiful suggestions for the "purely hypothetical and speculative notion" of a one-off project with Styleforum last week. Much to chew on!

The workshop is filling up slowly with articles for early spring. The new flight jacket with its removable collar sprang up over the weekend, and I spent half of yesterday photographing our new smock, which is a departure from the version last year and is closer to the sort of thing you might find on a grizzled but image-conscious Cornish seafarer.

I'm also playing catch-up with photographs of the things we made for *now* -- i.e. the woolly stuff. Most of this is now sold out, but we do have one of this and one of that, and most of it will of course return in other forms later in the year.

We're also finishing off the new version of the car coat this week. It is quite different from previous versions, and frankly, I find its pockets mildly thrilling. We hope to have it ready within two weeks (and thus I'll be photographing it outside the workshop in about five months).