I have always been a big fan of cotton duck.
Since i bought my first pair of Carhartt work pants on my first trip to the US when i was 12 years old i have loved the color, the texture and the hard wearing nature of this fabric.
I still own and wear those work pants i bought 18 years ago, i blame the fact that they still fit me on the "I must wear oversized clothes" fashion of my youth! They are a bit frayed here and there, are almost white they faded so much, but they still look good. Unfortunately it's a pretty hard fabric to come by in the UK.
Last year, strolling the internet i randomly came upon Iron Heart, a British company selling heavy Japanese denim clothes. When i saw they had a heavy cotton duck Type III jacket i had to buy it.
The jacket is made in Japan, in pretty small batches, using high quality materials and although the prices are pretty high, after wearing it one year i can tell it is worth it.
The cotton duck is a thick and heavy 17oz fabric, considering that most Carhartt workwear uses 7.5 to 12oz this is pretty much bullet proof. What i love is that it is so thick it develops great wear marks at the elbows, pretty similar to what a leather jacket would do.
All the seams are felled and look very neat and strong, attention to detail is very good.
Most importantly, the fit is really good! Not as baggy as the current duck work clothes would be, more casual! The fit from model to model, and even batch to batch of the same model varies some, but IH are pretty good at updating the measurements.
After a year of wear the jacket is just starting to feel less like cardboard and more like fabric and is just starting to show slight discoloration at rubbing points.
I have no doubt this thing is going to last me at least the 18+ years i got out of my Carhartt.
It is worth mentioning that although unlined these jackets are pretty warm. They are pretty much rain proof and windproof, I assume this comes from the fact that cotton duck was originally used as sailcloth.
It is so tightly woven, water beads on it and wind glides on it. A bit like cotton gabardine! Now i doubt it would protect you in a storm as well as a gabardine trench coat, but even the London weather has not been able to get through it yet.
It is now between 6c and 10c degrees in London (40f to 50f) and i still wear my cotton duck jacket daily. With a warm jumper underneath i feel fine.
Now, what prompted me to do this review?
Two things:
First, i bought a second one! Last week was a sale weekend for Iron Heart, and when i saw they had the same jacket in black on sale at half price i had to buy it.
I am now sorted for the next 36+ years of wear when it comes to cotton duck!
Second, i couldn't help but feel like these guys deserve it, they have a great product, amazing customer service, and for some reason it seems that no one on this forum knows about them.
I guess that after my review of the Lewis Leather Dominator last month i kind of felt Iron Heart deserved the same as they really are doing a fantastic job to.
Now, here are the jackets, the brown one is a year old, the black one is a day old.
Fit pics:
The black one is an inch longer at the arms and back, the shoulders are also a bit more free, and the chest although the same width has a bit more space in the back and less space in the front.
Review of the Lewis Leathers:
http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?74729-Lewis-Leathers-Dominator-No-551
Since i bought my first pair of Carhartt work pants on my first trip to the US when i was 12 years old i have loved the color, the texture and the hard wearing nature of this fabric.
I still own and wear those work pants i bought 18 years ago, i blame the fact that they still fit me on the "I must wear oversized clothes" fashion of my youth! They are a bit frayed here and there, are almost white they faded so much, but they still look good. Unfortunately it's a pretty hard fabric to come by in the UK.
Last year, strolling the internet i randomly came upon Iron Heart, a British company selling heavy Japanese denim clothes. When i saw they had a heavy cotton duck Type III jacket i had to buy it.
The jacket is made in Japan, in pretty small batches, using high quality materials and although the prices are pretty high, after wearing it one year i can tell it is worth it.
The cotton duck is a thick and heavy 17oz fabric, considering that most Carhartt workwear uses 7.5 to 12oz this is pretty much bullet proof. What i love is that it is so thick it develops great wear marks at the elbows, pretty similar to what a leather jacket would do.
All the seams are felled and look very neat and strong, attention to detail is very good.
Most importantly, the fit is really good! Not as baggy as the current duck work clothes would be, more casual! The fit from model to model, and even batch to batch of the same model varies some, but IH are pretty good at updating the measurements.
After a year of wear the jacket is just starting to feel less like cardboard and more like fabric and is just starting to show slight discoloration at rubbing points.
I have no doubt this thing is going to last me at least the 18+ years i got out of my Carhartt.
It is worth mentioning that although unlined these jackets are pretty warm. They are pretty much rain proof and windproof, I assume this comes from the fact that cotton duck was originally used as sailcloth.
It is so tightly woven, water beads on it and wind glides on it. A bit like cotton gabardine! Now i doubt it would protect you in a storm as well as a gabardine trench coat, but even the London weather has not been able to get through it yet.
It is now between 6c and 10c degrees in London (40f to 50f) and i still wear my cotton duck jacket daily. With a warm jumper underneath i feel fine.
Now, what prompted me to do this review?
Two things:
First, i bought a second one! Last week was a sale weekend for Iron Heart, and when i saw they had the same jacket in black on sale at half price i had to buy it.
I am now sorted for the next 36+ years of wear when it comes to cotton duck!
Second, i couldn't help but feel like these guys deserve it, they have a great product, amazing customer service, and for some reason it seems that no one on this forum knows about them.
I guess that after my review of the Lewis Leather Dominator last month i kind of felt Iron Heart deserved the same as they really are doing a fantastic job to.
Now, here are the jackets, the brown one is a year old, the black one is a day old.
Fit pics:
The black one is an inch longer at the arms and back, the shoulders are also a bit more free, and the chest although the same width has a bit more space in the back and less space in the front.
Review of the Lewis Leathers:
http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?74729-Lewis-Leathers-Dominator-No-551
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