Archival News: McAlister waxed cotton outerwear and accessories

I recently received an email from a reader who was wondering if I was just another workwear (or waterfowling?) poseur since I do not hike in my Alden Indy boots or use my Barbour jacket for game hunting. What the individual may not realize (aside from the fact that my Barbour is a now-discontinued "urban transport" model designed for cycling--not bloodsports) is that for the most part, I cannot wear most of the clothing pictured on this blog because it does not come in my size (and/or it is only available on cellulose nitrate). For this reason, I've never bothered to order anything from the McAlister clothing company, an amazing US based outdoor clothing company featuring some of the most functional yet stylish waxed cotton and outdoor clothing on the market. McAlister specializes in unstructured, non-fussy tin cloth field coats and waxed cotton down jackets and vests (which I am told are made out of a waxed cotton duck originally sourced to CC Filson before Filson switched vendors). At this time, they do not offer a women's product line.

McAlister is one of those stealth companies about which no one seems to know (unless you stall out in the middle of a Cabelas catalog). To my knowledge, their products have not made it to Japanese market though this amazing sweater will be featured on the cover of my Japan-only Archival Clothing 1986 brand catalog--in women's sizes too!

Randomly, on the subject of waxed cotton, here's a link to an interesting thread on waxed cotton garment rewaxing (and alternative methods of preparation and treatment). In a week or so, I'm going to designate a specific day as national waxed cotton garment treatment day. Stay tuned!