Archival Sale - Fall Knitwear

Archival Shawl Collar Cardigans

Archival Striped Cardigan

Saint James Matelot

Saint James Pont Raye

Saint James Mousse

If you're looking to restock your knitwear wardrobe for Fall, Archival is offering staple pullovers and cardigans on sale for a limited duration. Check out the Odds & Ends section of the AC web shop as we will be adding more sweaters to the inventory in the next few days.

Saint James for Velo Moto

I first spotted these snappy racing sweaters in Men's File Magazine. They were made exclusively for Velo Moto by our favorite French knitwear company, Saint James. The sweater is built on the chassis of the Saint James Matelot, a model designed to fit snugly to the body. According to Velo Moto, the racing sweater was popular with cyclists from the 1930s to the 1960s. It remains the perfect style for keeping out wind and damp on moving boats, motorcycles and bicycles. My favorite elements are the sleeve striping, contrasting red placket and rear buttoning pocket. This pocket, a traditional feature of cycling jerseys, translates well for everyday use (to stash house keys, pen and notebook or smart phone).

Archival Through-Hiking

In 1977, a 19 year old Monte Dodge set out to hike the Pacific Crest Trail.

See many more of these wonderful pictures at Monte's gallery.

All pictures copyright Monte Dodge

Ephemera Friday

Shopping from the Present: Alpine Pullovers

I'm probably the only one shopping for heavy duty knitwear. But here I am in April obsessing over the new Dachstein boiled wool pullovers on offer from Bradley Alpinist. The sweaters are made in the Dachstein Region of Austria of wind and water resistant boiled wool. I've been sporting Dachstein-style wool mitts by Ortovox for cycling. In wet or snowy conditions, the boiled wool absorbs water and still keeps you warm.

Although Dachstein does not offer an XS pullover, I'm negotiating to test a sweater that was delivered with abnormally small dimensions. Report to follow.

Dachstein Wool Alpinist Pullover--Classic Button Neck

Dachstein Wool Uber Guide Pullover

Dachstein Wool Pullover--Classic Rounded Neck

Even in the late 70s, Dachstein sweaters were difficult to source.

Shopping from 1979. Dachstein pullover on offer via Yak Works catalog (courtesy AC reader Allen).

Archival Review: Left Field Ivy Crew

Bing Crosby wearing a wide crew neck sweatshirt in Going My Way (1944)

In November, friend and AC supporter Bradley Bennett of CWAC emailed to see if we'd like to field test a Left Field Ivy Style wide crew neck sweater. Like our own Skookum shawl collar sweaters, the Left Field Crew is knit, cut and sewn in a single facility in the U.S.

While the Left Field crew is marketed to gents, it's trim fitting enough that the women of AC were able to handle the review. Our test sweater came in size 36, the smallest available. Petite women and slim gents might petition Left Field for a size 34.
Here's a detail view of the sweater's most visually arresting feature -- its vintage-style, wide crew collar. Wool and knitting expert Erin noted that the raglan sleeves were mostly likely seamed together with a sewn-on ribbed collar which she identifies as "very old-school athletic wear construction."

Red stitching from the garment tag shows through the back of the sweater. Given our own history with red thread, I like this detail.

In addition to the vintage collar detail, the Left Field crew is most notable for its soft merino wool. The sweater is made from a worsted, Canadian merino yarn in a heavier than average gauge. Left Field no doubt sourced merino for its soft, itch free properties. Although I love feel of a soft merino, I do worry about its potential for pilling. My own preference is for a longer stapled wool yarns that exhibit both durability and softness.
Tester Sara wore the Left Field sweater to work over a Made in USA Splendid turtleneck. She deemed the sweater "cozy" and liked the fit, especially the long slim arms with ribbed cuffs. Coworkers admired the crew neck collar.

At Archival, we endorse clothing that is well made, best quality, locally manufactured and reasonably priced. The Left Field crew is currently on sale for $148 through the Left Field web shop. This is a good deal for a domestically produced, heritage sweater. I hope to see future editions of the Ivy crew made available in a more robust yarn. And our female testers would like to see the sweater offered down to a size 34 or 32. Otherwise, this sweater is a nearly perfect reissue of a classic style.

Archival Knitwear: Saint James Matelot

Saint James Matelot in rare Gray/Charcoal combination

Part of the pleasure of the Archival Clothing enterprise is to source and sell hard to find items. In the distant past, I used to spend weeks tracking down a bag or jacket or bike part before ordering it from an obscure or overseas vendor (most often by phone, not online). For example, in the early 90s, I would order French Saint James knitwear sweaters directly from Upland Trading Company in New York. I was always looking for non-stock styles or color combinations that were pictured in the print catalogs but not available in the U.S.

Saint James Matelot (navy stripes on ivory field)

I've always worn the Saint James Pont, a fine stitch nautical sweater that has a terrific, slim fit and great, seasonal color variations. It fits me better than the Binic, a looser fitting sweater designed for gents. One of our Saint James reps, Sarah K., introduced me to the Matelot, a style I had originally overlooked since most U.S. stockists (including JCrew) only sell the Binic. Now I prefer the Matelot for the robust quality of the wool, the uber slim fit and the full body striping. Originally designed for the French navy, the Matelot is a seaman’s sweater with a looped round collar and a dense body with fine one-by-one rib knit. It has a wonderful long snug fit. There is a button placket on left shoulder. The original Matelot is designed to fit snugly to keep out the wind and damp during maritime voyages.

Button placket on left shoulder

The pure wool used for the Matelot is among the best quality we've seen on a contemporary sweater. It's thick enough to be a substantial layer without being too warm to wear all day. The Matelot has also become one of Tom’s favorite garments. Since the sweater is unisex, women can wear it as well as gents. We carry the sweater down to a size XS (refer to sizing charts in our shop) but we can special order XXS for slimmer men and petite women. I just ordered a XXS Matelot for myself in Medoc, a stunning tomato paste red.

In addition to standard Saint James colorways for this sweater (navy white, white/navy), Archival Clothing was able to secure a limited production run of Matelot sweaters in light gray with dark charcoal stripes, a color no longer available. Check our web shop for size and color availability. We also carry other Saint James items including the Pont sweaters, wool caps and cotton and wool scarves.

Arrow, Caitlin and Mac (sporting non-archival footwear)

Sheet music for your sweater (via Pillpat)

Please email info@archivalclothing.com if you do not see the size/color combination of Saint James item you wish to order. We can also help with sizing information.

Archival Field Trip: Centralia Knitting Mills

During the early days of Archival Clothing, I posted photos from my 2007 trip to Centralia Knitting Mills. I was in pursuit of the Skookum "award" sweater which I first saw in the Japanese web shop Explorer (a personal favorite).

Skookum Award sweater in multiweave (Japan)

Last week, Tom and I returned to Centralia to make plans for an Archival Knitwear project. We're picking up where we left off last Spring when we first proposed to manufacturer an all wool, shawl collar sweater based on historical photographs and patterns. Our meeting was a total success and we'll update you shortly on what we have in store. One interesting detail: nearly 50% of Centralia's products are now made for Japanese retailers including Nepenthes, Engineered Garments and a fascinating entity known as Red Gingham.

Most of the knitting machines used by Centralia are nearly eighty years old. Working with Centralia gives Archival Clothing the rare opportunity to produce knitwear as it was made in the past. We plan to take this opportunity to release a number of garments which we could once only order from the pages of our beloved 1947 Montgomery Wards catalog.

Here are some updated photos of the knitting mills with annotations by Tom.

Centralia employee Tom (not the Archival Clothing staffer), mans the lone computer.

Third-generation knit producer.

Vortex of worsted wool.

Trim coming off of the knitting machine.

This employee was using a sixty year old button sewing machine. Ran like a top.

A device that Randy invented in his teens for stripping out selvage threads between knit segments.

Our kind of filing system.

Random weave example - one of our favorites.

Randy's dad invented the random weave for a Halloween costume.

Swiss knit trim - extra stout and stretchy.

A candy-stripe knit originally done for WWM.

US map of Centralia stockists.

It'll be close to this....