The Outdoor vest is now available in 2 fabrications. The duck canvas version uses the same fabric on our popular Worker pants. The back panels are made from a special cotton HBT (herringbone twill) we sourced.

The next Outdoor vest now available flips everything around with the front in HBT and the back in duck canvas.

Watch out for the sequel to our Mighty Duck post in which we will feature our Ranch Hand duck jacket.

You can go here to see our first Outdoor Vest made with indigo canvas.

The Rising Sun booth got very busy.

There is a perfectly good reason for why our blog has not been updated in some time. In preparing for Rin Tanaka’s Inspiration show our good propreitor Mike Hodis reminded us how madly dedicated he is to his work at Rising Sun. Running for days with barely any sleep and lots of RS coffee Mike moved practically half the shop to the Barker Hanger in Santa Monica airport. Human limits were tested. We took great pains (ie, back pain, shoulder pain, etc) to carefully move our sewing machines like the ol’ black head Union Special bulldog hemmer, our lovely black head single needle, the black caballo, and a special triangle stitcher (more on that last piece of equipment next time but it has this neat attachment and cam that make it perfect for stitching leather reinforcement on seams). Not to mention putting in tongue and groove pine floors, crates, stock, heirloom showcases, and so much more.

All these and the required raw materials were transported there for us to set up a temporary haberdashery to stitch up a fine pair of jeans and show off our passion. We also flaunted our and Michael Harris’s vintage collection in wooden showcases that are sisters to the ones in our shop. Considering visitor reactions we think we did a pretty good job and wonder if maybe we should hit the road more often (no).

Showcase of vintage pieces at Rising Sun booth.

Mike with JP Plunier.

Mine finds from Michael Harris's collection at Rising Sun booth.

Heller's Cafe put on quite a display of amazing vintage pieces. In both quality and quantity the collection displayed is one of the finest in the country. Important artifacts of denim workwear pieces included racks and racks of chinstrap shirts and Stifel pieces including shirts with removable collars still attached.

The most interesting and memorable booth for us is Julian boots'. His booth was right behind ours and he was making a pair of booths right there and then. Julian is an old school craftsman who makes boots the old fashion way in America. He will measure your foot, feel your foot, and goes through the whole process needed to get a handle for what your feet needs before carving a last just for you to ensure the best fit. Very rarely do you hear about custom bootmakers who go through such lengths.

Julian only worked on spiffing up one pair that day and Mike was super impressed with the results. He exude such pride and joy in his skills at the art of a fine polish.

The Mr. Winter booth

Mr. Winter's vintage racer. From 1939.

Chuck's Vintage booth.

Mister Freedom booth.

Given the opportunity we will definitely do the Inspiration show again. Besides being one big party for denim and vintage lovers the show also gave us the chance to meet unique craftsmen like Julian. If you missed the first show be sure to keep an eye out for the next one. See you there!

There are a few things you may find interesting about Rising Sun’s shop besides the products. Our haberdashery’s building, 107 S. Fair Oaks, is a historic building in Pasadena. It was constructed in the late 1880′s and served as a showroom for stage coaches or horse carriages. By the early 1900′s it became the Hotel Mikado a Japanese hotel that mostly catered to Japanese Americans. By about World War II the hotel was sold to the family of Mr. Percy Carter who converted the hotel to The Hotel Carver (after George Washington Carver), Pasadena’s first hotel owned by African-Americans. Its primary clientele consisted of visitors turned away by the Hotel Green, which serviced mostly well-to-do, white clients.

During The Hotel Carver years the then well-known nightclub, The Onyx Club, which eventually became The Club Cobra, featured jazz talents of the time in the basement. Below is a picture of the wall in the basement today.

By the 70′s the building was converted to artists studios and the Pasadena Repertory Theatre, which won the LA Drama Critics’ Circle Awards for Best Director and best Screenplay for its staging of “In Celebration.” Other acclaimed creatives associated with the space include Paul McCarthy (contemporary artist), Steve Gerber (Marvel Comics creator, The Defenders, Howard the Duck), Gill Dennis (writer, Walk the Line), Betty Dore (painter), Herbie Lewis (jazz musician), and more.

Today Rising Sun does not forget the important history of Old Town Pasadena and the stories these walls would tell if could speak. With time we will perhaps weave some tales of our own for the history books.

When we worked on the space our belief was the only way to build ourselves a haberdashery was from the sweat from our own brows. The leather floors were install by Mike, friends, and family. The carved wood found in the haberdashery were done by his family. So were the tin ceilings. We pride ourselves in upholding the fighting spirit that is still very much alive in the building.

Please visit our shop at 107 S. Fair Oaks, Pasadena CA and enjoy the local history.

Even French press coffee aficionados and Bodum coffee gadget obsessives may not have heard of the elegant Chemex coffee maker. For its wonderful brew it is possibly the most underappreciated coffee maker on the market (well, at least it is in the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art and the Smithsonian). And at a mere 30 beans this Coffee-Geek-approved beauty is perfect for coffee lovers not ready to commit to a Kees van der Westen espresso machine.

For making Rising Sun coffee at the shop we decided to go with the Chemex for both its ease of use and the hands-on approach to producing a delicious brew. In principle all you have to do is pour 200 degrees Fahrenheit water over coffee grinds in a Chemex filter. In practice the barista needs to ensure grinds are coarse and exercise careful restraint to pour just enough hot water to saturate the grinds. Patience is then required to allow the coffee to drip into the serving vessel before continuing with the next hot water pour. This can be a maddening process for the caffeine fiend in the morning and makes the French press method seem almost automatic by comparison. We assure you it is well worth the effort. Experts describe the resulting cup to have the viscosity of wine, which is apt given the Chemex quite resembles a decanter.

As you can see from its 1943 patent the current Chemex has not deviated much from that design. Even the handy wood collar and leather tie are present.

If you would like to try a cup of Rising Sun coffee made with the Chemex manual drip method we invite you to our haberdashery in Pasadena to sip and shop. Our good friend Frank Barone gave it a whirl and may never turn back.

Cloth Patch on Rising Sun Yukon

The Rising Sun Yukon jeans is often regarded as the most period-correct jeans we offer. Whereas the Blacksimth jeans exemplifies the beauty of the single needle

The resulting effect is a type of American folk art aesthetic that when viewed through the lenses of say, “wabi sabi,” of finding beauty in imperfection, can be profoundly beautiful. This coupled with the special way our selvage denim and threads fade makes the Blacksmith a one of a kind homage to the living and ever-changing article of clothing that is a pair of jeans.

In case we did not emphasize enough how great vintage boots go with our painstakingly crafted jeans here is more evidence. Our good friend Frank Barone likes to show off his 1940s WWII Paratrooper Jump Boots worn with Rising Sun Yukon jeans in his prized Ford Model AV8 hot rod. When he throws on his vintage aviator sunglasses he looks just like the dry lake racers of yore. They still produce new boots with the Corcoran mark but we have learned that the vintage boots made to WWII period military specs are truly unique. The Corcoran Jump Boots were on the feet of US soldiers fighting worldwide and in action zones across Europe, North Africa, and the Pacific.

This particular pair features leather uppers in brown color as per the specifications at the time. When the US military changed their boot colors to black some soldiers were referred to as “brown boot soldier” as recognition of old timer status. The beautiful and quiet toe cap detail complements our jean’s stitching and the denim selvage perfectly. When coupled with a cuffed pair of Yukon jeans the boots illustrate why the boot and jeans look will never go out of style.

Some really neat folks dropped by the shop today specifically looking for a pair of vintage engineer boots. We had it in the size they were looking for too, which is wonderfully serendipitous. Paul, Amber, and Buck belong to ODDBALL M/C (Motorcycle Club), a 40′s bike club. They live the Americana life to the fullest and we are happy to play a part in their style.

Paul and Amber Umbriaco, lovers of motorcycle, vintage, and life.

Paul Umbriaco posing with Indian Sport Scout in Rising Sun haberdashery

Paul Umbriaco's shirt with odd spelling

Oddball M/C on MySpace

Indian Sport Scout at Rising Sun & Co.

Check out this beautiful machine that is the Indian Sport Scout. It is a rigid frame motorcycle made by Indian. The company’s official history began in 1901 when founders George M. Hendee and Carl Oscar Hedstrom unveiled their prototype crowning Indian as one of the first American motorcycle manufacturers.

In 1971 Steve McQueen told Sports Illustrated in an interview about his Indian motorcycle from his younger days. “I was so proud of that Indian that I rode it over to see a girl I was dating. She said, ‘You don