FRIDAY SURPRISE: Clothes may not make the man...

Friday, June 08, 2007 Filed in: Friday Surprise!, Things I like
...but they can sure be his undoing if they aren't right!

It's taken me years to assimilate this fully, and I still backslide occasionally, but the old saw "quality is remembered long after the price is forgotten" is so true!

Nowhere is this more evident than in the fine garments from Filson. Filson is an old-line outdoor clothing maker located just up the road in Seattle. (Yeah, it's a long road up there, but you get the point.) Filson has been making top-drawer clothing since the days of the Yukon gold rush, and many of their current designs actually hail from that era. "Tried and true" has never been more appropriate!

Filson became known for two materials: "mackinaw wool" and "tin cloth." These are incredibly rugged, durable fabrics that have no synthetic equivalents. A "tin cloth" coat will literally last generations, and I have a "mackinaw wool" coat in my (small) collection that is at least 40 years old and still in perfect condition despite having been worn in some very rough conditions.

Styling? What styling? The traditional Filson garments are functional above all, and whatever style they have derives solely from their function. The result is a look that has come to be known as "northwest casual", and to my eyes looks as good as it works.

This tremendous gear is made right here in the good ol' US of A. Needless to say, quality of this level is not cheap. It is, however, worth every penny when you're out in the cold and wet, and traipsing through vegetation that would shred even the best that Columbia or The North Face has to offer. After all that, you can hand it down to your children, who will get the same service out of it!

It's worth noting that Filson was purchased by an investment group a few years back, who promptly introduced a line of imported garments. Some of us watched with horror, convinced that our beloved Filson was going the way of another once-quality maker from this area - Pendleton - in transferring production overseas. Thankfully Filson's new owners didn't succumb, and kept those items traditionally made in Seattle right where they'd always been. They added new items made overseas, but at the same time introduced new items made in the US as well! While I'd prefer seeing everything made here, kudos to Filson for striking what is probably a pragmatic balance.

Just look for "Made in the USA" in the product description - Filson still proudly declares those items that are!

Filson is going to be featured on John Ratzenberger's "Made In America" show next Tuesday, June 12, on The Travel Channel. You can be sure I'll be watching!

-=[ Grant ]=-
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