It’s hard to improve upon perfection, but we tried our best.
After seeing an overwhelming response for our oxford shirt the past few years, we began wondering if it was possible to make it even better.
We sent some of our favorite vintage oxfords from our archive to one of the best mills we work with in India, with careful instructions on what we were looking for. It's always a challenge to achieve the look and feel of fabrics woven on vintage looms with modern technology. Thankfully, after a few rounds of trials with different yarn sizes and dyeing methods, we finally agreed on a construction that truly knocks it out of the park.
We're so excited about this new fabric.
A major reason why we love older oxfords is the minor “imperfections” in the yarns and in the weave. We were able to work with the mill to recreate some of these imperfections, which led to more irregularity, more slub, and more highs/lows in the yarns and colors.
Our Vintage Blue color now takes on a slightly darker appearance. This was the intended color from the very beginning. It boasts a true off-white yarn in the weft with a warmer blue yarn in the warp. The end result is a blue that closely resembles that of an authentic oxford from 50s and 60s.
Aside from the update to the fabric, we’re still washing and softening these for the same lived-in look and feel. No changes have been made to the fit, construction, or sizing.
Oh, and we finally added a new color. Say hello to the Evergreen Stripe!
]]>You may tire of hearing about it, but we always put our fabric first at Wythe.
Rather than sourcing existing fabrics from textile mills' existing collections, we always try to develop something special and exclusive to our brand. It's important to us to not only offer something unique, but we custom-design our fabric down to the yarn size and color as a way to create an authentic product.
Our archive of nearly century-old flannel shirts is extensive for a reason. We believe the flannel shirts produced between the 1920s and 1960s were the best ever made in regards to both handfeel and colorations.
Some of these archival pieces weren't even shirts anymore by the time we found them, but rather discarded scraps of well-loved and well-worn flannel workshirts.
Most of the Wythe flannels are based on patterns and colors from that era.
Once we established the standard for what we wanted in a Wythe flannel shirt, we navigated the world of textile mills and manufacturers until we came across the best ones to do it. This family-owned mill in India was able to recreate the quality of flannel that we had grown so attracted to, in the exact manner the yarns used to be spun, dyed, woven, and brushed.
These are truly a labor of love from everyone involved, and we are immensely proud to share them with you.
These custom and exclusive fabrics were all inspired by early 19th and 20th
century French and American handspun indigo dyed fabrics.
Originally woven on narrow handlooms, the fabrics were handsewn and
used for anything and everything in early homesteads - with few surviving
examples - skirts, aprons, towels, and bed linens.
For this range of fabrics, we showed these original handmade textiles to a
specialist mill in Chennai that was able to recreate this rustic look and
feel while also making it super comfortable against the skin. They're
lightweight enough for the dead heat of the summer, while the cotton and
linen fibers help to regulate the temperature on the skin. The indigo yarns
will fade and soften with each wash and each day spent enjoying the sun.
We quickly realized how versatile these fabrics were. Obviously these lend
themselves to shirtine, but we were so stoked to offer these in our hunting
shirt-jacket and chino models. If you're not bold enough to rock the full suit
you can just as easily break these up and wear them on their own.
Welcome to our new series called What We're Made Of.
So much of what we think makes Wythe special is our passion for textiles. For us, designing a garment always starts with the fabric - we can't make a truly authentic piece of clothing if the fabric isn't true to its roots. It's not enough for us to use an mill's existing fabric qualities - we typically use textiles that are unique and exclusive to us; often times these are fabrics that stopped being produced decades ago.
This brings us to our first fabric in the series: our slub cotton/linen twill. We first introduced this fabric last year and it is something we're immensely proud to continue running.
This twill is a blend of 65% cotton and 35% linen, woven in India exclusively for Wythe. We wanted the durability of a cotton with the breathability of a linen. A fabric like this would normally endure a number of finishing processes which strip away much of the character these yarns create - but not ours! This fabric is made from unbleached and undyed cotton yarns, which are best seen on our unbleached color which is full of little nuances in shade and tone. The unbleached cotton is anything but the bleached bright white we normally think of with cotton. Once these yarns are woven, to achieve other colors, we dye each finished piece. After the garment is constructed, we wash it to achieve a vintage, lived-in feel.
The Wythe Chino is based on U.S. Military Chinos brought back by GIs from the second world war. That "chino pant" then evolved into the ever-present khaki slacks that have become an American staple. The fit of the Wythe Chino retains the charm and fullness of those original pants that look great next to the barbecue or walking down the street.
Let 'em get dirty, let 'em get wrinkled, and most importantly live in them!
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