The Garden Suit v2: S&S X Blluemade X W'Menswear

Past and present

Our original Garden Suit release in 2021 was the result of a long collaborative process with Lilly and Alex of Blluemade, and all of our staff working together to create something we all loved. Like so many apparel projects this started out as means to scratch our own itch both functionally and stylistically. We wanted to capture the aesthetics of our favorite vintage workwear pieces, and render them in one of our all time favorite fabrics, linen (which is a classic workwear fabric in its own right). Blluemade was the obvious choice to work with for their expertise in linen, and their long-running relationship with the best linen mills in the world. They sew everything in New York City's historic garment district at an AAPI woman run factory, a vanishingly rare manufacturing story these days.

The first version was one of our most successful products, hands-down, rendered in both flax and indigo linen. The linen we picked is incredibly comfortable and durable, and only gets better with wear. There's also a certain flax flex in being dipped in linen head to toe.

This new release is a story of fabrics and friendships around the world, a collaborative effort that led to an absolutely delightful result. A set of garments beyond heritage, certain to confuse future vintage pickers.

We are offering a pre-order on both the jacket and the pants until March 21st, 2022.

From Linen To Cotton Canvas

For this new version we were inspired by Lauren Yates (@ponytailjournal) and her custom British Denison camouflage that she created for her W'menswear line. Seeing this frequently overlooked camo in new shapes inspired us to apply it to the Garden Suit.

Unfortunately, the linen she used for her line was too lightweight to come together in our Garden Suit, but Lauren deftly stepped in with an alternate fabric coming from her supplier in Japan. It was a cotton canvas, but once we had it in hand, we knew it was the right fit.

A CONTINUOUS FLY

We were wary of using a printed cotton canvas at first, being in love with the light and airy hand of the linen we had previously used, but this particular canvas wears and breathes incredibly well. While printed camo can often be stiff and unpleasant, the company handling the printing in Japan is among the best in the world at what they do, and produced a printed fabric with a soft handle for us.

This cotton canvas is remarkable in that it has a lot of roughness and character on the surface, while remaining completely comfortable when sewn into garments.

The pliability of the canvas allowed us to continue to use one of our favorite vintage details, the continuous fly. Patented in 1877 by David Neustadter and used on his company's Boss of the Road overalls, it is a fantastic little trick to both create a stronger pair of trousers and reduce complexity of construction.

HISTORICAL WORKWEAR DETAILS

We wanted to avoid the trend of stripping away all detail in order to produce a now-cliche "clean modern minimalist" piece. These pieces are intended to be worked in and lived in, and as such, the functional details needed to remain (along with a few aesthetic details for balance).

The curved stitching here is not just for appearance. It creates an elegant end to the double layer of the cuff while supporting the sleeve placket. Borrowed from an early 20th century chore coat, it fits right into our 21st century interpretation.

A squared-off side entry pocket with a pencil slot. Originally intended for pocket watches, this makes a simple but secure place to store your treasures.

Buckleback pants are a shop obsession. It's a small detail that usually hides below a shirt hem, but flexes hard when spotted. Functionally, it can bring in the waist and hip of the pant up to 2 inches, allowing for change in body shape over the years.

The double knee has been a feature of workwear bottoms since the late 1800's. On this particular piece we're into it both for the added durability, and for the chance to break up the camo pattern on the front of the pants. Tool loops on both sides along with ample tool pockets mean you've always got everything you need at hand.

The best part: Friends coming together

This Garden Suit could never have happened if it were not for all of our friendships across the industry and world, the very thing that keeps us going everyday. As mentioned, it is a collaboration with Blluemade, but also with Lauren (@ponytailjournal) who contributed her original Denison camo from her W'menswear line. The label was drawn by friend of and frequent collaborater of Blluemade, Tomo W. Adachi.

We do a lot of special projects here at S&S, and every single one is meaningful, but this one was truly a labor of love for all us.