1906 Sleeveless Outing Coat - Amoskeag Gold Medal Denim

We have been working with Ryo and Hiro Ooe of Ooe Yofukuten since 2014, and are their sole stockist outside of Japan. They make everything in a small Japanese town just outside of Nagoya using a collection of rare vintage sewing machines. Ryo is the pattern maker and cutter and Hiro does the sewing - their dedication, focus and level of detail is superlative. The production is very limited by nature, and they have developed an international cult following over the years.

Their workshop is in a textile factory building from the 1890’s, filled with restored vintage and antique sewing machines. These exceedingly rare and unique machines are lovingly maintained by their close friend, Mr. Matsuoka, who is nationally recognized by Japan for his sewing machine repair skills.

The Sleeveless Outing Coat takes inspiration from a casual (as in non-formal) piece of outdoor wear from the early 1900s. Though titled as a "Sleeveless Coat", it's functionally no different from any other vest you've seen, and is worn and styled much in the way a vest would be, layering extremely well both beneath and on top of other pieces.

Featuring a relaxed fit, it packs an outrageous TEN pockets throughout, with comparable storage space to your average day bag or tote, including two roomy side-entry "Cave Pockets" flanking the placket, a massive internal laptop pocket on the inside-back, and a set of double bucket pockets above the hem on the front and back - then a few more pockets after that for good measure.

Founded in 1810 and incorporated in 1831, the Amoskeag Manufacturing Company was a textile mill located alongside the Merrimack river in Manchester, New Hampshire, USA. Specializing in cotton fabrics, they held the title of "World's Largest Textile Mill" for a time during the early 1900s, supplying denim and other materials to their numerous clients, including the Levi Strauss Company, before Amoskeag's ultimate decline and bankruptcy in the mid 1930s.

Ooe paid a visit to Amoskeag in late 2022, and were given access to company archives and historical records, including original swatches and recipe books for different fabrics. It was here that Ooe discovered the original Amoskeag Gold Medal Denim recipe, a 10oz "Heavyweight" (at the time, it was) selvedge denim from around the 1860s, named for its outstanding quality and top of the market performance.

Their custom reproduction of Amoskeag's "Gold Medal Denim", was made exclusively for Ooe by the masters at Japan Blue Co., LTD., as faithfully to the original material as is possible. The new batch follows the original recipe that the deadstock material was produced with, wearing and aging in the same way as the OG fabric, which is no small feat given the immense complexities of both denim-weaving and indigo-dying.

Just like the original runs of Sleeveless Outing Coats that Ooe made for Inspiration LA a few years ago, this new batch is cut true to size. They're also given a full wash after they're done, on top of the fabric's sanforized finish - helping take the guesswork out of sizing, as you won't have to worry about major shrinkage down the road.

Fits true to size. Wash cold and hang dry. 

• 100% cotton
• 10oz reproduction Amoskeag Gold Medal Denim using original instructions
• One Wash
• Ten total pockets
  • 5 external bucket pockets
  • 2 internal bucket pockets
  • 2 front "Cave Pockets"
  • Internal-back tablet pocket
• Tonal nut buttons
• Relaxed fit
• True to size
• Custom woven labels
• Wash cold and hang dry
• Made in Japan