TCB Jeans_Cathartt Chore Coat Paw Stripe

The Cathartt Chore Coat, created with heart buttons, is now available in a new color: Paw Stripe. This Chore Coat is a mix of the heart stripe found in Vintage Carhartt and the "Cat's Paw" characteristic of TCB, resulting in a garment that looks classic and cool, but also cute upon closer inspection, thus possessing a duality.

This fabric was created by Sanyo Senko Co., Ltd. in Fukuyama City, Hiroshima Prefecture, my hometown. As a boy, I used to frequent the arcade in their neighborhood, but I had no idea there was a company with such interesting technology so close by.

The process involves indigo dyeing the raw fabric using a continuous dyeing machine, which is one of the few in Japan capable of this, then applying a discharge print. This means a cylinder applies a discharge agent to remove color, and then a beige pigment print is added. Because beige is applied to the discharged white heart pattern, the hearts end up with slightly blurred outlines.

Even with vintage wabash fabrics, you can sometimes find wabash with blurred outlines, but as these plates are used, the edges and outlines of the discharge print become softer, eventually requiring the plate to be replaced.

The wabash that TCB specially ordered this time might look a bit too flashy if the heart and paw outlines were too crisp. However, we've given it a slightly charmingly blurry look from the start, so we hope you'll consider this a cool and cute detail.

At first glance, it might seem cheap, but it's a specification that involves a lot of effort.

After making it and even visiting the factory, I wondered if the Stifel company's fabric production method ultimately disappeared because it was too labor-intensive. I am nothing but grateful to Sanyo Senko-san for being able to create it using the same method even today. Considering the cost, I hesitated to print on the back of the fabric, but in the end, I was so excited that there are cats instead of boots. It doesn't matter once you wear it, but you see it every time you wear it. Perhaps that's one of the charms of this fabric. *Stifel was an American textile company that developed wabash fabric. On the back of Stifel's fabric, there is a logo with the company name "Stifel" written inside a boot-shaped pattern.

The details of the Chore Coat itself, like the denim, are based on 1940-50s Vintage Carhartt, but also incorporate elements from various historical documents to create a 1920s atmosphere, consistent with the MASTER CLOTH name and heart buttons.

For example, the following are details typical of the 1920s:

Square collar with a center seam

Change buttons attached with eyelets

Adjustable first button and cuffs

Set-in sleeves

Low sleeve cap, also reproduced in TWO CATS BLOUSE, etc.

■Notes Both the front buttons and cuff buttons are change button specifications. Since they are less durable than regular buttons, we recommend removing them before washing. In case of damage or loss, we do have buttons in stock, but they will be provided for a fee, so please understand.

Excerpt from TCB official online store

A coverall with a boxy silhouette and just the right thickness, allowing you to wear it casually without trying too hard.

You don't need a heavy outer layer, but you want something to just throw on. Such temperatures are likely to continue.

*The TCB products we stock are not samples, so please refrain from visiting our store solely for the purpose of trying them on.