For the past decade or so, there has been one white whale (or rather a pod of white whales) among raw denim fanatics, whose course has been followed with great interest since they left their home in North Carolina to move to Louisiana and now they have relocated again to Georgia.

I am of course referring to the Draper X-3 shuttle looms, the forebearers of American selvedge denim from the late great Cone Mills White Oak plant in Greensboro. I got to speak with Bill Rogers, the president and CEO of their new home at Mount Vernon Mills, where the mills are again operational and expected to ship their first rolls of selvedge denim in just a matter of weeks.

We discussed the history of American milling, why it’s still important to make fabric here, and why Mount Vernon has what it takes to keep these looms running well into the future. So keep listening to hear about the next chapter of American selvedge denim.

Welcome to Heddels Blowout. The show where we explore one thing, from watch caps to flip flops, and tell you all about:

• Why it’s important

• Where it came from

• How it’s made

• Who’s making them today

• How to take care of it

• And, the real reason you’re here, your ears were cold because your hat is rolled up and you needed to put on some headphones.

That’s right, we’re talking about watch caps today.

The knit cap. The skullcap. The beanie. The toque. Whatever the name you choose, tracking down the history of this now-ubiquitous piece of headgear may prove frustrating. Every cold part of the world that needed to keep their ears and head warm while at work and play invented some variant of the watch cap.

The history may not be straightforward, but everyone knows the end of this story. This cap becomes one of the most worn and frequently lost accessories in the modern wardrobe. In my younger days, I would lose at least one per season to a dive bar vinyl booth. 

So warm up and dig into this week’s obsession over the watch cap.

If you liked what you’ve been hearing, please let us and other people know with a review

Our email address is [email protected] and we also have our discord running so you can bother me directly if you like!

https://discord.gg/GA978xdP

That’s right, today we’re talking about arguably the most well known name in performance fabrics - GORE-TEX.

Most of the time, consumers aren’t aware of the upstream material manufacturers behind the clothes they wear but Gore-Tex is one of the few that’s broken through to wide recognition. You see that black and yellow tag on a parka, pair of boots, or a hat and you know it means business.

But what kind of business is that exactly? Gore-Tex purports to be both breathable and waterproof at the same time but how does it do that? Is it successful? And did the company behind it knowingly poison its employees and the surrounding community?

Listen on for all those answers and more as we get into all the gory details.

That’s right, today is a little bit different. I’m not here to talk about an item but a concept, tariffs!

The big T-word that has been taking up so much airtime over the last year as the returning American president has made it a cornerstone of his new administration and it’s probably having an impact on how you get your sweet fix of denim and leather.

I kinda didn’t want to do this one, but we just got a ruling that these tariffs are indeed illegal by our completely legitimate supreme court and in response, Trump announced that they’re staying and the global rate just got bumped up to ten and then fifteen percent, which will affect the cost of pretty much everything.

So strap in as we walk through the history and future implications of slapping a tax on everything that comes into the country, then removing it, then putting it back on, then removing it, etc. etc. and how it’s drastically affecting the retailers and makers of your favorite brands.

Most of us can’t even hear the word “cardigan” without picturing Mr. Rogers coming home to exchange his suit jacket and dress shoes for one of his zip-up cardigans and a pair of sneakers. Most authors that write histories of this favorite casual sweater act stunned that Mr. Rogers favorite item of clothing was invented by the military. But for those of us better-versed in menswear history, it’s no surprise that the cardigan was a military invention, because… well, most pieces of men’s clothing wouldn’t exist today if not for their military application.

The far more interesting angle in the cardigan story is not that the unassuming sweater gained fame for its role in one of the most disastrous cavalry charges of all time, but its position in women’s fashion. It was Coco Chanel who, was probably a Nazi collaborator, but it’s pretty clear she helped bring the cardigan to the masses and it was women who made cardigans cool.

Brands mentioned:

• Inverallan Knitters (also at Clutch Cafe)
• Dehen 1920
• Beams Plus
• Drakes
• J.Press

Today’s episode featured writing from Albert Muzquiz in “From Cavalry to Coco Chanel: The Cardigan Unbuttoned” on Heddels.com and the production talents of Sean Thornton

When you imagine an Air Force pilot, the first image that probably comes to mind is the dashing World War II-era captain in impossibly high-waisted khakis and a brown leather bomber jacket. But you might be surprised to learn then that the first time the U.S. Air Force issued a leather jacket was in 1987.

So this is a technicality I’m exploiting, but the U.S. Air Force didn’t exist as a separate branch of the military until 1947. Before then, it was a part of the U.S. Army Air Corps and then U.S. Army Air Forces, which issued its last leather jacket in 1943.

But the legacy of this jacket just wouldn’t die so the Air Force brought back a retro piece of equipment over 40 years later due to a combination of Hollywood, one dedicated collector, and deregulation of the airlines, which we’re going to get into in today’s Blowout.

Brands mentioned:

• Cockpit USA
• Good Wear Leather
• Buzz Rickson's
• The Real McCoy's

If you liked what you’ve been hearing, please let us and other people know. Our email address is [email protected] and we are also getting our discord fired up again so you can bother me directly if you like.

Join our Discord server here: https://discord.gg/KHA5qvKb

Today’s episode featured writing from “⁠Why the Air Force Brought Back the A-2 Leather Jacket” by me on Heddels.com and the production talents of Sean Thornton with the theme musical talents of Andrew Ryan.

Thank you to our season sponsor, Meermin.

It’s been a long time since our last collaborative product, but we’re back with a bang. We’ve joined forces with Crown Northampton to launch the Grand Union Wholecut Sneaker, a denim & leather sneaker built to last for years and earn unique fades along the way.

But there is much more to this Union than denim and leather – there’s a laundry list of world-class materials, shoemaking expertise, and Northamptonshire heritage in each pair. We visited Crown Northampton to finalize the design and the Grand Union Wholecut turn from a concept into what is arguably the world’s strongest denim sneaker.

Hear from David and James as well as fifth generation shoemaker and head of Crown Northampton Chris Woodford about how we brought this unique sneaker to the finish line and how you can fade out a pair yourself!

Link to buy: https://crownnorthampton.com/en-us/collections/grand-union-sneaker

Today we’re talking about loafers. Those do-nothing idlers who just sit around all day and the leisurely leather shoe that’s come to be named after them.

Yes, the penny, the tassel, even the horsebit. These footwear icons might seem like timeless classics, but they are the result of a relatively recent cross-cultural exchange of mutually beneficial cultural appropriation.

So slide in, slip on, and get ready for a relaxing ride along Loafer Lane.

Brands mentioned:

• Aurlands
• Meermin
• Rancourt
• Alden
• Grant Stone

So this is the end piece of our loaf on loafers and the end piece of this first experimental season. Thank you for listening and learning along with me.

If you liked what you’ve been hearing, please let us and other people know. Our email address is [email protected] and we are also getting our discord fired up again so you can bother me directly if you like.

Today’s episode featured writing from “The Lowdown on Loafers - From American to Norway and Back Again” by Albert Muzquiz on Heddels.com and the production talents of Sean Thornton with the theme musical talents of Andrew Ryan.

That’s right, this is a denim episode! Longtime listeners will remember our 13-part, 7-hour audio epic about the history of denim where we covered 500 years of history of our favorite fabric.

Relax, we’re not doing that again. That was a graduate level seminar, instead, this is denim 101 and by the end of it you should have all the tools and info needed to make an informed purchase and join the wonderful fraternity of people who talk about their jeans way too much.

If you only know whispers of the discomfort associated with raw denim, the supposed high cost, or even about people putting their jeans in the freezer or wearing them to the beach, then this is for you.

Brands mentioned:

• Levi’s

• Left Field
• Hiroshi Kato
• Tilden

Today’s episode featured writing from “The Essential Raw Denim Breakdown” by yours truly on Heddels.com and the producing talents of Sean Thornton and theme music by Andrew Ryan.

If you have any questions, comments, feedback or suggestions for other topics, email us at [email protected].

Today we’re talking polarization.

I’m not talking about the bears, Santa Claus, or the state of global politics. Rather something a bit more anodyne, and seasonally appropriate, cool shades!

You may have heard of the many benefits of polarized sunglasses, how they reduce glare, let you see through the surface of water, or make it easier to drive. But why? How? Where to find?

There isn’t that much technical information for consumers explaining how they work or the very different quality of materials they can be made from. But listen on and you’ll soon be an expert on all things polarized!

• Serengeti