At Sailormade we enjoy knowing the story behind things, especially when it relates to materials we may utilize in our collection.  As we’ve been looking at designing a bag collection for 2013 we took a look into the origin of waxed materials found it quite interesting.

At a Scottish mill in the late 1700′s, the clever process of waxing cotton was originally developed to waterproof sail cloth by treating fabric with oil from a flax plant. Originally developed to waterproof the sails of the British Naval Fleet, the process then evolved in the 1930s to saturate the cloth with paraffin wax, which is the waxed cotton/canvas we see today.  Originally intended for sailors and fisherman, waxed clothing expanded beyond the water and found its way to farmers, gamekeepers, motorcyclists and today is a ubiquitous fabric among classic to fashion customers.   As you probably, know waxed cotton remains incredibly popular.

Waxed canvas was originally used on tall ship sails and then became widely used by sailors as a breathable,durable water resistant fabric. Pictured here, Gregory Peck wears a cool waxed cotton pea coat in the film Moby Dick in the role of the infamous Captain Ahab.   Cool jacket!

Waxed cotton is very durable, comfortable, and develops its own unique character with age. Brands like Barbour and Belstaff have been making jackets out of waxed cotton for generations and have become iconic heritage brands hugely popular today.

Early ad for the Barbour Beacon waxed jacket.

Effortlessly cool, Steve McQueen wears his Barbour Motorcycle jacket on the race track.

Game hunters stylishly clad in waxed cotton Barbour jackets. Cue the Range Rover.

Stay tuned for Sailormade bags in 2013!

From New York to Newport, people can’t get enough of their boat shoes. Sperry continues to flourish as an iconic brand who launched the eponymous topsider.

In 1935, Paul Sperry had an idea. After noticing how he slipped while his dog could run across the ice, he took rubber siping and attached it the sole of his leather shoe for more grip. Sperry’s shoe quickly became popular with boaters not only for its non-slip sole but also for its white color, which prevented the shoe from leaving marks on a boat’s deck. The shoe remained a niche product until 1939 when the U.S. Navy negotiated the right to manufacture the shoe, leading to Sperry being purchased and widely marketed by the U.S Rubber Company. From that point on, Sperry Top Siders became and still remain a fashion fixture in both preppy and urban communities today.

The Breton stripe that the fashion world has fully embraced was originally introduced with a specific function. Incorporated into French law in 1858 to easily locate overboard sailors, the Breton white with navy striped (21 stripes for each of Napoleon’s victories) shirt was required to be worn by every sailor in the French Navy. Later in 1917, Coco Chanel translated the design with a ready to wear edge for her first nautical collection. Since then, the trend has gone beyond overboard ships and continues to be a classic staple in the modern fashion world.