Needles - Arrow Jacket

Lately a lot of products have surfaced which features Harris Tweed. This is definitely one of the better so far. Needles is a Japanese brand, which is part of the Nepenthes company, which Engineered Garments is also a part of. Needles is almost entirely made in Japan, and I find it very hard to place in terms of style, as they produce some very funky pieces sometimes, but if you find some of their lookbooks (especially the older ones), you'll get a sense of the myriads of styles they're able to mix.

This jacket is called the Arrow jacket. It's made in Japan of Harris Tweed fabric. Other than that it features deerskin patches on the elbows and deerskin accents of the cuffs and pockets.

WAYWT - 01

WAYWT isn't really my thing, but I've been wearing the Eastlands constantly, since purchasing them a couple of days ago, and I'm surprised by the level of comfort and absolutely no break-in period. It's been a pleasure. Furthermore they are really growing on me, and I think they look absolutely stunning.

From the bottom up I'm wearing

Eastland Made in Maine suede chukkas

LVC 1954 501z  jeans - absolutely worn out

Jamieson's fair isle  Shetland sweater

Lavenham waxed, quilted jacket

Not visible - Engineered Garments 19th century BD shirt.

Out and About - Picking Apples On a Sunday

Before you start reading any of this, I would like to apologise for the abuse of the Hipstamatic function on the iPhone. I didn't take any of the pics and my friend Anna apparently enjoys that function slightly too much. Secondly, this isn't my poor attempt to turn ATD into a food blog, but as the criteria for anything on this blog is being good, then this should be included.

The Hipstamatic pics don't affect my wish to document this day any less, as it was a great Sunday.

Let's start with the end. This is the product of a well-spent Sunday : 3-5 kg of stewed apples.

That much stewed apples don't come easy. First you need like 15 kg of apples from just as many different sorts. Luckily we got these apples for free, as we biked around town to some secret locations. The apples were picked using a perfect branch that I found in the nearby woods. 

That's some good fun and in no time you have a huge tote filled with delicious (some more than others), freshly picked (rather, violently removed with a thick branch), organic (I can only assume) apples.

When the picking is done, you have to peel them and slice them into smaller pieces, which seems like work Sisyphus wouldn't even do, as it is a huge task with that many apples. After the picking, the peeling and the slicing it gets easy. Just add some organic vanilla and some organic cane sugar, that you borrow from a roommate (which I promise, I will replace, Louise) and let it simmer until perfect. 

You'll know when you hit perfection.

Special thanks to Anna for filling the gap for my much-missed girlfriend and making this a very pleasant Sunday.

In case you are wondering, the tote is from Engineered Garments. I was also wearing an oxford shirt from Brooks Brothers Black Fleece, jeans from LVC (1954 501z), shoes from Yuketen and a vintage jacket from Fjällräven (not pictured). I forgot to mention that my underwear are from one of the last - if not the last - Danish producers of underwear. I'm trying to set up a visit to them, which will hopefully materialize soon.

The Quest for the Ultimate Winter Coat - The Duffle

A good friend e-mailed me the other day asking about advice regarding winter coats. He asked for the ultimate winter coat/jacket, saying that it needed to be warm, handsome and have some details/qualities and it had to be made to a certain standard.

I spent some time thinking about it and I was slightly baffled by this because I never really thought about buying just one coat or jacket, as I have always enjoyed some diversity. Therefore I will try to highlight some good, classic winter coats that would probably get you through winter in good and warm health, while still looking good.

The duffle coat is a stable. Period. It has been around for many years and it has stood the test of time. Originally it was introduced as a military coat, but it has later become a go-to coat for preppies and mods. I don't own one at the moment, but I have had one from Gloverall. Gloverall have seen a resurgence in the last couple of years. Latelt they have been making the classic duffle in some different cuts and colours while trying to capture a younger audience. If you feel like wearing a turquoise slim fit duffle in Nylon, that is fine by me. Though it would be advisable to get one in a more wearable colour, like navy, gray, black or dark green. Gloverall is still made in England and the wool used is of a descent quality, though it is very prone to pilling. But that is how it looks, and it looks good in a way, though I know of some people, that have been disappointed with the pilling.

If you are after a more rugged solution, brands like Harnold Brooks, Fidelity and Schott comes to mind. Besides them a lot of good brands like Engineered Garments and National Anthem have featured a duffle in their collection several times.