In her 1967 song Ode to Billy Joe, Bobbie Gentry claims that it “Seems like nothin’ ever comes to no good up on Choctaw Ridge”. I’d have to disagree. Besides being the place where “Billy Joe MacAllister’s jumped off the Tallahatchie Bridge”, Choctaw Ridge is also an old-world men’s undergarment company run by the same guys behind Left Field NYC and it’s definitely something good.
Besides the song, founder Christian McCann was inspired by vintage underwear boxes from the 1940s, which had full color illustrations of men using the product (while often puffing a smoke). He sought to recreate the same garments those boxes used to hold, but updated for today’s guy.
Vintage boxes from Hanes and Balbriggan.
Choctaw Ridge’s letter-pressed packaging.
According to Christian, they’ve gone to every length to create a product that stands above the rest of the field:
The boxers were slimmed down in the thigh and inseam shortened so that they don’t balloon up under tight jeans or chinos. Many of the boxers are made out of fine Japanese shirting, with bone buttons. T-shirts are made from supima/modal super soft jersey, the boxer briefs are supimal/modal 1×1 rib with bone buttons and have been described as having your ball on clouds.
And everything is all made in the States, including the letter-pressed boxes, die-cut hang tags, and even the tissue paper wrapping around every piece.
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Aside from the underwear and undershirts, Choctaw also produces swimwear ala Live and Let Die era James Bond, which comes in a 60/40 cotton/nylon blend with contrast piping and rubber buttons, as well as chambray lounge pants for those post-denim evenings.
And as anyone familiar with this scene well knows, period accurate details and fine fabrics and construction don’t come cheap and Choctaw Ridge is no exception. However, all Choctaw Ridge stock is currently 15% off with the code “RAWR15” through June 21. So head on over to their website, pick up a pair, and prove Bobbie Gentry wrong.
