Seven years ago the folks at HARDENCO purchased several rolls of Cone Mills White Oak Indigo Duck Canvas for some exquisite garments. Rare at the time, even rarer now, White Oak’s closure changed the status of all remaining fabric to deadstock. HARDENCO used up all but one roll of that precious fabric and, in co-founder Luke Davis’ words, saved that last roll “until all the pieces were in place to make the best work shirts ever.”
Those pieces in question are antique, handwoven Japanese mattress covers. Repurposed as accent fabrics at the yoke as well as the cuff plackets, the somehow even rarer fabrics take the shirt up several notches. From there, the Work Shirt has got four chest pockets neatly laid out to look like just two pockets, triple-needle stitching, reinforced elbows to take on double the elbow grease, two-prong tack black oxide buttons, as well as some sweet candy-colored chainstitch runoff.
If any and all of those details strike you, you’d better hop to it because that roll was only good enough to make 22 shirts.
Available for $245 at HARDENCO.
