David Himel Writes: Why Did I Make the Intrepid?

December 07, 2018

Why Did I Make the Intrepid?

People who know me also know I am incredibly hard on my clothing. One of the reasons I love clothing so much is my obsession with over built, over usable rare vintage. I adore reversible use clothing. ADORE IT! Why you ask? Because if I am going to pay for something, I want it to have incredible utility combined with completely classic design. This is my Intrepid Jacket.

 The Design:

Based on 1920s sack style coats, I wanted something that combined the raw slightly unstructured designs of the 1920s with classic British heritage hunting walking coats. I love the manliness of classic British styles but I need something that has a pop, an edge. So I used a heritage cord fabric company Brisbane Moss (open since the 1850s) and the reverse side is a cool Japanese replica Troy liner or Harris Tweed (also open since forever) Troy was the wool liner of choice in early American workwear.

The result is a two sided coat, each side having a distinctly different feel. The cord side with leather trim has a classic British look seen in the early century and the 1970s a stately masculine feel. The Troy wool side looks distinctly Japanese work wear with a real biker edge, and if you go for Harris Tweed, it looks very conservative and polo-esque, and goes nicely over a suit.

 The Name:

Intrepid, why Intrepid. Well Intrepid was the code name for Sir William Stephenson, the great Canadian Spymaster. In fact, he was so great that James Bond was based on his character. This guy basically invented spycraft for the British and the Americans in WW2. I am sure he would want a coat that could reverse sides and disappear into a crowd with a whole new look.

 The Coat:

Ive been wearing mine for 2 months. I am going to tell you what I think. I wore it in Mexico in September (17-25 degrees C) Canada/Japan in Fall (5-15 degrees C) and Canada in Winter (-7-2 degrees C). It has been incredible. Each side is equally warm. The cord is heavy and almost tunnels up on the arm like a leather jacket. The wool side is posh and equally warm. The coat even handles a light drizzle well. It is warm and strangely not too warm even when it’s a bit hot out if unbuttoned. The only issue I have had is figuring out how to button the reverse way on the reverse side which is strange to my fingers.  I have been literally stopped every day in the street and randomly complimented on my jacket by strangers. So I am pretty sure that is a win!

Thanks for supporting the Tribe.

You wont be disappointed,

Best,

Himel

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