Surely of all the manifestations of the Trad/Americana/Whatever style 'Downeast Duck Hunter' is the warmest.
The basic rule of this style is that everything you wear can be greatly improved by lining it with flannel. The more flannel the better.
Layering is also important. In fact the ideal silhouette for the wearer of the D.D.H. look is nicely bulbous like a hand grenade as you pile on layer after layer.
LL Bean and Woolrich are the style leaders I think, with Filson a good runner-up. Pendleton is for the Gentleman Duck Hunter.
Other countries and cultures pursue their fowl in Tweed jackets and Tattersall shirts. This seems like Dandy Duck Hunting to me and lacks the rugged charm of the Downeast style. Also it's damn cold.
Some also Duck Hunt in bright Orange (to stand out) or camouflage (to blend in). I suspect that these are the people who actually want to shoot ducks and aren't concerned with style at all. We shall ignore them.
Let's unpeel our idealised Duck Hunter rather like an onion from the outside in:
'Canada Goose' Halifax Parka. The best looking Parka. Also keeps you warm in -40C, but that is incidental.
Field Coat. Useful for pockets. Button in a liner for another layer if needed.
Ragg Wool Sweater. Get the heavy button-neck kind.
Flannel lined Canvas shirt or (better still) LL Bean Chamois Cloth shirt. Plaid or plain.
Dark Green Polo shirt. Collar flipping is allowed to stop your scarf from chaffing your neck if it is not made of Cashmere.
Plain White T-shirt.
(You could also wear long Silk underwear but that seems a little too practical to me.)
Flannel lined Khakis with BIG turn-ups to show off that they are flannel lined.
Red Tartan Flannel boxer shorts (for a little touch of Christmas cheer).
Huge thick Ragg Wool socks with ordinary cotton crew socks worn underneath.
Bean Boots/Redwings/Timberlands.
'Mid West' Deerskin Thinsulate lined Work Gloves.
Large Hip flask.
Wearing this weight of clothing makes carrying a gun impossible, which is just as well as the above look is best worn in the city and not out in the dirty, muddy, smelly countryside.
T.L.
Is Deliverance Trad?
Cue: Banjo.
Canada Goose make a fine parka, though they have become trendy with the fashionistas who want to look the part. Hard to find in the NY area, at least when I had tried a few years back.
http://www.canada-goose.com/products/products.aspx
From a strictly technical standpoint, and aesthetics aside, Feathered Friends might be making the best parka out there...
http://www.featheredfriends.com/
LL Bean and Cabelas also offer great parkas, and at very reasonable prices.
Marc,
Didnt you show us a light weight synthetic jacket that you thought a touch more urban than the barbour? It was French i think and perhaps quilted? I forget.
Chameaus are THE way to go.
'Hunters' may be be more 'Fogey' (Bah!). But if you want Country-Cool go Le Chameau.
(I only wear Beanboots because I love the style).
Le Chameau wearers are universally nice people. Much more sophisticated than the Fogey crowd. Their conversation is much better & their wine is much, much better. Le Chameau wearers are also funnier & cleverer & cooler & hipper & know more & tell better jokes & throw better parties & have better looking children, & friends, & relations.
If I have learned anything about about country life, I have learned this.
terry.
"By their Wellies shall ye know them."
T. Lean: Sage and Troll. 2006.
I'm a Bean boot boy to the bone, but I'm the only English one that I know of. Doubtless there are more but I've yet to meet them. Redwing has many more fans over here.
English Hunter & Le Chameau fans can be neatly split up into two amusingly stereotypical groups. Are there equally stereotypical qualities that you could ascribe to the Bean boot wearer in the U.S.?
Silly nonsense of course but it could be fun as an exercise in style.
T.L.
That ugly/handsom aesthetic is the appeal of Redwings over here too.
I never said but Timberland is the best seller of U.S. boots in the UK.
Last edited by Marc Grayson (2006-11-23 11:07:11)
I've always been skeptical of the value of high-tech rubber boots (Gore-Tex, fleece liners, zippers, etc.). Since they're just going to get ruined--and the tiniest hole is a finisher--it seems best to invest in $20 gum boots from the local hardware store.
For the ultimate in genuine duck hunting gear, Cabela's is the way to go...
http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/subcategory/subcategory.jsp?id=cat600859&navCount=0&parentId=cat470076&navAction=jump&cmCat=0720_waterfowl-door
http://www.jamesandjames.com/htmlfiles/shoefiles/dickies/dklouisbn.htm
A good price on these Dickies boots. Redwing-esq in style but easier on the pocket.
Marc made me think of this old thread the other day.
Autumn is nearly here in Gloucestershire. Soon be time to bundle up!
j.