Up for sale here is a jacket from Japanese repro-specialists Warehouse. Although they’re perhaps best known for their jeans, they have strong shirting and outerwear lines as well, where they consistently rank near the top of the Japanese “American casual” brands. Iron Heart may be known for their heavy weight fabrics, or Sugar Cane for their often interesting choice of materials, but Warehouse is a quality all-around brand. They don’t advertise and basically let the quality of their clothing speak for itself.
Like a lot of the Japanese labels out there, quality is paramount for Warehouse, where all of their stuff is produced old-school, done on vintage looms and mean to evoke 1950s-60s era work and sportswear. Production runs are typically small, with availability limited especially outside of Japan.
So what we have here is their take on the classic hunting jacket. Where the Warehouse normally go for full vintage reproduction, this piece is a bit different in that it strikes me as more of a reinterpretation, closer along the lines to what Flat Head does, for example. What also strikes me is the crazy quality of this piece. It is one of the best Warehouse pieces I have personally handled actually.
Let’s start with the fabric. The materials label has either been removed or I cannot manage to find it in the multitude of pockets here, but exterior fabric seems to be some kind of wool blend, medium in weight. The knit flannel is really nice though, one of the best woolen flannels I have seen with a really excellent texture to it. This is the kind of high quality knit where you can see the individual yarns making up the flannel, very likely the handiwork of those vintage shuttle looms these kinds of labels are so fond of. Cuffs, center pockets and back of the arms also feature leather accents. This is a nod to vintage functional outerwear, where these parts were most likely to see greater wear if you were in the outdoors, but also makes for a very nice looking contrast.
Interior continues to keep things interesting, where the jacket is fully lined in a brushed cotton flannel, done in a completely different plaid pattern. Between the woolen flannel exterior and brushed cotton interior I would consider this a good medium weight jacket. It is not in summer jacket territory by any stretch, and should cover you well the rest of the year.
Other details include an array of pockets, much like the traditional hunting jacket. Front has six pockets in total, rear has a very large buttoned pocket compartment, and interior also has a pocket. There is no shortage of storage here. Front a vintage style Talon zipper, and there is a throat latch at the top. Inside the cuffs there are knitted storm cuffs for extra cold resistance. Pocket flap interiors even have the contrasting lining plaid added on, making for a cool contrast when you turn the pocket flaps up.
This is really a premium piece by Warehouse, one where all facets of design are considered and that shows off all of their strengths. It is a newer model based on the neck tag, but at the same time it is not one that I have encountered elsewhere or that I can find in their online catalogs, making it a pretty rare piece. This is the kind of quality and timeless design that never goes out of style. This jacket is built tough and made to last as well.
Size is labeled a 40 and fits like a standard medium in my opinion. I measure the chest at 21”, shoulders at 18”, length at 27” from the base of the collar and sleeves at 24”. The jacket comes in lightly used, excellent shape with no holes, tears, stains or visible signs of wear. Made in Japan.
Shipping via EMS from Japan to anywhere will be $36.