Sugar Cane & Co. 9oz Indigo Wabash Stripe Jacket

Sugar Cane is a Japanese brand focusing on reconstructing the early days of vintage workwear history. The brand has roots that goes back to the 1950's but it wasn't until the late 80's that Sugar Cane started building the reputation for being one of the best denim makers in Japan and it is a reputation they still deserve!

With this jacket Sugar Cane pays a tribute to the old indigo fabric manufacturer Stifel. Stifel was operating in West Virginia from 1835 to 1956 and is most known for their dark blue indigo fabric with a white dot pattern that has been called many names and among them are Wabash, Calico and Polka dot. The company was founded by the german immigrant J. L Stifel, an apprentice dyer and calico printer, whose skills became useful when he set up his business supplying the rapidly growing country with durable workwear fabrics!

The Stifel logo shows a stylized boot with the name "Stifel" in it, and its printed as a makers mark on the inside of the fabric. Stifle is the German word for boots that also gives explanation to the boot logo. It is also said that the boot logo was printed on the inside of the fabric by accident and that it in fact should have been on the outside, but that the brand kept it like that and it became synonymous with the Stifle fabric. We're not sure if this is true, we suspect that Stifle put their logo on the fabrics in order to have a makers mark of the fabric producer, since they were not making garments of the fabrics themselves. When it comes to deeply dyed indigo fabrics it is also great to be able to make a difference between the front and the back of the fabric for the production, and the little boot logo leaves very little room for confusion about the matter of which side is which!

The dots had the practical function of making the garments wearer stand out in a crowd or against a background, making garments made of Stifel fabric a favorite amongst laborers and railroad workers. This might also be the reason why Stifles dotted fabric was commonly used in making clothing for children!

- Sugar Cane & Co. 9oz Indigo Wabash Stripe Jacket
- 9 oz Japanese indigo resist dyed fabric
- 100% cotton
- Pre-washed and won't shrink
- One chest pocket
- Two lower front pockets
- Made in Japan

All measurements are in centimeters and measured on a flat surface. Width is measured straight across the chest from armpit to armpit, length is measured at the back of the garment from the neck down and the sleeve length is measured on the underarm from the armpit to the end of the cuff.