Wednesday, April 8, 2015

Haberdashery 1.0



The mackinaw is a jacket of densely woven wool.  It is and has been since its creation available in many colors.  But my guess is that if you ever had one it was either red or blue plaid, most likely red. The story I heard had a seamstress contracted by a military commander to produce jackets for the men at the fort, which fort was located in the Great Lakes region and whose name I have forgotten.  Suffice it to say that it was in the Mackinac region, and hence the moniker eventually attached to the jacket.  As the tale goes, the tailor used military blankets as source for material but ran out of the standard color before the order was complete.  Hence she utilized red plaid blankets, and the most recognizable of the mackinaws has existed ever since.  Timeframe of creation: early nineteenth century.

I have heard this clothing item referred to as a "lumberjack shirt" since it is popular amongst those workers in the north woods.

My mackinaw was plaid in the color shown at the top of this article.  I no longer have it, nor is it likely to be replaced.  If you have one you might want to hold on to it.  If you have purchased a new one recently you have a larger clothing budget than I have.  Or you did have.

Our neighbors in the Land to the North have adopted the mackinaw such that it has virtually become a representative icon of those hardy Northlanders.

You may thank my wee-hours ruminations for this post.  If one is not asleep he has to fill the time with something.*

*On the downside of being 80, sleeplessness in the wee hours is common.  But
on the upside, I don't have to get up and go to work in the morning.  However,
on the downside, nobody cares if I get up or not.  But
on the upside, I really don't care what people think.  Yet
on the downside, no one may find my desiccated carcass for weeks, But
on the upside, I may be in heaven for weeks before the devil knows I died. 
On the downside, some may find this macabre or morbid.
On the upside, see line four above.

5 comments:

Grace said...

I like that there is always an upside to a downside (at least most of the time)and that any list always ends with the upside (not the jelly side down.)

Secondary Roads said...

I started to write that the ruminations were worth the price of admission, but . . . that's not right. Okay they made it well worth the visit. I can easily relate to what you are saying. Yes, I know . . . see line four.

vanilla said...

Grace, when doing such a pos/neg analysis, it is always a good idea to end with a positive! And you are right in that there is almost always an upside to any thing with a downside. Jelly bread, anyway.

Chuck, there are some upsides to being a "seasoned citizen."

Sharkbytes said...

Love the rovings of your brain. Perhaps Fort Michilimackinac? Oldest fort in the Great Lakes. Neat to visit. The new tag line for North Country Trail lovers is Red Plaid Nation

vanilla said...

Sharkey, and thus my rovings intersect with the NCT! I did a little looking up this morning and my source says British Fort St. Joseph in Ontario.