Every week a different FADER staff member will pick a clothing item or accessory that he or she has lately been spending a lot of time with—or would like to—and write a little love letter to it. We would've done a column on who we're dating but that seemed a little bit much. This week, Sam Hockley-Smith writes about the Pegleg sailing jacket.
When the picture above was taken it was probably about 80 degrees outside. Oddly enough I was not hot but pretty comfortable. Such is the magic of the Pegleg sailing jacket. It is waterproof and breathable, and besides coming in the vibrant green and blue pictured here, it is available in red/white and black/navy. I haven’t taken this jacket sailing (and I probably won’t because I don't sail) but I imagine it stands up to that sort of ocean wind as well.
The coat is reversible. Prior to actually wearing a reversible coat th concept always struck me as adolescent. You can’t just wear a different coat? Do you not have other jackets in different colors when you need to coordinate? It always seemed like part of being an adult was accumulating jackets. But being able to flip from royal blue to kelly green has been quite a highlight. To be totally straight, the colors are bright—brighter than I would assume most dudes are used to wearing—but they aren’t overpowering.
Depending on your ability to tell the difference between blue and green (I’m really good at this), you’ll have a striking jacket that works in both spring and early-summer with nearly any outfit. That’s not even mentioning the little flourishes that make this coat so distinct. Pegleg takes the basics—hats, coats, t-shirts, shorts—and adds enough weirdness to make them feel unique. The sailing jacket, for instance, has little wooden balls hanging from the drawstring tassels at the hem and hood. They could have gone with basic pull-ties, but instead picked something that injects a little character.
To be honest, I never expected such a vibrant item to cause me to check myself out in window reflections, public mirrors and other people’s sunglasses. But I can admit that it does and has quickly become a wardrobe staple.