Fall Fabric Spotlight: Moleskin
Nothing beats a perfect fit or supreme quality, but sometimes the touch and feel of a fabric is what turns an item into a must-wear. We’re into creating garments that you reach for on the day to day, so any fabrication that appeals to our tactile qualities is one that we hold in high standards. Like Ledbury, Moleskin has British roots, and was originally produced in the West Yorkshire district of England. cotton Ironically, fustian has a double meaning. If you refer to Merriam-Webster, it’s also a fancy way to describe something in a broad way. In broad strokes, the term ‘fustian’ can also mean “pompous or pretentious,” but in all actuality there is nothing self-important about humble moleskin.
The “fustian” category of fabric it has an effect that gives it a soft handfeel. It includes plain twilled cloth known as jean, and cut fabrics similar to velvet, known as velveteen, moleskin, and corduroy. The original medieval fustian was a stout but respectable cloth with a cotton weft and a linen warp. The term seems to have quickly become less precise, and was applied to a coarse cloth made of wool and linen. By the early 20th century, fustians were usually of cotton dyed various colors.
Regardless, the term ‘moleskin’ has a much better ring to it, and also brings to mind the nocturnal creature with no eyes that lives on dirt. (But before you ask, no, it is not the actual skin of the small mammal.) Something about the fabric gives you a Pavlovian response and brings back memories of a well-worn L.L. Bean chamois shirt that your dad may have worn.
The West German Army embraced moleskin as its uniform fabric of choice in the 1960s through the 1990s, and most uniforms sported a trademark greyish olive drab color. German moleskin wasn’t sheared (the treatment that gives it the short, soft pile) leaving the outer side soft and smooth and especially durable against wind and wear. While you may not want to embrace the German soldiers style in the day-to-day, the durable utilitarian style paired with the soft handfeel will make our moleskin pants ones you’ll reach for time and time again.
Our Slim Fit Franklin 5-Pocket Pant features a mid-rise, button fly and in three colors of durable moleskin that is the perfect weight for brisk fall days.
The “fustian” category of fabric it has an effect that gives it a soft handfeel. It includes plain twilled cloth known as jean, and cut fabrics similar to velvet, known as velveteen, moleskin, and corduroy. The original medieval fustian was a stout but respectable cloth with a cotton weft and a linen warp. The term seems to have quickly become less precise, and was applied to a coarse cloth made of wool and linen. By the early 20th century, fustians were usually of cotton dyed various colors.
Regardless, the term ‘moleskin’ has a much better ring to it, and also brings to mind the nocturnal creature with no eyes that lives on dirt. (But before you ask, no, it is not the actual skin of the small mammal.) Something about the fabric gives you a Pavlovian response and brings back memories of a well-worn L.L. Bean chamois shirt that your dad may have worn.