Field of American Dreams
Almost a year to the day after the New York Times ran this piece about finding sartorial bliss while shopping heritage brands and the hardware store, the team behind Blackbird continues its Ballard domination by opening Field House, where the country store (nuts, bolts, provisions) meets Americana style (mens, womens, and home).
“This store has all the Americana, where Blackbird and Brigitta have the Euro-cana, and Japan-acana,” quipped the shopkeep on duty when I visited on Friday. Field House also has the Seattle-acana: Great thermoses and flasks by the locally based Stanley company (they make so much sense and are so perfectly positioned for a comeback — and holiday gift-giving); quietly chic and extremely sensible jackets, shirts, bags, and accessories by SoDo’s CC Filson Co.; and, along with local and organic produce, soaps, and food stuffs, Pendleton shirts and blankets.
(I only wish the Pendleton collection at Field House included pieces from the Opening Ceremony tie-in - alas, not yet.)
For now, the shop, which is directly behind Blackbird on Leary Way next to the chai joint, is a pop-up, meaning it’s temporary … but something tells me the homegrown specialties are here to stay. With American soul records played on a turntable, rough concrete floors, and rustic skylights, there’s an authenticity at Field House, and its team was smart enough to open at a time when there is an authentic need for the goods (rain boots, wool shirts) carried here.
‘Course, Field House doesn’t just carry Northwest Brands. Even back when great-great-grandfather the stylingest dude at the hitching post, goods were shipped and received from around the territories. I was psyched to see, for example, an old nearly rusty iron bedframe laid out with Ralph Lauren gear; I absolutely love the denim-and-dust-bowl look of the spring 2010 line and hope we’ll see more of it at Field House come February or so.
See also: Woolrich. That iconic black-and-red buffalo plaid has been hanging on the backs of the best dressed for some time now, and recently, the heirloom Pennsylvania brand hired Daiki Suzuki, founder of Engineered Garments, to recut their barn coats and really take the look from heritage to haute couture.
It’s great to see the zeitgeist return to quality, well-made American brands, and it’s great Blackbird, long an arbiter of men’s style in this town, leading the way.
Check the slideshow here, start positioning guys like Carhartt-clad Ruben Toledo as your new style go-to’s, bookmark the PacNW blog Archival Clothing for further inspiration, and then get to Field House to put it all into action.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
What else is new? River Song in Madison Valley.