Fishing Vest
We’ve always been interested in fishing vests, photography vests and military vests with their proliferation of pockets and interesting details. With the current fascination with all things tactical we’ve seen a number of variations in the market. We felt that the vintage options often had a funny cut, they are quite short and this may limit the ways it can be worn. The length was short so when being worn fly fishing you could go in deep with waders on and the vest wouldn’t get wet, however this is less of an issue in our context. We’re more interested in the practicality of all the pockets, it sort of does away with the need for a vest.
A lot of the options out there have too many bells and whistles for our liking, that look great at first glance but make it a pretty specific piece, in short it can come across a bit more dress up party.
We felt this style needed to be streamlined a bit, our version has been elongated so it finishes nearer the top of your belt. This makes it easier to layer as it doesn’t look unnatural with a slightly longer layer underneath, be it a tee or jumper when the temperature begins to drop. Rather than be tempted to overload it with details we chose to give it just enough features to retain the reference without it venturing in to that costume-y territory. With three front cargo pockets, left top zip pocket for secure storage, zip front and key fob at chest.
One of our favourite details from the original versions was the large pockets at the back of the vest, placed there to stow any larger items like bait or lures. A garment with details on the back is always appealing. Setting off the pockets is matching nickel hardware. We included a mesh panel across the shoulder, practically speaking this would keep the wearer cooler in a high movement section. It gives it a sporty touch that is really enjoyable, particularly on the mustard yellow vest with its white contrast mesh.
Generally these vests would be offered in subdued colours like taupe, olive drab or black. Perhaps colour wasn’t a priority for the originals or it had more to do with camouflaging with nature, however we felt it would coordinate better with other items in light pastel colours that might give a bit more impact over a tee. For the fabric we used a crisp cotton canvas with a fairly tight weave which plays with the texture of the mesh nicely and has nice subdued slightly dusty colours. It’s also a tough resilient fabric that will stand up well to the weight of any items it’s pockets are loaded with.
This is a lot of analysis for a vest, but we are a clothing company and have always taken the details of things quite seriously. You might even find one or two surprises included in this vest!
