Start With Typewriters

A while back I had the wonderful opportunity to talk to Yuki Matsuda of Yuketen. I’ve always been a huge admirer of his designs, especially Monitaly. Yuketen has really paved the way for the resurgence of Made in the USA footwear and continues to remind folks that there is still great stuff made here (sorry American Apparel).

I spoke with him a bit about his vision and ideas for Fall/Winter 2010. Here’s what he had to say…

What motivated you to start Yuketen and become a company who manufactures in the USA when few companies were?

What motivated me was the desire to become involved with design and manufacturing of made in USA products because I love classic made in USA product design and ingenuity.  …

I’ve been waiting to put this up for a while now, I know spring/summer just hit stores but these new kicks from Yuketen are the bees knees!

Angler Moccs, Hunting Boots, Maine Guides and even that slick red parka from Monitaly!…

This morning it snowed… now its nearing 40°F

Spring is chasing down winter in NYC today.

In my opinion this is the perfect outfit for one of those days. Most likely your office is blasting the heat to compensate the low temperature this morning. So it helps to have  a lighter (I wear madras year round) shirt, some cotton cargos and dirty bucks. If you’re a wuss like me and you’re never warm enough you can wear a knit cap (one of my favorites)

Is it Groundhog day yet?

Shirt by J.Crew

Pants by Mark McNairy for ACL

Shoes by Yuketen

Hat by J.Press…

Another favorite of (capsule) for me was Yuketen.

For those of you who aren’t familiar with brand Yuketen was founded by Yuki Matsuda (above) who used to work in a “Made In The USA” shop in Japan. He had always admired hand sewn moccasins and immigrated to the US to do so. With an unbelievable commitment to quality. Yuketen’s shoes are perhaps the finest hand sewn shoes on the planet. Unfortunately quality comes with a price. Your average Yuketen is over 3 hundo. Though they do go on sale and yes exist on eBay.

Check out some of the other looks…