The Palladium Pampa: Old School Tough

The Palladium Pampa boot is famous for its service with the French Foreign Legion in North Africa throughout the 1950s.

As a French company, Palladium began life in 1920 making tires for the aviation industry but expanded to boots in 1947. Made of canvas and rubber, the Pampa was extraordinarily simple and tough and as a result was adopted by the French Foreign Legion.

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The canvas boot was better suited for the hot, dry climate of North Africa than regular leather ankle boots and it excelled there in service with the Legion. The Pampa was used for many years in the deserts and Atlas Mountains of North Africa before eventually being replaced by more modern combat boots. But the story doesn't end there.


In 2009 Palladium reintroduced the Pampa to a new generation. While the same basic design remained roughly the same, many new variations were created with dozens of different color schemes being offered along with boots made from materials other than canvas. The many different styles and colors of boots can be found at the Palladium website. Also check out the "Explorations" link at the forementioned website to view some neat videos and images of interesting and sometimes forgotten places.




I recently picked up a pair of Pampa boots on a whim and am pleasantly surprised. While the boots look rough and rugged on the outside, they are extremely comfortable and could easily be worn all day long if needed. The laces provided are strong and plenty long to accommodate a variety of knots. One issue I do have with wearing them is they seem to trap heat inside, cooking the wearer's feet even on days that aren't overly hot. Though, in my mind that's a small price to pay to wear such tough, historical and cool-looking boots. The sizing appears to be right on the money.

The one piece rubber sole lends itself to durability as there are no weak seams that could split or seperate from use. The soles also have very deep and aggressive treads to help the wearer keep his footing on the harshest terrain. Notice the treads in the photo below along with the company branding on the ankle, much like that of vintage Keds and Chuck Taylors:




While I haven't owned these Pampas for very long, they appear to be a quality product that will last quite a while and will provide good use.
I intend to go hiking, fishing, shooting and rough around in these for the next couple months and will report the results back here.

So keep an eye out for that.

WIW: Spring Madras

Madras has recently come into fashion with younger folks but, unsurprisingly, it is a more traditional fabric pattern that your grandparents or great grandparents were putting to use long ago. Below are a few 1930s Esquire and Apparel Arts illustrations that put "Indian Madras", as they called it, to work.

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And while I'd never be caught dead in this suit, the shirt did give me a bit of inspiration last Sunday:



Here is my take on the Madras shirt/jacket combination.




Madras is a loud fabric pattern and therefore should be worn with restraint. However, when worn right it will add a dash of color to any warm weather outfit.

Photo Shoots, Part 2

The next installment. Again, photos taken by professional photographer Cassie.

In this series of photos I'm wearing my 1941-dated heavy weight tweed 3-piece. Thankfully this day was rather cool and windy, otherwise the heavy tweed would have been unbearably hot.

Note in these photos how well the heavy material drapes, especially in the trousers.

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The hat is a 1930s fuzzy Borsalino. Great color, a light pinkish-gray. The tie is a 1950s nubby and was made for this suit.





:P

Photo Shoots, Part 1

I've been off taking photos in different suits and outfits with an awesome wedding/professional photographer, Cassie. Check out her website here.

Below are some of the photos we took.



First a 1940s leather jacket with a very itchy modern wool sweater.

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Then a 1930s English Drape sport coat with 1930s wool tie and modern shirt and trousers.








Cassie:


More to come in a bit.

The Duffle Coat: Unrefined Style

Like many garments found in our closets, the duffle coat has its roots firmly set in the military.

Originally introduced in the Royal Navy, the duffle coat is a loose, rugged coat that was originally designed with utility in mind but can add a casual dash of character to an outfit.

A duffle coat is identified by the heavy weight wool it is made of along with its hood, double patch pockets, medium length skirt and, most notably, toggles made of either horn or wood. The coat may or may not have a hidden zipper though traditionally the zipper is lacking.

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The duffle coat is usually found in traditional colors like camel, dove gray and navy though they can have many other colors and patterns to them, as my Tommy Hilfiger duffle coat below demonstrates.

Wear a duffle coat casually with either your everyday clothes or a sport coat and tie. It is a garment that was orginally meant to keep the wearer dry and warm on the decks of ships and submarines during war and as such should be paired with other hardy pieces. Wool, flannel, corduroy, denim and knits work well with the duffle coat.

WW1 RN submarine officer

A duffle coat will serve you well as these last cold days of winter fade away into Spring.

WIW: Houndstooth and Pastel

A peacock is bright and memorable. But we remember the peacock for his feathers and nothing else. We don't think of his legs, beak or head as the source of his beauty, only his feathers.

The peacock can teach us a valuable lesson: one of restraint. The peacock has one feature that stands above the rest: his feathers. The same should apply to the stylish man.

If a man is to wear an outfit with a single garment that is wild and perhaps gaudy, he should show restraint with the rest of the outfit. One crazy garment will draw the eye while two or more crazy garments will poke it out. Pairing together too many gaudy articles of clothing and creating too many focus points will give the wearer an appearance of trying too hard. Keep it simple and you will go far.




For example, today I wore a rather crazy 1940s lounge jacket. No doubt I could have paired it with trousers that are just as wild and looked like a clown as a result.

However, I used pastel colors and toned down garments to counterbalance the crazy monochrome jacket while adding some color.

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Note that the jacket has a fairly large houndstooth fabric pattern. Not only that, it is in black and white.



The simple pastel colors found in the hat, shirt and socks help counteract that wild pattern and monochrome color scheme, turning the sensational into something more pleasing to the eye.

Throw in a pair of vintage Florsheim shoes and you get a very nice casual outfit.


Like the peacock, show some restraint when putting an outfit together.

John Lobb: Handmade Shoes

Want to take a look at how bespoke shoes are made the old way? Watch the video at the following link.

John Lobb custom shoes

You rarely find that kind of quality nowadays though it was commonplace 70 years ago.