Workers' "Lounge Jacket" was a big hit last time around.
When I tried it on at the WORKERS exhibition held by my comrade from Okayama, Mr. Tateno, my honest reaction was, "This is great."
He casually snapped a photo of me wearing it right then and there, and that picture ended up getting a fantastic response on social media.
That reaction was one of the sparks that led to this project; I asked, "Could we make a special version just for TCB this time?"
As I wrote when we released the Lounge Jacket previously: You can get away with wearing a chore coat to a place with a bit of a dress code, as long as you button it all the way up, right?
That is the sincere belief I hold as a 46-year-old man.
There are two things I assumed would naturally happen once I became an adult.
One was the days I’d casually throw on a tailored jacket. The other was the day I’d keep my own bottle of liquor at a snack bar
＊"Bottle keep" is a unique Japanese bar culture. It means buying a whole bottle of alcohol and the bar saves the leftovers for your next visit.
Unfortunately, neither of those days shows any sign of arriving.
Yet, the one item that made me think, "I’d actually wear this," was the Lounge Jacket—a piece that blends a tailored jacket silhouette with the essence of a chore coat, in true Tateno-san style.
This time, I wanted to infuse it with even more of a workwear vibe. So, we asked for a fabric that feels like the kind of workwear you’d find as a staple item in an American workwear shop.
We went with a T/C (polyester-cotton blend) twill that captures that exact atmosphere.
In short, a material reminiscent of the famous D brand. It’s a jacket you can wear without fuss and enjoy as you wash and break it in over time.
If you choose a slightly roomier size, it looks fantastic layered over a sweatshirt, too. And the feature that most clearly highlights this as a special collaboration is the label on the left chest.
Usually, a jacket's label is tucked away on the inside. But this time, applying a workwear mindset, we intentionally had it sewn onto the left chest pocket.
We've used the "Tora-chan" (my Tabby cat) label that TCB has been using for over a decade but for this jacket, we adapted it into a monochrome version.
On days when I feel like I need to look a bit more polished and grown, I throw on this jacket.
Maybe in the coming 10 years, this jacket will age and it'll look more natural on me, I hope.
