Monday, November 24, 2014I am a fan of the UP and hope to retire there in a few more years. From snowshoes to cutting boards to knives, I am happy to buy many handcrafted products from there. I own a number of Stormy Kromer hats and a Mackinaw coat. I appreciate the quality of the fabrics and the workmanship in those products but my recent purchase of a Button Vest has me wondering what has changed.
I was delighted to see the button vest was available in tall sizes. I purchased one that arrived last week. The good news is the vest is constructed of heavy wool. Unfortunately, the overall workmanship on the vest leaves something to be desired. Where the stitching on the Mackinaw coat is well done, the seams on the vest are crude, at best. Where the inside seams of the Mackinaw are dressed in fabric and well-stitched, the inside seams of the vest simply tack down the wool, leaving the edges exposed. In the armhole where the side and back panels meet, the seam ends with a pointed end and the stitching stops short of the end of the seam....at best a recipe for fraying or for the start of the seam to unravel. The bottom edge of the wool is trimmed in a black fabric but where the cloth is folded and well-stitched on the Mackinaw coat, the cloth isn't folded over on the Button Vest and after just one wearing the edges of that fabric are beginning to fray.
While I highly recommend the Stormy Kromer hats and the Mackinaw coat, I suggest you look to other American companies for purchasing a durable, well-constructed wool vest
