The history of coveralls and American workwear
Approximately 250 vintage items are featured.
"Vintage Coverall," planned and supervised by Takeshi Obuchi, the designer and founder of POST O'ALLS, is, as the title suggests, an archive book that thoroughly explores only one type of American workwear: the "coverall."
This book covers rare specimens from before the 1920s to those from the 1960s onward. 208 pages, full color, entirely in English.
As you flip through the book, you'll see that even clothes we usually refer to collectively as "vintage coveralls" are actually quite different depending on the era and manufacturer.
What Takeshi Obuchi has been pursuing for over 40 years
The author, Takeshi Obuchi, has been pursuing vintage workwear since the 1980s.
In 1987, he moved to New York, collected vintage items by visiting flea markets, studied at FIT, and established POST O'ALLS in Manhattan in 1992. He officially debuted the following year, 1993.
The brand's starting point was pre-war American workwear.
He reportedly researched sewing specifications, details, patterns, threads, and even sewing machines that had already been lost at the time, sometimes disassembling deadstock vintage clothing and exploring the structure by talking to people who worked in the industry in the past.
"Vintage Coverall" is a compilation of coveralls that Mr. Obuchi has been observing for many years.
Archive provided
Furthermore, 'Vintage Coverall' is not a book made solely from Mr. Obuchi's personal collection.
NIGO®, Kaoru Henmi of TIME WORN CLOTHING, KIRO of KAPITAL, Setsumasa Kobayashi of RESEARCH, and other leading collectors in the Japanese fashion/vintage world have contributed items from their collections.
Furthermore, established vintage shops such as SUNTRAP, PIGSTY, and COSMIC JUMPER are also offering rare coveralls from their respective archives.
On the night of the Koenji Awa Odori Festival
Today was the day of the Koenji Awa Odori festival. Once again this year, I watched the Awa Odori from the shop with the people from SUNTRAP and some senior vintage enthusiasts.
Every time a procession passes by, the sounds of bells and drums resonate through your body. The streets of Koenji, usually lined with vintage clothing stores, become the venue for a massive festival on this day.
And as I was leaving, I was given this "Vintage Coverall." I even received a souvenir.
SANTRAP will be celebrating its 30th anniversary in three years. Looking back, much of my criteria and knowledge for appreciating vintage items came from this shop and from the people who came before me.
I believe this issue of "Vintage Coverall" is another book that helps pass on vintage knowledge and information from person to person. I want to follow in the footsteps of my cool predecessors.
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