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L.L. Bean celebrates a century of a men’s style icon

The 100th Anniversary of the Field Coat

By Mark D McKee Published September 27, 2024

Three LL Bean Field Coats — Courtesy of L.L. Bean

There is no denying that men’s clothing carries a message. Maybe you are the guy that loves the shiny and new, always looking for the best updates to your wardrobe. Or maybe you are the guy that looks to keep the same look with the same kind of clothing from season to season. Either way, there is something that a lot of clothing carries that we don’t talk about…memories. L.L. Bean knows this better than anyone, as they have an icon that collected memories through the decades…the iconic Field Coat.

Starting as Leon Leonwood Bean’s Maine Duck Hunting Coat in 1924, the coat was built out of necessity for hunting in the Northeastern fall seasons. Using Army Duck to waterproof, it evolved through World War II and beyond to remain the founder’s most iconic product. Now, after a century of collecting passed down memories of hunting, camping, and other outdoor trips, it celebrates its 100th anniversary with a new collection.

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A limited edition celebration

LL Bean Field coats on line — Courtesy of L.L. Bean

To celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Field Coat, L.L. Bean turned to renowned vintage curator Wooden Sleepers to create a new collection. Wooden Sleepers came up with twelve unique designs that call back to the heart of the history of the last 100 years of excellence. This marks the second time the two of teamed up this year, as they collaborated earlier this year to create an anniversary line for the tote as well…which sold out in the first 24 hours — and this collection followed suit.

“The L.L.Bean Field Coat is an icon of style,” says Brian Davis, founder of Wooden Sleepers. “Found everywhere from the streets of Bushwick to Bar Harbor. If you look at a Field Coat from the 1950s, ‘60s and ‘70s through today, some details have changed, but the overall design has remained intact. Knowing L.L. himself had a hand in designing it makes it that much more special.”

Editor

Mark cut his teeth in the men's style world when he sold suits first at box stores such as Men's Wearhouse and Jos. A. Bank…

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Breitling’s new Top Time is a wearable tribute to the Aston Martin DB5

The new watches rep the iconic Bond car right down to subdials shaped like its dashboard gauges.

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Breitling just released a trio of heaters: the Top Time B01 Chronograph 41 Tribute to Aston Martin DB5, a three-edition collaboration with the British carmaker. The connection between the Swiss watchmaker and the British car company runs back to 1965, when a Top Time ref. 2002 appeared on Sean Connery's wrist in Thunderball, worn alongside the DB5 — the first Q-modified watch in the Bond series. It's a nice bit of trivia that the DB5 and that Top Time shared the screen in the same film, and both went on to outlive the movie by decades.

The car cues go deeper than the "squircle" gauge-shaped subdials: a wooden inner ring nods to the DB5's steering wheel, and each edition rides on a hand-colored gradient calfskin strap meant to read like automotive upholstery. All three run on Breitling's in-house Manufacture Caliber 01, a COSC-certified automatic chronograph with a 70-hour power reserve, visible through a sapphire caseback and finished with an Aston Martin-engraved rotor. The case measures 41mm. The editions are divvied up by material and rarity. Stainless steel with a silver dial is limited to 1,022 pieces and sticks closest to the original ref. 2002, while steel with a platinum bezel and black lacquered dial drops to 315 pieces.

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Look to the sky for these space themed watches

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It was the 1960s. We were in the middle of a Cold War with Russia, and instead of escalating to an actual war with bullets and bombs, we took the conflict to the sky. We created a war of economics, science, and morale in a race to the sky to be the first nation to reach the moon. While the race picked up throughout the decade, it came down to the wire before the USA won the race by landing on the moon (if you believe that sort of thing and don't believe Stanley Kubrick directed the greatest ruse of all time). In any case, no race can be run without a good timekeeper. And watches were a must-have for all involved. Ever since, chronophiles like me have been obsessed with space-themed watches and, in particular, moon mission watches.

That is why I happened to have this list in my head. Five watches that bring the space race and the great beyond to the forefront of thinking to build a collection that is out of this world.

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Legendary designer has a project coming up you may not know about

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Tom Ford is a name that every fashionisto knows well. He is the top of the top when you talk about famous suit makers. He began his career changing the landscape of multiple brands, including Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent, before launching his own self-named brand of his own in 2005. The brand has remained a mainstay in the industry for the last 20 years, including the acquisition of Estée Lauder in 2022 for an estimated $2.8 billion. For the movie buffs in the room, you also likely know about Tom Ford because he became the exclusive tailor and suitmaker for Daniel Craig's James Bond for Quantum of Solace in 2008. He carried that gig all the way through the series and defined men's style for two decades.

Now, for the real cinephiles in the room, you may also know that Tom Ford himself is a movie buff and entered the industry as a writer and a director in 2009 by directing A Single Man with Colin Firth and Julianne Moore. Then again in 2016 with Nocturnal Animals with Amy Adams, Jake Gyllenhaal, and Michael Shannon. Of course, the wardrobe was stellar in both, and we will get a chance to see his talents onscreen again this fall with a new Anne Rice adaptation, Cry to Heaven.