Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/464218
S P O R T I N G C L A S S I C S 7 6 means anything to you. It meant nothing to me, so I called my friends at Horsewright Clothing and Tack, makers of—among other great products—the finest handmade wool vests in the world. Single-needle stitching is a finishing process that is done to the edge of the fabric to add strength and finish to a seam. Are you still with me? Serging, sometimes misspelled "surging," and sometimes referred to as an "overlock" stitch, uses multiple threads to bind the edge of the fabric and prevent fraying. Whenever fabric is woven, there are longitudinal threads (the warp) that run in one direction, while the other threads (variously called the woof or the weft) run at right angles to the warp. In a cheap product, stitches are simply driven through the fabric, which means they rely on the warp and woof to hold them. Over time and with repeated use (think of the repetitive putting on and taking off of a garment) the warp and weft—or woof—can literally become unwoven. Serging incorporates multiple threads in both straight and zigzag patterns to add strength and prevent that from happening. It's the kind of small detail only an expert would think to look for, but it's also the kind of detail that means a garment won't begin to disintegrate two weeks into your safari of a lifetime. Because the firm of Avedon & Colby is so new, only shirts are available at this writing, but Burt Avedon told me they have other items in the works, clothing as revolutionary in its quest for perfection as their shirt, clothing I am looking forward to seeing. It's hard to explain how over- designed and over-manufactured this shirt is. The best way to describe it is to say that anytime you put on a new piece of clothing, it has a certain effect: a dress shirt or a new tie may make you feel a little more handsome; a new suit might make you feel a little more elegant or professional. This shirt is exciting to wear. It makes you feel like a cross between Indiana Jones and Harry Selby. It makes you want to grab your Westley Richards sidelock and go hunting. S o far, Avedon & Colby's product line comprises a single shirt that comes complete with a user's manual.