Rising Sun: Part III

In our previous blog post about Rising Sun propreitor Mike Hodis showed off some of the treasured sewing machines he uses to produce his line. I certainly made some very good notes in case I came across any of the apparently impossible to find machines.

To get to the essence of Rising Sun --bluntly, their selling point-- I had to know whether his rare black head machines is the main difference between Rising Sun and other brands inspired by vintage workwear. "Just because you're sewing on old sewing machines doesn't mean much to me," says Hodis.

So what else is there?



It turns out that Rising Sun's philosophy on being "period correct" is more about mindset than replication. While Hodis is a long time student of turn-of-the-century vintage garments he does not show much interest in copying old clothing. Instead he has really gotten under the seams of those vintage pieces and mastered the details that show an article of clothing was made in, say, the 1920's. Just as there are certain methods and machines used for creating authentic keyholes there are nuances for pattern making, cutting, sewing, and every other step necessay up to the point of displaying workwear in the dry goods store.









Hodis explains that Rising Sun's outdoor hunting/fishing vest is sewn on the black head Singer single needle machine. Vintage pieces sometimes have the fabric selvage hidden down the back french seam, as a result of maximizing fabric utilization. I was surprised that this seemingly decadent use of selvage fabric actually minimized waste. The fabric itself is a playful twist to complement the authenticity of the construction. The 10.75 oz canvas has indigo yarns in both warp and weft and a selvage identification that manifests in the form of a ticking stripe of sorts down the center back where the actual selvage is hidden in the french seam.

It is in striving to be as authentic as possible in all these processes that makes Rising Sun so unique. And it seems that onces these constraints (of machines, methods, old timey standards for efficiency, etc) have been established Hodis is actually quite liberated to be as creative as he desires within surprisingly open boundaries.

Rising Sun's Yukon jean is an exciting exercise in being period-correct without necessarily copying a particular vintage garment.













So obsessed with the idea of crafting products as if his workshop were in an era past that Hodis recently shipped a Rising Sun order of jeans in hand-stenciled wooden crates.





























Rising Sun uses both USA and Japanese denim and offers both washed and unwashed jeans. It is currently being sold in Japan and Germany with US stores on the way.

Rising Sun Website

Disclosure: The editor of this blog continues to have a business relationship with Mike Hodis.