A Rugged American Bootmaker Is Getting Into the Menswear Business

Most of the time, when a shoe brand strays beyond its primary raison d’être, the results can feel like an afterthought at best, and a shameless cash-grab at worst. This isn’t one of those times. Danner’s line of thoughtful workwear complements the brand’s tradesman heritage and manages to uphold its commitment to meticulous construction and top-shelf materials.

The Cedar Mill flannel shirt, for example, features a beefy Japanese cotton flannel woven on vintage shuttle looms and is outfitted with details like flat-felled seams and corozo nut buttons. Double-knee pants use a hearty denim made from American-grown cotton woven in the one of the last-standing denim mills in the country, and are constructed with ultra durable triple-needle stitching. Barn-style jackets employ wind-proof Gore-Tex fabrics and taped seams for a modern take on a workwear throwback.

The highest praise I can give it, really, is that the whole collection seems like it should be exclusive to Japan, where the menswear scene is so enthusiastic for heritage Americana that brands often limit their most exciting drops to the country. It’s refreshing to see a collection as dialed as this one available in the states, mercifully proxy-free.

None of it’s groundbreaking—or, frankly, boundary-pushing. It is, however, true to the spirit of Danner in a way that doesn’t feel like selling out. If the goal was to make clothes as good as its boots, Danner succeeded by every metric on my list.