Kamakura Oxford Cloth Shirts
It’s September 12th.
The year is 1964.
In a mass raid, Japanese teens in Oxford cloth button-downs are being apprehended by police in the streets of Ginza. Upwards of 200 on this Saturday night are arrested and questioned. At this particular moment, a wrinkly shirt with a button-down collar which signifies old money in the States, is an indictment of criminal behavior in Japan. Their egregious crime? Looking like a Kennedy.
How did we get here? Japan was gearing up for the Summer Olympics. The Tokyo government simply couldn’t tolerate the mere appearance of unruly loitering teens tarnishing their crown jewel of a district’s image. The eyes of the world would be on the nation in less than a month. The kids in Ivy League clothing had to go.
It is this rebellious spirit that Kamakura Shirts conscientiously weaves into each Oxford cloth shirt they make. The buttons are natural shell*. The interlining is non-fusible. The needlework is 22 single needle stitches per inch. The attitude is nonchalant. The result is a soft-rolling collar shirt for $79, made in Japan. Perhaps they got the exchange rate wrong because we’re still scratching our heads over how they’ve pulled this off.
This spring, Kamakura is introducing a fistful of fun striped Oxford button-downs in all four of their fits. We love them paired with our wool/linen jackets and sport-coats (leave the button down collar unbuttoned). At a price of $79, it’d be a crime to not cop one. As for looking like a Kennedy, you’ll likely be acquitted if it’s JFK Jr.
*Unlike plastic, shell buttons don’t melt when ironed under high temperature. We don’t condone ironing—but then again, we don’t know your life.