American manufacturing has been hit pretty hard lately, but boutique brands have a little more flexibility…and at least some of them are staying put.

Of course, it’s hard to know for sure, so A Continuous Lean has put together The American List, a handy guide to which brands are manufactured stateside, and it’s required reading for anyone interested in modern Americana. It’s also a surprisingly short list.

Our favorites are Red Wing, Billykirk, and Engineered Garments, but it’s striking how much they all have in common. There’s a lot of denim, a lot of flannel, and a lot of weathered fabrics; it’s what you might call the American style.

At least, the part of it that isn’t made in China.

Simon Spurr turned out yet another solid collection for fashion week—you can see it behind him if you feel like straining, or see our pictures after the jump—but the surprise this time around isn’t the swagger but the source.

This time around, Spurr is assuring customers that 90% of the product is manufactured in Italy, using the finest materials possible. It’s a bold statement, and a sign of how seriously manufacturing is being taken these days, at least by some designers. And if it’s not in line with his current stated inspiration—the movie 2001—we won’t complain too loudly.

Anything that gets us a few more Mimosa-hued parkas is ok with us.

See more of Spurr’s latest line»

For all our gushing about ACL’s American List, we’re more interested in how things are made than where. Of course, it’s easier to keep an eye on things if they’re domestic, but really we just want to see what those factories really look like.

Patagonia is giving us the next best thing with their latest site, the Tin Shed (via Josh Spear). It’s not exactly complete transparency, but it gives a peek into the early history of the brand, which turns out to look a little different than you’d expect.

More on the Tin Shed»

As your RSS feed can testify, Blue-collar nostalgia has gotten pretty hot lately. But while actual domestic production may be restricted to a smaller clique of labels, the iconography can still take you places.

Exhibit A: the latest line from BBlessing, a set of henleyed pullovers, dour pea coats, and appropriately gritty fingerless gloves. The sweaters especially bring out the spirit of declinist angst, but on a few items—the plaid dress shirts and tweed-y pants in particular—the BBlessing boys give away their twee origins. Not that we’re complaining; in fact, they’re to be some of the collection’s strongest pieces.

As for the industrial setting, it makes for a pretty striking photoset, but we doubt they’ll be cornering the dockworker demographic any time soon.

See the rest of the line»