Le Laboureur Jacket
Laine Gris

Did I ever tell you about the time I went on a French trip when I was 18 with college and asked a farmer where he got his jacket from? He gave me a strange look, wrote down the words “bleu de travail – Le Lab” in my French dictionary and pointed at a blacksmith’s shop down the road. Did I also tell you that I went to the shop, bought a jacket and then found out it was going to take two weeks to be delivered and I was only there for one more day? Then because I was so embarrassed about it, I pretended to my mates that I’d donated the money to a local charity? Oui, c’est moi. That’s how my love affair with Le Laboureur began.

When it comes to workwear, the French have always seemed to be light-years ahead. They developed a form of denim which originated in Nîmes, the first ever shoes built for farming were designed in Izeaux and those wonderful blue jackets worn by everyone from brick layers to Matisse were, of course, designed and made in France. These items are now staples of many wardrobes, but we thought that it was important to celebrate one of the originators of the ‘bleu de travail’ jacket and welcome Le Laboureur to the TRiCKETT shop.

This particular chore coat is made from super-heavy undyed wool that comes from the tiny island of Ouessant in the far north-west of France. The wool comes from light coloured fleeced sheep which is heftily woven into this beautiful fabric and then dyed into this beautiful shade of grey in France. It has a slightly harsh handle to it so we recommend wearing it with long sleeves, however it is extremely warm, super rugged and even has quite a water resistant quality to it which is incredible. When I visited Nice, I popped into Tresors Publics and our man Nicolas told us that these jackets were designed for shepherds to wear from morning ’til night to keep them warm and protected from the wind and rain and, by crikey, do they do that!!!

The jacket comes with a 5-button (and how ace are those buttons???) fastening to the front with hemmed sleeves and has three patch pockets to the front and one inside chest pocket for all manner of storage.

Talking of inside pockets, there is a wonderful woven label that is absolutely massive on the inside chest, why is it that big? Who knows, but I think it looks really good. So whether you are a Fauvist painter, farmer, bloke who thinks I can roll cigarettes or just someone who likes really nice jackets to walk about supermarkets in, this one by Le Laboureur will keep you looking sharp for years to come.

100% wool.