Railroad shirt

It's also called a hickory shirt, because the fabric is known as hickory fabric. This is the shirt that built the whole country, and you've seen them before, most often on railroad men (never Railroad women), and all kinds of craftsmen.

I've worn this shirt for about fifteen years, after Pal Jeff reintroduced me to them. He's an ironworker, and this was the shirt of ironworkers. I've done a lot of riding in it, and can vouch for that it doesn't slow me down or make me dislike my bicycle.

It blocks some wind; it's easily vented with the buttons; it get sweaty if you do, and then it cools you as the sweat evaporates.

They're not the ticket for racing or lengthy rides in iffy weather with nothing underneath it, but it does well in dry weather, and you can layer wool beneath it for extra warmth, because it's cut full.  Of course it's fine off the bike, but don't wear it to accompany your wife or a date to a function where the other guys are going to wear ties.

Ben Davis makes hickory shirts, but not in all cotton, and no longer in America. The last all cotton American made one was Key, and before that, still being made in the 1990's, was Five Brothers. They're both still made, but not in America.


These shirts cost us $38, which in the normal world would mean a retail price of about $120, and no worker-guy is going to spend that on a shirt that used to cost him $25, or even $20. The cost of making in America is why Ralph Lauren goes off-shore, as they call it.

We're having these made here because we can't get them anywhere else. I'd rather buy Key or Five Bros. and sell them for $35, but that's a fantasty, so we're getting these. I'm getting four, because I can't see us doing more than one run of 260 of these, and four will last me till I die.

The fabric is really hard to find, but we got it, and we're planning one run of 260 shirts.
It's a work shirt and it'll last 8 years. Two big pockets fit even a full-sized rangefinder camera with a 50mm lens. There's a pencil pocket in the left pocket, accessed through a buttonhole in the flap.

The buttons are stitched with red thread, and there's no way to stitch buttons on any better than the way these are. But there's no lockstitch for buttons, so if one comes off, sew on the spare yourself by hand, and while you're at it, do the others.

It's a shirt you won't throw out or wear out. It will outlast the top five other shirts in your closet, so the cost per wearing is low. It's a perfect casual shirt for any outdoor use when it's not raining. Its looks diminish only slightly with rips (it's hard to rip), splattered paint, or spaghetti sauce stains. It will never be your wife's favorite shirt, but you'll wear it enough for her to get used to it.

Button down front, with a rounded collar we copied from a Gitman shirt. It's a nice look.

They're cut just a hair fuller than the seersuckers, but a large is still a large, etc. I happen to think women look great in shirts like this, but neither my wife nor daughters will even try one on for me.