Finally Trying Out SFC

When considering a career in classic menswear, specifically when you want to design garments, it can be tempting to simply offer agnostic basics that aim to take all the ~~introspective thought~~ fun out of dressing. After all, the money is in a mass market audience, so the more people you can dress, the better right? But for those who view this as a hobby (passion might be the better word for this discsussion), this is unacceptable. The pursuit of Expression is the seductive part of menswear; life is only worth living when we wear things that excite us. Some guys aren’t even satisfied with simply wearing the clothes they like. They aim to make them too.

Scott Frasier Simpon is that guy who makes what he likes.

Scott is the eponymous guy behind the Scott Fraser Collection. His RTW and MTO garments are the epitome of midcentury sportswear, consisting of Italian knits, leisure suits (no, not the 70s ones), and almost every variation of the Theme of “wide, high-waisted pants”. When I first “met” him in 2015 (he reached out to me first to interview me for his own blog), his product offering was accessories like wallet chains and belts and a few reproductions of knit shirts from iconic films like Goodfellas or The Talented Mr. Ripley. But Scott is much more than now, coming into his own as a designer with a specific theme and throughline. Now you can get a complete wardrobe courtesy of SFC’s contemporary-meets-vintage approach that brings together lifts of 1950s casualwear, whispers of 80s Armani suiting, and an incredibly slouch attitude that seems almost jazzlike with its ease (and Scott is a big music guy). All of his garments have an incredibly small production run which really makes each garment quite special, both to Scott and to the eventual purchaser.

I appreciate that Scott’s first and foremost priority is to make clothes he likes with their accompanying, painstaking details, with the hope that other people will share his passion. Thankfully this has been the case. Scott is incredibly popular within my circles of menswear, seeing as his approach to clothing is exactly what they want: casual clothing with a distinct POV. Scott’s certainly enjoyed some well-deserved attention in recent years, no doubt due to the Post-Pandemic Mood that has indirectly celebrated everything that he likes. I guess his years of vintage collecting and rewatching movies like The Talented Mr. Ripley has paid off! He truly makes what he likes and has managed to make a living off of it, which is why Scott has truly been one of my favorite people in menswear to watch.

Obviously, my interest in Scott is more than just appreciation and admiration. I really do like his clothes. While I may have a more “trad” approach to the suit-and-tie aspect of menswear, I definitely have more of a “fashiony” attitude with casual clothing, where I use a big silhouette in alternative pieces to approximate the concepts of trad tailoring. SFC fits that to the bill, especially with his approach to trousers. The 14″ leg opening on his Gaucho Pants has been on my radar for years.

My friends and a few Patreon Discord are also big fans of SFC, mainly because they are more casual guys. Again, it makes sense that a brand that has such a pointed aesthetic in casual wear would be popular with guys who well, want to have intention from every facet of their wardrobe. Yes, the Italian knit sport shirt has risen to nearly mainstream popularity over the years, but fast fashion versions do not fit the bill in quality, materials, or design details. For most guys in menswear, you either attempt to buy it vintage…or you buy SFC.

That being said, it can be hard to make the leap. The small-scale production (both for RTW and MTO) goes hand-in-hand with a higher price and a longer lead time which while certainly worth every penny-minute, can make some people hold off from committing. I’m definitely guilty of this. As I try to slow my purchases, I’ve definitely preferred to buy things that I can try on/get a fitting for; the same can be said of Spencer and MJ as they start to move into the next phase of adult hood and start their careers.

@ethanmwong
A bit chaotic to do all the clips AND do voice over, but hopefully this showed what the brand is like. Ive been mutuals with Scott for almost a decade and it was such an honor to finally get to see his stuff in person. Be sure to check out Scott Fraser Collection for yourself. Its totally worth it! And hop on my blog for a more detailed rundown and photos. #menswear #fashion #vintagefashion #scottfrasercollection
♬ Alvarado – LA LOM

Apparently, Scott heard me and decided to organize an April trunk show in LA just for us. I guess his hearing wasn’t that great, as he set to host it in Culver City, a place shall we say, incredibly traffic-intensive for me (the SGV) and Spencer (the OC). All joking aside salad, we were all incredibly excited to attend. I even saved up money for it. After all, we’ve been waiting years to be able to try on SFC’s incredible wares and ever since the Pandemic has cost LA its classic menswear brands, we were all beginning to be afraid that it would never happen (unless we happened to run into Scott during his NYC visits or straight up see him in London). Our fears were abated, though we only had a weekend to do it.

So when that much awaited Saturday rolled around, the guys and I (which included Jack and James, who luckily already reside in Culver City) made the trek. We even dressed up “on theme” with many of us in sportshirts and loafers: I wore yellow gab, MJ had a floral Marni x Uniqlo one, and Spencer and Jack had geometric ones. James was the only one in deviation with J. Crew’s own take on the button through, Italian inspired knit shirt. We headed off to Culver’s Platform, a “community shopping center” full of high-end…everything (there’s even a Monocle store there). Scott had secured space within the plaza that was meant for revolving pop-ups, a pretty fortunate option seeing as how other visiting brands (like Stoffa) tend to be inside existing shops. SFC would be able to have a vistor’s full attention, which was great because he brought everything with him.

Not only was every model of his trouser present, but he also brought his shirts, suit coats, cardigans, short jackets, and his upcoming tassel loafer. Every garment had as many size runs as possible in order for you to make an educated purchasing decision. Most things were MTO and MTM anyway, so attendees could simply consult with Scott and his friend Pascal directly, who were able to make any edits needed. I was actually quite surprised to learn how much control Scott had over his custom program; quite a few attendees need a few adjustments to get the right fit and Scott was able to make it happen. It was honestly great to see him in action and serve a lot of interested people. I even think I recognized Jacob Gallagher of the Wall in attendance!

Even though I was there mainly for the pants (specifically the Gauchos), I made sure to try on as many pieces as possible. It was quite an educational experience, which is great for any potential future purchases provided I stay the same 5’8, 170 lb-ish Ethan Wong. SFC is cut quite generously, but we all know that there is lot more to fit than just “I can put it on”. Details and insights will be in the photo captions below, but here’s a summary for the lazy.

I fit a medium best in shirts and the Partner jacket. Small in his shirts tends to hug my biceps too much.
I can’t decide if a medium or a small would have been better for the Cruz jacket. I tend to prefer my short jackets to be right at the natural waist and to be cut a bit trimmer to emphasize a narrow waist and high rise trouser.
Small is good in the cardigan and blouson, both of which were really nice.
The Partner jacket is cool with the attached belt.
The SFC slim belts are great. Spencer bought a brown one.
Tailoring is a bit long, but that’s fixable if you talk with him. I tried on a 38 in the DB and a 40 in the SB.
The trousers are all cut really well with the proper grade of minimal taper except of course for the peg and alpine ones.
All of the fabrics feel amazing in person, especially the specialty ones. While I can’t deny that flannel is cool (especially in flecks and plaids), Irish Linen is the choice for LA people, as it is comfortable and in a good weight for maintaining great drape.
His upcoming loafers are really cool, appearing like a 50s model with a more minimal take on tassels and a rounded toe. They are available in black and burgundy. Unfortunately they didn’t have my size (an 8 was the smallest they brought and was too big) so I can’t speak too much on the fit.

And before you ask me, yes, I did buy something . As some of you know, wide brown and black trousers have been my favorite casual pieces to wear, taking their first appearance as Uniqlo U seersucker pants and later as drawstring easy pants that I’ve really worn into the ground. Getting them in his Gaucho model is the ultimate version, which is why I walked away with two of them in those very colors in heavy Irish linen.

The SFC Gaucho are Scott’s widest pant, having a girthy 14″ leg opening. For reference, I tend to mainly wear 9.5″-10″. The Gauchos are not just long; they feature a super high rise, sitting quite a ways above the belly button. They also feature a side fly, with the zipper and button closure being on the side seam, next to the right pocket. This gives the pants an incredibly minimalistic and dramatic appearance, which is why they’ve been on my list for years. I can see them with approximate-tailoring fits as well as Safincore.

Scott only had one model available for trial (it was his personal pair) and thank god it fit me…or as much as it could. It may look like they’re perfect in the photo, but we decided to make a few adjustments (he is taller and slimmer than me). The first was to increase the waist by 0.5″, from 31 to 31.5 which should help me wear them a bit higher (they are a super high rise) as intended; when I wore them, there was a little bit of room in the crotch. The other was to make the length 28″, which matches my other wide pants. Scott does wear (and recommend) them to be cropped, but we all know that I love thinking of casual pants as if they’re trad trousers, so a longer length was needed to make up for how the final pant will sit higher on me anyway. Plus a long trouser is easy to fix, but a too short one will leave you with regret.

After ordering the pants, the trunk show closed up for a bit to allow Scott and his team to rest and get set up for an evening soiree. The guys and I took the opportunity to get some coffee which was especially needed since MJ and I had woken up early that day to ensure we recorded a pod ahead of the over-an-hour-long commute to Culver City. We ended up checking out a few local stores (one place had kilim loafers) before heading back to the pop up for short stay.

At this point, drinks were out, the band was setting up, and a few people started pouring in. This was actually when I got to see Jack, who had gone to the trunk show right when it had opened up; he had a tintype photo session in the afternoon, courtesy of a birthday present from his wife. Unfortunately, MJ, James, and I couldn’t stick around long because we had a birthday event of our own to get to in Silverlake. We made sure to thank Scott and Pascal for letting us try on everything, answering our questions, and taking my order for the Gauchos.

It’s really hard to believe that I first talked to this guy nearly a decade ago. Now Scott is doing trunk shows across the pond and making some of the coolest clothes I’ve ever seen. I’m so happy to see how far he’s come and how he’s been able to stick to his vision of menswear and provide it for others to partake in.

The only question that remains is if I’m going to replace all the pants in my wardrobe with Gauchos. I kid, but not really.