The Kinsman waxed-cotton hunting vest from the outdoor clothier Tom Beckbe wears its Southern heritage close to the chest. Literally. When the owner, Radcliff Menge, wanted to add a hint of color, he remembered the orange-red clay fields along Alabama’s Tombigbee River. So the vest’s cotton twill liner gets dyed with clay in Bessemer. That’s a long way from Wall Street, where Menge worked as an attorney—a time that inspired the launch of his line. “Living in New York, you walk everywhere,” he says, “which means you really think about outerwear.” When he couldn’t find anything to suit, Menge located a pattern maker in Florida to work on a coat he designed—what would become the Tensaw jacket. The Kinsman carries the same DNA. Tailored a bit trimmer than other brands, the vest is cut from 8¼-ounce cotton cloth—a tad heavier than a Barbour coat but decidedly lighter than Filson’s famously sturdy duds.
>Kingsman vest, $395 from tombeckbe.com
MORE MADE IN THE SOUTH:
>Outdoors winner: Modus Studio
>Outdoors runner-up: Ian Balding
>Outdoors runner-up: Tom Beckbe
>Outdoors runner-up: Colter Atelier
