The Ultimate All-Purpose Winter Shirt-Jacket Bests Woolrich With Its Own Fabric

Gustin’s business model is brilliantly simple, completely unorthodox and pretty risky — but it appears to be working like a charm.

The key ingredient that deters most clothing companies from attempting it is an uncompromising commitment to the best possible quality in materials and manufacturing. The brand has established a strong trust with its customers, which makes the whole thing work.

Gustin

Gustin was founded in 2005 as an early adopter of the crowdfunding method, but rather than abandoning the technique once start-up capital was raised, it was baked into the business plan — more on that later.

An excellent example is the #28 Woolrich Vintage CPO Jacket, made by Gustin from a 12-ounce pure virgin wool milled by Woolrich. It is the blue and black version of the buffalo plaid popularized by Woolrich in the 1850s.

Gustin

The remarkable thing is that Gustin’s shirt-jacket blows away anything in Woolrich’s current lineup, including the Todd Snyder-designed pieces. With a burly 100-percent wool fabric, solid brass hardware and a genuine CPO design, it is more in line with vintage examples from the 1950s and 1960s.

Better still, it is selling for $199 during the crowdfunding stage, compared to Woolrich’s Alaskan Overshirt, which retails for $350. The latter option falls short, featuring a synthetic-blend fabric and cheap alloy hardware.

Reporting for duty

A personal gripe of mine is that most shackets marketed as CPO (Chief Petty Officer) jackets don’t include all the requisite details established by the US Navy-issued garment during World War II.

Gustin

Gustin’s example meets the appropriate weight, material, cut, pocket arrangement and — most importantly, as far as I’m concerned — has a throat latch tab. It was produced in Woolrich’s iconic red and black buffalo plaid in 2023 and is now available in the blue variety.

Like all of Gustin clothing items, the CPO Jacket is cut and sewn in the brand’s Northern California factory, and in this case, from Woolrich fabric that is dyed, spun and knit in Pennsylvania.

There are two chest pockets with snap flaps and an additional pocket on the left sleeve — sorry, south paws — designed for EDC tools. The body is faithfully cut long, as Navy sailors were required to keep it tucked in, and has a side seam yoke made from the same cotton fabric lining the hems, neck, cuffs and edges.

Gustin

I will concede that historically, US Navy CPO jackets were made with buttons instead of snaps because they were much easier to repair and non-reactive to extreme cold. However, Gustin still produces one of the best examples available, and the polished brass snaps look cool and will last longer than buttons.

Investment pieces

Every single item the San Francisco-based brand produces begins with what appears to be a standard online retail product page, featuring images of a sample paired with a detailed description of the item.

Gustin

The twist is that rather than buying the item up-front, shoppers can contribute a set amount to a crowdfunding goal, which is typically about half of the item’s SRP. Once the goal is achieved, the item enters production, and anyone who contributed beforehand gets a great deal.

A certain amount of stock for each item is then allocated to the brand’s standard online retail shop, where it is sold at the SRP stated during the crowdfunding stage.

The method significantly reduces financial risk for the company and offers shoppers exceptional deals on top-shelf garments. The risk for both parties is an assumption that every item will eventually reach its goal, which is where the trust and brand loyalty Gustin has gradually built up comes into play.

Gustin

Just like a Kickstarter campaign, customers invest in each Gustin item they want to see come to fruition, and the payoff is receiving it at an unbeatable price.

Availability and price

The Gustin #28 Woolrich Vintage CPO Jacket — each model is consecutively numbered, so this is the 28th type of fabric used for the CPO Jacket — is available for purchase in the crowdfunding stage for $199.

As of the time of writing, the jacket is 35 percent funded, and orders are expected to ship in January or February 2026, depending on how soon the goal is met.

This fantastic CPO jacket is currently also available in five other fabrics during the crowdfunding stage, including the black pictured above and a cool shaggy brown wool.

Gustin

Gustin #28 Woolrich Vintage CPO Jacket

• $199 at Gustin

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