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The Outerknown Blanket Shirt is an inseparable part of our brand's story. What started with a stack of vintage blankets in the corner of our studio has become the undisputed hero of our collection ever since. We chatted with Outerknown Creative Director John Moore to understand how the Blanket Shirt came to be.

What was the inspiration behind the Blanket Shirt?
In the earliest days of creating the brand, before we even landed on the name Outerknown, there was a stack of vintage blankets in the corner of our studio from all over the world…been collecting them for years…couldn’t help but consider how cool it would be to build a shirt that felt like wrapping yourself in blanket. That was literally the jumping off point.

Was there a certain gap in market we were trying to fill at the time with the style design?
Growing up, surfing and skating flannels were part of the uniform (especially in the 90s), but they’ve become so commonplace and interchangeable in the market today. Everyone makes them, and they all look the same. I had purchased a heavyweight shirt jacket from a designer I admired. It was gutsy, but it was stiff as a board. It wasn’t soft at all. So we started there and imagined an opportunity to design and build a shirt that could rise above in terms of details and quality but feel vintage soft. A shirt that was never too precious for traveling – you can be rough and tumble with your Blanket Shirt, literally stuff it into the bottom of your bag, and then pull it out, and it’s ready to go on arrival. Also cleans up nice when you need it too. We literally challenged ourselves to make the most desirable and enduring shirt that feels like wrapping yourself up in a blanket.

Inspired by the stack of vintage blanket shirts, we tried to mimic the various woolen weaves in organic cotton that was durable, but also extremely soft. No easy task. We landed on our signature lofty twill weave that was strong enough, but also extremely pliable, breathable, and cozy when you tossed it on. Giving it the perfect fit and feeling.

From the beginning we reinforced it throughout with chambray lined yoke and side seams and finished it with the natural corozo nut buttons. We literally haven’t changed a thing about the design since the beginning, just always designing new patterns and colors to keep it fresh.

Did you have any idea it would be this popular and take off/resonate with such a wide variety of people?
Actually, yes, you could really feel the universal love for the Blanket Shirt from the beginning. The very first Blanket Shirt was called the “compass plaid” and it was in our inaugural collection in 2015. It was the piece everyone loved – men and women. We were only making men’s at the time, but all the women we knew were wearing it and talking about how much they loved it. We knew we were onto something. And then for our second collection, we added a serape stripe and that’s when the Blanket Shirt story really was realized. They were connecting so strongly with our community on the coast, but it was also the item every buyer ordered and the item that the press talked about. WSJ featured it with the best of what was happening at the time (attached) and everyone else featured it.

Honestly, it’s just seeing people wear it all over the world. I loved seeing Woody Harrelson wear it at Wimbledon, because I love that dude, but I get equally stoked seeing people young and old wear it everywhere. Women have been wearing them all along even before we made women’s specific styles, which is so cool. I recognize every single one we’ve made on the streets, and I enjoy getting DM’s from people I don’t even know from everywhere telling me how it’s become their favorite item of clothing.  I also once used my Blanket Shirt to wrap my breakfast burritos up and keep them warm in my bike basket. True story.

How has the program grown with the extension of Chroma, etc.?
Love the solid Chroma colors because the garment-dyed colors are knocked-back perfectly. Even in pictures or on the hanger, you can see and feel the softness with the way the wash characteristics come to life. The twill textures and all the highs and lows in the seams are so beautiful and just get better the more you wear them. Instead of the chambray lined yoke and reinforcements, it’s all garment-dyed to be the same tonal color. I wear the Chromas more than the patterns because they go so well with everything. You’re not in the mood for plaid every day, but these solids are always right. We update with fresh colors and patterns often, and the quality and feeling is meant to endure for years to come. Some of my favorite Blanket Shirts are still the ones we made at the beginning.

 

Any notes on the naming of the Blanket Shirt? It’s such a unique name of the style that evokes an emotional response.
The Blanket Shirt feels exactly like it sounds.  When you put one on, you’ll know immediately what I mean.

Any reason we went with an organic cotton over a flannel or any additional design fabric or nut button notes?
These are not flannels – they are Blanket Shirts.

And we made every decision deliberately from the twill weave texture to using organic cotton specifically because it uses less water to grow and has no harmful chemicals and feels fucking great; physically against your skin, but also knowing you made a more responsible choice.

I could never imagine doing this in conventional yarns – wouldn’t be the same. The lining and reinforcement details as well as the natural corozo nut buttons were all part of the original design and they are exactly the same today as they were in 2015.