The CPO shirt takes its name from the rank in the U.S. Navy it was issued to: the Chief Petty Officer. By the early twentieth century, this garment had evolved from a simple uniform piece into a heavier wool overshirt designed for cold maritime conditions – durable, functional, and conceived for layering, and was worn as a light jacket as often as it was a shirt. It is precisely this quality, the intersection between the ease of a shirt and the warmth and structure of outerwear, that drew our founder to this archetype.
Where the traditional CPO shirt was conceived for exposure and hard use, the LR17 was imagined as a garment for the transition between seasons, to be slipped on for a fresh spring morning and removed easily once the day warmed. This is why the decision was made to apply the ‘Shukuju’ Japanese felting process to the LR17, though this treatment is not historically associated with the original CPO shirt.
Our founder had long been inspired by how Shukuju was widely used in the 1990s in Japanese fashion to transform wool in unexpected ways, taking a material historically associated with weight, structure and protection against the elements, and making it into something soft, light and more refined. The goal for the LR17, therefore, was to achieve a finish that feels luxurious against the skin, light enough to forget you are wearing it, while retaining enough structure to hold the iconic silhouette of the inspiration archetype.
The LR17 follows the proportions of the original CPO shirt faithfully: a relaxed, slightly boxy fit through the body, with a longer curved shirt tail and a characteristic unlined point collar. The garment is conceived as a true between-seasons piece – designed to be thrown over a shirt or jacket in the morning and removed just as easily. Every detail serves this purpose. The glossy enamel aluminium buttons are smooth and easy to manipulate. The back yoke is lined in silky rayon, ensuring comfort and ease of movement when layered against other garments. One contrasting steel button is placed at the right cuff – a small but deliberate variation that rewards close attention.
Assembly is carried out entirely using 100% cotton thread, consistent with all Superstitch garments. We love cotton thread for its ability to age and fade with wear and washing, along with the garment itself, its tone shifting gradually alongside the fabric, and shrinking slightly to sink deeper into the fabric. Seam allowances throughout the garment are carefully calibrated to follow the construction logic of the original period, contributing both to the silhouette and to how the shirt will develop with long-term use.
The LR17 is made from wool processed using the Shukuju technique (縮絨 in Japanese), meaning ‘milling’ or ‘fulling’. It is one of the foundational finishing processes in traditional wool production, in which the fabric is washed and agitated in hot water, causing the microscopic scales on the surface of the wool fibres to open and interlock with one another. The process changes the character of the fibre itself, resulting in a controlled consolidation of the fabric: denser, softer, and more unified in structure, with the weave itself partially obscured beneath the surface.
Shukuju can be applied at varying intensities, from light treatment, which adds softness and volume, through to heavier milling, where the fibres begin to felt entirely. The outcome changes significantly depending on the duration, temperature, and mechanical action applied. Therefore, the process demands close attention and experience to control. An additional complexity in the development of the LR17 was that the Shukuju treatment was applied to the fully assembled garment. This means that every element of the construction, the thread, the seams, the rayon lining, had to be calculated with this in mind. Through many rounds of testing we arrived at the specific calibration that gives the LR17 its unique character: light enough that the fabric retains an airy, supple quality and remains easy to wear, heavy enough that it has genuine body, warmth, and presence, and promising to become ever softer, more comfortable over time, without losing its iconic form.
380,00 €
Extra Small, Small, Medium, Large, Extra Large
Superstitch MFG.
13 rue racine, 75006 Paris FRANCE
Superstitch MFG.
13 rue racine, 75006 Paris FRANCE
SUPERSTITCH MFG. SERVICES
