Our Story
Created by 20th Century Clothiers Ltd based in Yorkshire, England - the team behind vintage ladies-wear brands ‘The House of Foxy’ and ‘Pretty Retro’; Cousin Jack Heritage Menswear evolved from a healthy respect for the ‘well dressed man’ and a desire to see more.
We love vintage style, we love history and it’s no secret we are proud Yorkshire folk that relish in the eccentricity of our fantastic hard working and diverse county. The origins of the Cousin Jack name pay homage to this - a tale from the Industrial Revolution that saw mass movement of people move to the midlands and the north of England for work in the new textile mills. Many of these men were from Cornwall where the word ‘cousin’ was a term for a friend or acquaintance rather than a family member. They started the altruistic trend of asking their employers for a job for their ‘Cousin Jack’ and the phrase stuck. A ‘Cousin Jack’ is a friend or any/every man and whilst this term is no longer in fashion - we loved its story and how it related to the menswear we wanted to create.
The idea was to create a collection of heritage inspired ‘looks’ that would appeal to many men rather than one style that would only appeal to one group.
The Character Collections
Our Cousin Jack characters are based on names of men who worked in our mill earlier this century - we don’t know them but we had a lot of fun creating them. Perhaps they are looking down on this with a mixture of smugness and pride.
First we introduce Gerald who is our country gent. He loves his heavy wools and tweeds. He’s daring in his plus fours but loves the fine look of a fishtail back trouser and matching revere waistcoat.
Our Homely Fred prefers a simpler life and easy wear with washable fabrics and comfy styles. He loves nothing more than lounging in his classic pyjamas on a Sunday morning.
Tommy is the working man, needing styles and fabric worthy of hard wear.
Soon they will be joined by Lawrence, the artist in the group with styles more suited to the warmer months and Jeremy, the showman at heart who tends to only wear pin stripes.
To see more about these collections - coming soon.
And Finally…
All our products are designed here in Elland, West Yorkshire - based on or inspired by original garments, patterns or photographs. We have improved where necessary and taken the best features where we can - all to ensure a great fit on the modern man. We manufacture either on site or in specially selected factories in the EU - where we are confident of the essential ethical standards. Our fabrics are selected from quality EU or UK based suppliers such as Abraham Moons in Leeds and Brisbane Moss in Todmorden.