Burt Avedon and Susan Colby, the former president and design director at Willis & Geiger, have created the ultimate, lightweight field pant to complement their award-winning Signature Field Shirt—both of which deliver performance and function without sacrificing quality, comfort, and style.
The new Signature Field Pants are sewn from the same 100 percent long-staple “tea-dyed” cotton bush poplin as the Signature Field Shirt. This unique fabric’s tight, compact, water-repellant weave of high-twist yarn is treated with a DWR finish after it’s been softened with a lightly peached finish that doesn’t weaken the fabric (unlike surface sanding, which abrades and weakens fabrics). The result is a lightweight, comfortable pant that is so durable and abrasion resistant it resist snags from burrs and thorns—and bites from ticks and mosquitoes.
This new product from Avedon & Colby is loaded with performance and comfort features not seen in competing products. A unique four-inch, seamless “crotch gusset” panel tapers gradually down the inside of each leg to just above each knee, eliminating binding and crotch seam irritation when climbing and hiking in the field.
Every fabric panel in the seat, hips, and legs is strategically contoured to allow maximum movement and comfort while maintaining a trim profile. The pants also feature a soft, comfortable waistband, a full-length (seven-inch) heavy-duty YKK brass zipper with hook-and-loop waist closure, and a full French fly to remove stress on the zipper.
Functional details are just as unique, and include eight oversized, two-inch belt loops with three “tunnel loops” at the side and center-back to help support belt-mounted camera cases, holsters, or knives.
Two highly functional side cargo pockets feature A&C’s Signature Tuck-In Flaps, which are secured with two hidden buttons and can be tucked in with no puckering of the flap material. Rear-facing pleats permit full cargo expansion without catching on thorns and brush, while no-rust thread grommets provide drainage.
Each cargo pocket also includes an inner, hidden security pocket that closes with a heavy-duty brass YKK zipper—as well as an open-top, outer patch pocket that will accommodate a cell phone or compact GPS unit.
The two extra-large hip security pockets close with heavy-duty brass YKK zippers, both Easy-Access front pockets are ten inches deep, and the interior “bags” of every pocket are constructed from the same fabric as the pants for extreme durability. The lower legs feature an eight-inch out-seam zippered opening with a cover flap and two-position snap tab for easy removal of field boots, and the back of each leg features six-inch, two-layer abrasion panel behind the heel.
“With our design philosophy of ‘function, not fashion'” explained Burt Avedon, “we always strive to make things better, never cheaper. Every performance feature and construction detail we design into our garments is vetted by asking: ‘How will it function in the field,’ and ‘Will it make this garment work better.’ That’s why our new Signature Field Pants cost more than other field pants, while delivering a whole lot more.”
The new Signature Field Pants are for sale at www.avedoncolby.com.
About Avedon & Colby
After 30+ years designing and supervising the manufacturing of more than 500 individual styles of distinctive garments and accessories for iconic brands like Willis & Geiger, Orvis, Beretta, Woolrich, Kevin’s, King Ranch, and Eddie Bauer, Burt Avedon and Susan Colby launched their first new line of high-performance field wear under their own label: Avedon & Colby. The first garment in the new collection was their Signature Field Shirt, which was introduced on October 1, 2014, and won a coveted “Gray’s Best” award later that year.
Burt Avedon, a decorated WWII and Korean War Navy fighter pilot, former Top Gun instructor, and president of Willis & Geiger from 1978 until 1999, was inspired to launch the Avedon & Colby Signature Collection on his 90th birthday.
“I figured there was no time left to waste, so Susan and I pulled out the stops to get our ideas down on paper and into production,” Avedon explained. “Then somebody asked me, ‘Why start at 90?’ and I replied ‘Why the hell not?’”
Burt Avedon: After a distinguished career as a Navy fighter pilot serving in combat during both World War II and Korea—and later as a test pilot, Top Gun instructor, and a bush pilot in Africa—Burt purchased Willis & Geiger in 1978. Founded in 1902, Willis & Geiger was the major creditor to the original Abercrombie & Fitch when it went into bankruptcy in 1977/’78. Armed with a Navy-financed Harvard MBA and three years’ experience as a professional hunter in British East Africa, Burt set about to revive the bankrupt company by re-introducing improved and entirely new versions of many of the iconic Willis & Geiger styles that had so capably outfitted adventurers and explorers like Teddy Roosevelt, Ernest Hemingway, Charles Lindbergh, Amelia Earhart, and others. When Land’s End closed Willis & Geiger in 1999 during a company-wide downsizing, Burt and Susan launched their design and consulting firm, Avedon & Colby, to create premium performance wear and accessories for leading outdoor and lifestyle brands.
Susan Colby: Susan joined Burt at Willis & Geiger in 1986 with an art degree from Smith College, following a successful career as first an art teacher, then as a member of Westinghouse’s Design Center, Associated Merchandising Corporation, and finally at Paul Stuart/NYC as a designer and buyer. Together, Burt and Susan designed garments and accessories for Willis & Geiger that blended the classic good taste of a bygone era of wilderness exploration with high-performance features never before seen by outdoor enthusiasts.