Our “RAIDERS” Fatigues are inspired by a pair of vintage M1941 utility trousers from our archives, a model issued to USMC personnel between 1942 and 1945 and referred to as second pattern. Again, we’ll pass on all design credits to Uncle Sam’s Quartermaster Corps, as our creative input was merely to adjust the fit to our liking from the original US Gov-issued fatigues.
All construction details and overall pattern were lifted from the original, granted period variations exist depending on contractors. The M1941 trousers are notorious for their extremely generous leg, shooting straight down from the (very wide) thigh. This “Navy Cut” leg was often tucked-in canvas gaiters.
We kept the idea of the wide cut – the RAIDERS are our widest pant silhouette to date – but tapered the lower leg slightly. There is still plenty of fabric!
The specific M1941 pattern features self-fabric pocket bags and chinos-style waistband construction.
As often, we played around with fabric options, and our RAIDERS come in two distinct versions:
For this option, we loved the look of our original beat-up USMC trousers a lot and couldn’t help going for a similar vibe, using a sturdy and crisp OD HBT (Olive Drab Herringbone Twill) ready for hard wear.
As a nod to wartime production crunch – surviving vintage specimen featuring contrasting panels from inconsistant dye lots are occasionally found – we played around with two different HBT colors on our RAIDERS. We didn’t want to go full harlequin, so all leg panels were kept as one shade of olive HBT, limiting the khaki HBT accents to the belt loops and lining parts. The contrast is subtle and the colors compliment each others, yet the reference is clear.
The MF® Raiders Fatigues are designed in California by Mister Freedom® and manufactured in Japan in collaboration with Sugar Cane Co.
