January 7th 2024

On January 4th, the NYTimes came out with an article titled “A Good Coat Is Hard to Find” by Steven Kurutz. It profiles a British company named Paynter Jacket Co., which produces limited one-off batches of classic coats for pre-orders only, before moving onto a new style for the next batch. The second paragraph of that article mentions the “blue chore coat”, which Paynter originally produced for Batch 1 but then reproduced by popular demand for Batch 3.5, the latter of which was released in May 2020 for $228 and sold out in 86 seconds. 

But here’s the thing—we sell the original version their coat was modeled on, and at a much lower price.

A “chore coat”, or a “chore jacket”, is not specific to Paynter—it’s a style of workwear that came about in the late 1800s, made from heavy cotton drill or heavy cotton moleskin. While they were made in different colors, blue was always the most popular color—indeed it’s the origin of the phrase “blue collar worker”—and it remains the most iconic.

If you’ve been following us for a few months, then you would know all that, because the chore jacket is also known as the French worker’s jacket, aka our French worker jacket, about which we wrote an article in July. Originally the two classic shades for the chore jacket are Bugatti Blue and Hydrone. The Bonde French worker jacket (in Bugatti blue) is the original cut, manufactured by hand by Le Laboureur, which is a family-run business of artisan tailors in Burgundy. Le Laboureur is one of the three original French workwear brands (along with Le Mont Saint Michel and Vetra) and has been making traditional workwear for almost 70 years.  

So, if you had been pining after the iconic blue Chore coat in Paynter’s archives, which is never to be produced again, don’t despair! We have your Bonde Le Laboureur Cotton Drill Bugatti Blue Chore Jacket ($145), and you don’t need to order it in an 86-second window, either. Shop our Blue Chore Jacket (aka bleu de travail, French worker’s jacket, etc.) here. Or stop by Bonde Fine Wine.

Important: This "work" jacket should be worn in the traditionally loose style. It is therefore recommended to choose one size above your corresponding waist measurement.