If you know you know

A Ghurka story

My dad and his friends shaped my style point of view. From a very young age, I looked up to these guys. Why? They owned cool cars like Triumph TR3s, Lancia Betas, Jaguar E Types, MGAs and Porsches. They had their jackets made by local Italian tailors (especially cool since this was Binghamton not Manhattan). Their watches were Swiss—like Rolex, Omega and Heuer. When they drove, they wore Ray-Ban shooters or oversized Porsche designed aviators. We would head up to Watkins Glen to watch car races—they even participated in a few of their own—racing their cars on the frozen lakes of upstate New York. Convertible tops down (if you owned one) with heaters blasting. These guys were cool, fun and irreverent, and I paid attention to every detail of their lives.

This is the period when I first clocked Ghurka: the satchels, duffles and garment bags that held their things. Tossed on the front seat or held onto the luggage racks of these fine cars—off to their idea of some exotic place like the Finger Lakes or the Adirondacks—not necessarily the Kalahari. Ghurka, as a brand, represented a sense of adventure, no matter where you were going.

Marley Hodgson founded Ghurka in the 70s after he acquired the tanning formula of the leather campaign gear used by the brave elite British military group called Ghurkas. He set out to create a collection af luggage and accessories that would stand the test of time. Ghurka was born out of a sense of adventure and a period of grand style. Each piece was designed to be beautiful, functional, and never trendy. Something that would last forever.

Made of leather and military twill in Norwalk, Connecticut—where they have been manufactured since the beginning—with names and numbered styles like: No2 Express, No1, 2, 3 Cavalier, Garrison No147 and Examiner No5, to name a few. There are accessories like belts, key fobs, knife rolls, corkscrews, money clips and fly rod cases. Their pieces are born from the tradition of making things that last and only get better with age. I know I am not alone when I say the more beat up they get the better they look—they should look like something that has been brought around the world with you and has lots of stories to tell. I often see them in airports, slung on the shoulders of younger men who either inherited them from their fathers like I did, or discovered the brand on their own, and on older guys as well. A Ghurka bag is always a conversation starter—it feels almost like an insider club. I’ve met numerous strangers on the street, subway, and airport lounges, purely because one or both of us are carrying a Ghurka piece.

I own many vintage pieces, as well as new pieces from the collection, which still possess all the classic design points. If you haven’t heard of Ghurka, do not fear, you can begin to create your own collection, to be ultimately passed down to the next generation. In a world filled with things that are often created to be disposable, it is refreshing to be carrying objects created for life. I’d say that a Ghurka piece gets heirloom status.