Tom Mix’s Hudson’s Bay Blanket coats

Tom Mix, the king of the cowboys, was a fan of Hudson’s Bay blanket coats for decades of his career, wearing his in a variety of films as well as off the set.
The first picture I can find of him wearing one is in 1918, in the film Ace High. He seems to have worn the style for the next 20 years until his death. During this time, there were three coats that I have been able to track down. The first and the second one are the same pattern, with subtle differences in the way the stripes line up distinguishing the two. In particular, the stripes on the shoulder yoke are a giveaway. The earlier version had a dark stripe centered with the pockets, while the second version had a white stripe. There were also differences in the color of the belt loops, and how the stripes lined up with the pockets.
The second version was a departure. The overall cut is somewhat simplified, without the large bellows pockets. Notch lapels replace the shirt style collar of the first two. The edges are trimmed with sections of dark stripe, and a dark zig-zag stripe is sewn to the chest, an exaggerated version of the western scalloped yoke. I particularly like the multi-tonal arrows running down the sleeves. Like other elements on this coat, these are cut out from the different color fields of a blanket and applied to the coat, creating the unique pattern.

1918- Ace High.
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1919 – The Wilderness Trail.
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unknown date-
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1923 – North of Hudson Bay
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c.1926 – Though the same cut as the c.1918 version, the stripes line up noticeably differently, particularly in the shoulder yoke. On the earlier version, the dark stripe lines up with the center of the pocket. On this version, it is the light background stripe which is centered. This version appears to have a buckle on the belt instead of buttons. The stripes of the body line up differently with the pockets.
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1928 – A different blanket coat comes onto the scene.
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1930 – Nash Car ad. The old style coat is still in rotation, but this appears to be the second version of it. In this picture, another difference from the first version of the coat is visible- the belt loops. On the earlier version in the same cut, the belt loops are made of the white portion of the blanket. In this version, they are part of a dark stripe.
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1931
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Unknown Date
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Pendleton Indian Blanket Coat

http://www.ebay.com/itm/281088061065

This vintage coat was made by Pendleton Woolen Mills. It is constructed from one of their famous trade blankets. It is a single breasted style, with a wide collar, and yoked shoulders. It has patch pockets with scalloped pocket flaps, and handwarmer pockets. It has a four button front. The coat is unlined. It has a 1960s style tag, but does not have the Woolmark you normally see on later tags.

Chest (pit to pit): 25″
Shoulder to Shoulder: 19″
Sleeve (Shoulder to cuff): 25″
Length (bottom of collar to hem): 34″

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1961 Sunoco work coat

http://www.ebay.com/itm/281082003793

This vintage Sunoco uniform was made in 1961 by the Hirsch Tyler company of Philadelphia, makers of precision uniforms. It is a four button, single breasted style, with wide lapels and a large patch breast pocket, embroidered with the Sunoco logo. Very stylish flaps on the pockets. The jacket has a warm blanket lining, and reinforcement backing buttons. Interestingly, the tailor and union labels are sewn to the inside of the jacket, as there are no inside pockets to hide them in, as would be typical.

Chest (pit to pit): 23″
Shoulder to Shoulder: 18″
Sleeve (shoulder to cuff): 25″

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Powr-House shawl collar mackinaw

http://www.ebay.com/itm/281078381329

This vintage shawl collar mackinaw was made under Montgomery Ward’s workwear label, Powr-House. This style was popular from the 1930s-1950s and the style remained basically unchanged during that time. It has a cotton shell, with a mouton collar and sheepskin lining. There are leather reinforcements at the corners of the pockets, and a throat latch under the shawl collar. The label and the quilted material in the sleeves make me think this is probably a ’50s version of the coat- earlier ones, while nearly identical on the exterior, would likely have had blanket wool linings in the sleeves. There is some light colored staining to the mouton collar, and at the bottom of the coat, some light colored staining, which cleaning has not been able to remove. The coat is labeled in the pocket as a size 42.

Chest (shoulder to shoulder): 24″
Shoulder to Shoulder: 20″
Sleeve (shoulder to cuff): 24″

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Red Stripe Blanket Coat

http://www.ebay.com/itm/281078373691
This vintage coat was made in the 1950s. It is made from a red and black double-stripe blanket material. This particular coat no longer bears its original label, so the manufacturer is unknown. The Hudson’s Bay Company was the most famous maker of these blanket coats, but I have not seen a red double-stripe by them. This coat is the iconic cut for this blanket material: double breasted, belted, with handwarmer pockets and patch cargo pockets. These coats descended from the blanket capotes worn by fur traders in the 18th and 19th centuries. Due to the costly blanket material, these coats were extremely costly new. They were the ultimate in outdoors garments at the time, particularly in Canada, balancing style and rugged practicality. This example bears evidence of a lifetime of heavy use at a cabin in Ontario.

Chest (pit to pit): 25″
Shoulder to Shoulder: 21″
Sleeve (shoulder to cuff): 25″

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LL Bean blanket stripe coat

http://www.ebay.com/itm/281078325621

This vintage coat was made by LL Bean. It is a classic striped point blanket style, made famous by the offerings of the Hudson’s Bay company. The HBC version had four stripes, of indigo, yellow, red and green. This version has broader stripes, of black, red and yellow. These coats were very expensive new, with their high quality blanket material, and were generally offered by the higher end outdoors outfitters of the time. This is a somewhat newer version, produced in the 1960s or 1970s, but its style is extremely classic with the biggest difference being its warm, bright red acrylic pile lining. It is a single breasted style with handwarmer pockets and flapped patch pockets.

Chest (pit to pit): 24″ (doubled = 48″ = size 44)
Shoulder to Shoulder: 19″
Sleeve (shoulder to cuff): 25-3/4″

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Eaton’s striped blanket coat

http://www.ebay.com/itm/271172356785

This vintage blanket coat was sold by Eaton’s under their “Gleneaton” label. It is made of a Canadian-loomed “Ayers” white and yellow point blanket. The coat has a double breasted front, and a quilted lining. It has a pleated vent, and knitted storm cuffs.

Chest (pit to pit): 20″
Shoulder to Shoulder: 16″
Sleeve (shoulder to cuff): 24″

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Soo Woolen Mills plaid hunting coat

For more Soo hunting coats, see: Soo1 and Soo2

http://www.ebay.com/itm/271166971319
This vintage hunting coat was made by Soo Woolen mills. It is a later variant on the ’30s Soo mackinaw I’m also selling, and while detailing changed over the years, that distinctive collar is still present.

Chest (pit to pit): 24″
Shoulder to Shoulder: 19″
Sleeve (shoulder to cuff): 24″
Length (base of collar to hem): 29″

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Maine Guide by Congress plaid hunting coat

This one probably dates from the 1950s or ’60s. Nice to see that brass talon with the red leather pull on it. It seems a lot of sellers use that particular design of zip to date something to the ’50s, but you see it used for decades after that.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/281073934823

This vintage coat is a “Maine Guide” by Congress. It has two handwarmer pockets, two buttoned breast pockets and a zipper front. The zipper is a brass Conmar. Taped seams inside, unlined.

Chest (pit to pit): 20″
Shoulder to Shoulder: 16″
Sleeve (shoulder to cuff): 24″

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Midwest Outerwear plaid hunting coat

http://www.ebay.com/itm/281073941433

This vintage hunting coat was made by Midwest Outerwear in the 1970s. It has a red taped Talon main zipper, and a nylon toothed chain pull zip on the pocket. The jacket has been heavily worn, with tears to the lining, staining.

Chest (pit to pit): 20″
Shoulder to Shoulder: 16″
Sleeve (shoulder to cuff): 22″

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