Chinstrap WWII Army Shirt

Posted on March 31, 2014 by Spencer Stewart

http://www.ebay.com/itm/281298794445
This vintage shirt was made in the 1940s. it has two chest pockets one with a pencil pocket, double button cuffs and epaulettes. It has a chinstrap collar stand, a detail common on workshirts of the 1920s-1930s. The maker of this shirt likely was primarily a maker of those workshirts before being awarded the contract to make this one for the Army.

Collar: 15-1/2″
Chest (pit to pit): 20″ (doubled = 40″)
Shoulder to shoulder: 17″
Sleeve (shoulder to cuff): 24″
Length (Base of collar to hem): 31″

1960s Suede Trucker Jacket

Posted on March 31, 2014 by Spencer Stewart

http://www.ebay.com/itm/281298801105
This vintage suede leather jacket was made in the 1960s or 1970s. It is made in a two pocket trucker style- the leather version of a classic denim jacket. It is snap front and unlined.

Chest (pit to pit): 22″ (doubled = 44″)
Shoulder to shoulder: 19″
Sleeve (shoulder to cuff): 23-1/2″
Length (base of collar to hem): 23″

1952 Swartz Harris Tweed jacket

Posted on March 31, 2014 by Spencer Stewart

http://www.ebay.com/itm/271440224781
This vintage tweed jacket was made in 1952 by T.I Swartz & Sons, Inc. of Baltimore, Maryland for A.A. Marsteller. It is made from brown herringbone Harris Tweed, and bears the 1949 label design. It has a 1949 union label.

Chest (pit to pit): 23″ (doubled = 46″)
Shoulder to shoulder: 18″
Sleeve (shoulder to cuff): 25″
Length (base of collar to hem): 31″

1930s Black Bear Rain-Tite canvas suit

Posted on March 26, 2014 by Spencer Stewart

http://www.ebay.com/itm/271435185224
This vintage suit was made in the 1930s in Seattle, Washington by high end workwear and outdoor-garment manufacturer Black Bear Brand as part of their “Rain-Tite” water repellent clothes range. Black Bear Brand produced work shirts, pants, overalls, jackets and mackinaws from their plant on Rainier Ave. S. This suit is made from army duck canvas, the jacket from 10oz duck and the pants from 8 oz duck. It appears they both started out life a medium brown canvas, but years of wear and layers of waterproofing have darkened it. Both are extremely heavy duty, and are physically heavy and stiff, both from the material and from the wax proofing. The back of the jacket is two layers of the 10 oz canvas through the body, with three layers on the shoulders. The sleeves are two layers. It is constructed with overlapping capes and layers to keep everything dry in harsh weather. The pants are two layers as well. They are cut to be worn with tall boots. They have suspender buttons and belt loops. There is a crotch gusset, and a patch watch pocket inside the side pocket.

In the pocket of the pants, I found the package of a trolling spoon and an Elks matchbook advertising war bonds. This suit probably hasn’t been worn in a good 70 years or so if those are still in-tact in the pocket. The snaps are all branded “Union Made” as are all the buttons. There are union tags from the United Garment Workers of America inside the jacket and inside the flap of the back pocket of the pants. The waterproofing is still good- water beads up and falls right off. This type of suit was frequently worn by lumbermen in the North West. The heavy wear supports this. Going by the matchbook, the original owner of this one was probably from Vancouver.

Chest (pit to pit): 21″ (doubled = 42″)
Shoulder to shoulder (under cape): 22″
Sleeve (Shoulder to cuff): 20″
Length (base of collar to hem): 28-1/2″

Waist: 17″ (doubled = 34″)
Inseam: 25″
Outseam: 38″
Rise: 13″

A similar suit in the 1920s in Alaska. Photo from my collection

1930s Big Yank chinstrap workshirt

Posted on March 26, 2014 by Spencer Stewart

http://www.ebay.com/itm/271435207029
This vintage workshirt was made by famed workwear manufacturer, Big Yank, in the 1930s. The shirt has an extended, double button collar stand, now known as a chinstrap. There are two spacious, flapped breast pockets. Seams are triple stitched. Shoulders are reinforced, as are the elbows. The tails are gusseted. The blue chambray versions of this style were popular in the summer, while wool versions, like this one, were worn in the winter. There is the remains of a Dewitt Clinton Cigarette tax stamp in one of the pockets, possibly series 108 from 1938

Tagged size: 16-1/2
Collar: 16-1/2″
Chest (pit to pit): 24″ (doubled = 48″)
Shoulder to shoulder: 18″
Sleeve (shoulder to cuff): 23-3/4″
Length (base of collar to hem): 29-1/2″

1940s Hettrick American Field Half Moon Vest

Posted on March 26, 2014 by Spencer Stewart

http://www.ebay.com/itm/281294869181
This vintage vest was made in the 1940s by the Hettrick Mfg. Co. of Toldeo, Ohio. It is what is now known as a “half-moon” style, named after its round game pocket access on the front. This vest was intended for flyfishers, and has a fly rod loop to hold your rod and a multitude of pockets. It is made of green canvas. Wear to canvas. Missing fly pad. Period repair to back

Chest (pit to pit): 22″ (doubled = 44″)
Length: 19″

Advertisements for this model from 1940s Hettrick Mfg. Co. catalogs.

Jay Bar Are halfbelt

Posted on March 24, 2014 by Spencer Stewart

http://www.ebay.com/itm/281287612435
This vintage jacket was made by Jay-Bar-Are brand. It is made of wool gabardine in a half-belt style.Despite the western brand name, the style itself is essentially a fabric version of the horsehide leather jackets of the 1930s and 1940s. The back is belted, with a center pleat. The pleat has an arrowhead reinforcement stitching detail at its top. There are side adjuster belts with D-rings. The front has handwarmer pockets and a zipped breast pocket. The zippers are all rare Waldes brand, they style produced in the late 1930s and early 1940s.

Staining to lining. Missing second buttons on cuffs. Male zipper tape missing prong and should probably be replaced. Moth bites and wear, concentrated under left arm and on front of jacket by the zipper. See photos

Chest (pit to pit): 22″ (doubled = 44″)
Shoulder to shoulder: 19″
Sleeve (shoulder to cuff): 24-1/2″
Length (base of collar to hem): 25″

Rooftop Cowboy

Posted on March 18, 2014 by Spencer Stewart

Here’s a c.1920s photo from my collection. I tell you, this guy has the look. Cowboy hat and boots, chunky two-tone shawl collared pullover sweater, cuffed pants.

WWI US Navy Peacoat repro

Posted on March 15, 2014 by Spencer Stewart

http://www.ebay.com/itm/271423315528
This peacoat was made by Ralph Lauren and is a reproduction of the model worn in WWI. It has a ten button front, with both handwarmer and flapped cargo pockets. There is a short vent in the rear. The pockets are lined in corduroy. Buttons are reproductions of the 13 star buttons used on WWI coats, with the addition of the RL. The coat is fully lined, with two interior pockets.

Chest (pit to pit): 21″
Shoulder to shoulder: 19″
Sleeve (shoulder to cuff): 26″
Length: 32″

Early 1930s Woolrich 503 Mackinaw coat

Posted on March 15, 2014 by Spencer Stewart

http://www.ebay.com/itm/271423336178
This vintage hunting coat was made in Woolrich, Pennsylvania in the early 1930s by John Rich / Woolrich Woolen Mills. The 503 style hunting coat as been around with relatively few changes for the better part of a century, but the details make it easy to date. This is the earliest version of this coat I have seen.

While many Woolrich labels look relatively similar in isolation, the company changed their design every few years. This label was used in the very early 1930s. See the dating guide I have put together at the end of the auction. The snaps in this coat are by United Carr, and are a design only used from about 1930-1934. The top of the snap, with its line design, was used by Woolrich until about 1940. They switched to plain headed snaps during WWII, then to Woolrich branded snaps after the war. These early coats have asymmetrical breast pockets, while starting in the late 1950s, Woolrich switched to matching breast pockets. The brown buttons on this early coat are nicer than the red bakelite buttons which Woolrich began to use in the mid 1930s, which has a tendency to craze and crack over time.

Chest (pit to pit): 25″
Shoulder to shoulder: 20″
Sleeve (shoulder to cuff): 25″
Length (base of collar to hem): 28″

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Vintage-Haberdashers Blog

Quality vintage menswear

Monthly Archives: March 2014

Chinstrap WWII Army Shirt

1960s Suede Trucker Jacket

1952 Swartz Harris Tweed jacket

1930s Black Bear Rain-Tite canvas suit

1930s Big Yank chinstrap workshirt

1940s Hettrick American Field Half Moon Vest

Jay Bar Are halfbelt

Rooftop Cowboy

WWI US Navy Peacoat repro

Early 1930s Woolrich 503 Mackinaw coat