Swedish Army tanker / motorcycle jacket

http://www.ebay.com/itm/271761628954
This vintage jacket was made for the Swedish army. It is an asymmetrical pattern, with a large fold-over map pocket on the center of the chest. It has a cafe-racer style band collar with an adjustable strap to cinch it down. The jacket has a waist belt, adjustable cuffs and reinforcement at the elbows. It is made of very heavy green canvas, with a removable green pile lining for warmth. This is tagged a european size 52, which works out to a US 42. The pattern for these jackets is extremely oversized, as this, along with the matching overalls that would have originally been issued with it, were meant as an top layer with other winter gear underneath.

Tagged size: 52 (equivalent to a US 42)
Chest (pit to pit): 31″ (doubled = 62″)
Waist: 24″ (doubled = 48″)
Shoulder to shoulder: 23″
Sleeve (shoulder to cuff): 27″
Length (base of collar to hem): 26″

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1950s-1960s Mighty Mac Boat Coat peacoat

http://www.ebay.com/itm/271760788987
This vintage coat is a “Mighty Mac” Boatcoat. It is a peacoat style with a twist. With its navy blue Melton wool body, its handwarmer pockets, patch pockets and button-on hood, it draws from the designs of WWI peacoats, WWII peacoats and British duffel coats to create something which is unique, yet recognizable. These were marketed in the late 1950s through to about 1962 by Mighty Mac to the high school and college aged crowd, and were made in sizes 14 through 20 (ages). This one is the largest size, a young man’s 20, which is equivalent to a men’s 40. It originally sold for $37.95, which is roughly equivalent to $300 in today’s money.

Chest (pit to pit): 23″ (doubled = 46″)
Shoulder to shoulder: 19″
Sleeve (shoulder to cuff): 25″
Length (base of collar to hem): 32″

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1950s Albert Richard mouton collared jacket

http://www.ebay.com/itm/271761437968
This vintage jacket was made in the early 1950s by Albert Richard. It is made of dark blue-green gabardine, with a gray collar. It is made in a surcoat style and has flapped patch pockets. The jacket has a style of Talon zipper stopbox which I have not seen before in this application, but a standard early ’50s no. 5 zipper tape and slider. The jacket has a quilted lining. With a buyout in 1953 and a label change, this jacket dates from around 1951-52. This model is pictured in an advertisement from Albert Richard from 1951, see below.

Chest (pit to pit): 21″ (doubled = 42″)
Shoulder to shoulder: 16″
Sleeve (shoulder to cuff): 25″
Length (Base of collar to hem): 30″

A bit on the history of Albert Richard:
Fried-Ostermann was founded c.1902 as a glove manufacturer. They bought out their competitor, Price Gloves, and relocated production of that company’s products to their original factory, located at 617-645 Reed Street, Milwaukee, WI. By 1915, the company had gained a partner, and was known as the Fried, Ostermann, Meyer Co, but that looks to only have lasted until 1917. As the company grew, they relocated to 1645 S. 2nd Street, Milwaukee, WI. Fried-Ostermann diversified out of gloves and into outerwear in the late 1920s with the formation of a new division of the company, called Albert Richard. The leather jackets, mackinaws, overcoats and sportswear produced by Albert Richard would soon come to eclipse the glove-making side of the company. Pre-war advertising stressed health and sports, with endorsements from college football players. These ads also talk about bringing items of clothing which were previously thought of as workwear, like mackinaws and leather jackets, into the realm of ordinary streetwear, citing their comfort and durability. During WWII, the Albert Richard factory made A-2 (contract AC 23383), M-422A (contract 1406A), M444A and M445A flight jackets under the name of their parent company, Fried-Ostermann. They advertised leather jackets, overcoats and sportswear heavily during WWII, giving their jackets model names like the “Spitfire” and the “Meteor”. During the war, the company gave away wall-sized posters showing a range of american military airplanes. 850 workers were employed by Albert Richard in 1946, with plans to hire another 400. The company was one of the first to use fiberglass insulation in coats, a technology borrowed from b-29 bombers. Sheepskin collared “storm coats” became a signature model after the war. President of Fried-Ostermann, Richard Fried, sold their Albert Richard Division to the Drybak corporation of Binghampton, NY in late 1952. Drybak, a maker of canvas hunting clothing was looking to diversify their line. In the deal, they got the licensing, branding, patterns, dealership network, but other than the Vice President and designer for Albert Richard, all of the employees and equipment stayed at the plant in Milwaukee. Fried-Osterman re-focused the attention of their plant on the production of gloves, and on producing leather jackets under house labels for mail order and department stores. Starting in 1953, under Drybak’s ownership, Albert Richard clothing was once again produced, this time under contract at a factory in New Jersey, which Drybak declined to name. The plan at that time was to have production moved to New York by 1954. Labels were changed in this period to read “Albert Richard by Drybak”. In 1955, Drybak acquired the Martin Mfg. Co. in Martin, TN. They closed their Binghamton operations in that same year and relocated their hunting clothing manufacturing and their Albert Richard division to the Tennessee plant to take advantage of the lower labor costs in the south.

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Ralph Lauren Country hunting Norfolk jacket

http://www.ebay.com/itm/271761752771
This jacket was made by Ralph Lauren. It draws its design influence heavily from hunting and outdoor garments of the 1900s-1920s, with its norfolk straps and full attached belt. It has a corduroy collar, ticket pocket, cuff straps, and button on throat latch as well as saddle bag pockets. This was made as part of the Ralph Lauren Country line. As an older piece of Ralph Lauren, this one lists the company as having been established in 1971 as opposed to the back-dated 1967 which newer Ralph Lauren garments do.

Chest (pit to pit): 25″ (doubled = 50″)
Shoulder to shoulder:22″
Sleeve (shoulder to cuff): 23″
Length (base of collar to hem): 30″

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