Lakeland Laskinlamb Grizzly leather jacket

http://www.ebay.com/itm/271198828888

This jacket is a high end reproduction of the “Grizzly” style jacket, popular in the mid 1930s. It was made by Toyo Enterprises, who make jackets for Buzz Rickson, Sugar Cane and Style Eyes. Accurate down to the last detail, it bears a reproduction of a 1930s “Lakeland” hang tag. It has “laskinlamb” mouton panels on the front and back, with a matching mouton collar. The sleeves and trim are horsehide leather. The idea of these jackets was to put the insulation on the outside so that the wearer could have an unobstructed range of motion. They were promoted heavily in an athletic context, promoted by football players, that sort of thing. This jacket is as near as you can get to walking into a store in 1934 and buying one. It has an early Hookless grommet zipper, and dot snap. The original tags are still on the jacket and include a nice reproduction piece to accompany that zip. The front of the jacket is belted, as are the sleeves. There is a snap chinstrap to cinch it up at the neck. Inside, the body has a plaid lining, while the sleeves are lined in brown twill. There are wool storm cuffs to keep the breeze from blowing up the sleeves.

Tagged size: 42
Chest (pit to pit): 23″ (doubled = 46″)
Shoulder to Shoulder: 19″
Sleeve (shoulder to cuff): 25-1/2″
Length (base of collar to hem): 26″
Waist: 20″

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1930s leather half-belt utility jacket

http://www.ebay.com/itm/281101000703

This vintage leather jacket was made in the 1930s. It is a classic utility jacket style, with handwarmer pockets, a zip breast pocket, and a pleated half-belt back. At the ends of the half-belt are adjuster belts. The jacket is made of what feels like horsehide, though with the labels missing, it is impossible to be positive. The leather has a wonderful patina and grain. In the 1950s, this jacket received a new brass Talon Zipper and a reline. The replacement lining is an alpaca pile, and is also sewn to the top of the collar. The sleeves are nylon, with home-knitted cuffs. Unfortunately, there is a funky tooth near the bottom of the zipper, so while you can engage it, you can’t get it zipped up very far. That should be replaced, probably with one more era-appropriate.

Chest (pit to pit): 22″
Shoulder to shoulder: 18″
Sleeve (shoulder to cuff): 24″
Length (bottom of collar to hem): 24″

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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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RRL Ralph Lauren beach jacket

http://www.ebay.com/itm/271183858680

This jacket was made as part of Ralph Lauren’s high end RRL line. It draws obvious influence from workwear garments of the 1930s. It is a sleeved waistcoat design, with a snap front and buckle back. It is equal parts hunting mackinaw, railroad vest and Brown’s Beach jacket. It is unlined, and has taped seams. Snaps are marked Double R L.

Chest (pit to pit): 24″
Shoulder to shoulder: 19″
Sleeve (Shoulder to cuff): 25″
Length (collar to hem): 27″

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1930s Radium Silk spearpoint shirt

http://www.ebay.com/itm/281082411382
This vintage shirt was made in the 1930s and sold by Gronfein and Schwartz of Butte, Montana. It is made from Silk Radium, a fabric popular from about 1905-1935. It was a specially treated silk, developed to be extremely light weight, marketed as a summer shirt. It was an extremely expensive shirting material, selling for about four times what a comparable cotton shirt would. The shirt is cut long in the body, with gusseted side seams. It has small mother of pearl buttons, and a long 3-3/8″ spearpoint collar.

Chest (pit to pit): 26″
Shoulder to Shoulder: 20″
Shoulder to cuff: 26-1/2″
Collar: 16-3/4″

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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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Two Tone plaid norfolk work jacket

http://www.ebay.com/itm/271172308225
This vintage jacket has some great detailing. It has two tone panel styling, with plaid wool on the front and on the underside of the collar. The topside of the collar, the sleeves and the back are all dark blue wool. The back has a halfbelt, and norfolk strapping, which also follows the color change of the paneling, switching over at the shoulders. The cuffs and ends of the belt back have knotted leather buttons. There is a contrast blue buttoned throat latch on the underside of the collar. The front of the jacket is closed with a spring loaded crown zipper, still in great working order. Inside, the coat is lined in plaid cotton, with a blue, white, yellow and tan color scheme. The sleeves are lined in tan flannel.

Chest (pit to pit): 26″
Shoulder to Shoulder: 20″
Sleeve (shoulder to cuff): 24″

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Sakowitz Bros WWII army officer’s Shawl Collar Mackinaw

http://www.ebay.com/itm/271165230262

This vintage WWII Army officer’s mackinaw coat has a double breasted front, a shawl collar, epaulettes, and a buttoned belt. It was tailored by Sakowitz Bros. of Houston, Texas. It is fully lined, with quilted shoulders.

Chest: 22″
Shoulder to Shoulder: 18″
Shoulder to Cuff: 24-1/2″
Length (top of collar to hem): 34″

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1940s horsehide half-belt leather jacket

http://www.ebay.com/itm/281070696494

This vintage leather jacket was made in the 1940s or 1950s. Its heavy leather feels like horsehide, but there are no tags. It has acquired an incredible patina to the leather, originally a dark seal color. The main zip is a Scovill, but it is missing teeth and the slider, so it will need to be replaced. The jacket is a very clean design, with a shirt style collar, handwarmer pockets and a zipped breast pocket. The rear has a halfbelt with adjuster belts. Incredible grain and mismatched panels, each having taken on a unique character over the years. The jacket is lined in khaki cotton, and has no remaining tags. There is a small hole in the leather by the breast pocket, and places (shoulders, cuff, sleeve) where seams need to be re-stitched. The leather is still strong, however, and has not worn through in the collar and cuffs like you would expect to see.

Chest (pit to pit): 22″
Sleeve (shoulder to cuff): 24″
Shoulder to Shoulder: 18″

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