1940s Belt back double breasted mackinaw

http://www.ebay.com/itm/271391492640

This vintage mackinaw coat was made in the mid to late 1940s. Going by the style and the lining, it’s likely that it was sold by Sears under the Hercules label. Whereas most plaid jackets were made for the hunting market, this one is of the type marketed in the 1940s as workwear. It has a double breasted front, handwarmer pockets on the chest and large flapped pockets on the hips. The large zipped pocket on the right side is a nice and rarely seen detail. It does up with a bell shaped Talon zipper, which helps with the dating. This has a half-belt back. The coat has a blue plaid lining

Chest (pit to pit): 25″ (doubled = 50″)
Shoulder to shoulder: 21″
Sleeve (shoulder to cuff): 24″
Length: 29″

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Fringed suede leather jacket

http://www.ebay.com/itm/271378703217
This vintage leather jacket was custom tailored in Hong Kong by James S. Lee & Co, Ltd. for Lawrence J Gintner. It was probably made in the 1970s, and is brown suede, in a mod double breasted cut with ticket pocket. The back yoke and sleeves are fringed. The jacket has a blue and brown paisley lining. It has double vents.

Chest (pit to pit): 22″
Shoulder to shoulder: 18″
Sleeve (shoulder to cuff): 23″
Length: 27-1/2″

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Woolrich Indian Blanket Coat

http://www.ebay.com/itm/281244850219
This vintage coat was made in the USA by Woolrich Woolen Mills of Woolrich, Pennsylvania for the Thornton Bay Clothing Company. Made in the 1980s, it is a reproduction of the shawl collared Indian blanket mackinaws made famous in the 1910s by companies like Pendleton and Guiterman / Summit. The coat is double breasted, with a shawl collar. It has both hip pockets and handwarmers. It is belted. The coat is fully lined. The coat is tagged a size medium, but fits more like a size 46 or 48, please refer to the measurements for an accurate fit.

Chest (pit to pit): 26-1/2″ (doubled = 53″)
Shoulder to shoulder: 21″
Sleeve (shoulder to cuff): 25-1/2″
Length: 32″

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Carter & Churchill

http://www.ebay.com/itm/281228705281

This vintage coat was made in the 1920s by the Carter & Churchill Company of Lebanon, NH. The point blanket fabric was the most expensive option for this style of coat at the time, offering the greatest durability and warmth. The coat has a classic early mackinaw cut, with unlined construction, handwarmer pockets high on the chest, and flapped hip pockets. The coat has a buttoned belt (later ones generally had ones with buckles). The points of the blanket are thick and proudly on display. While the company which made this coat survived in various forms for decades, they stopped using this particular tag in the early 1930s.

Chest (pit to pit): 24″ (doubled = 48″)
Shoulder to shoulder: 18-1/2″
Sleeve (shoulder to cuff): 25-1/4″
Length: 32-1/2″

A bit about the company, from a piece I wrote for “The Art of Vintage Leather Jackets”: Carter and Churchill was founded in 1869 by William S. Carter, after leaving his uncle’s company, H.W. Carter & Sons. He was joined by Frank C. Churchill (former salesman for HW Carter), who would come to be the company’s treasurer. The company was headquartered in Lebanon, New Hampshire, with a plant at 15 Parkhurst Street. Starting in 1880, they produced clothing under the “Profile” label, named after the (former) New Hampshire rock formation, the Old Man of the Mountain. They registered that trademark in 1916. Early on, they were also producers of Lebanon Overalls, work shirts, mackinaws and coats. As the decades wore on, they dropped product lines to specialize in their ski clothing lines, which they continued producing into the 1990s, under the “Profile” name.

 

 

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Extra Large Hudson’s Bay Blanket Coat

http://www.ebay.com/itm/271246957324
This vintage coat was made by the Hudson’s Bay company from their iconic point blanket material. It is in their “Olympic” pattern, a belted double breasted style, with handwarmer pockets and flapped patch pockets. In this particular example, the points of the four point blanket are on the inside of the coat on the wearer’s right shoulder. The coat is fully lined in gray. It is tagged a 46, but I would say it fits more like a size 50 or 52.

Chest (pit to pit): 29″ (doubled = 58″)
Shoulder to Shoulder: 21″
Sleeve (shoulder to cuff): 27″
Length: 34″

A bit about the Hudson’s Bay Blanket Coat:
The Hudson’s Bay Company introduced their distinctive striped “point” trade blanket in 1780. The blankets were used in the fur trade, traded in exchange for pelts. The “points” represented the size and weight of the blanket. The blankets were soon being tailored into hooded, belted “Capotes”.
In 1811, 40 greatcoats were commissioned for soldiers stationed at Fort St. Joseph in Jocelyn, Ontario. They were made under the direction of John Askin, fur trader, and keeper of the King’s Store at that fort. Running short on proper supplies and in need of adequately warm coats for the men, Askin had the coats sewn from point blankets. The modern mackinaw was born.
The Hudson’s Bay blanket material was advertised for its, “warmth, durability, retention of color, non-shrinage”, for being “non-hardening when exposed to the elements”, and for their water resistant qualities. Combined with its heavy weight, and thick fluffy nap, the Hudson’s Bay Blanket made for ideal material in a harsh environment. They remained popular with fur traders through the 18th and 19th centuries. Along with their mackinaw-cloth relatives, they also proved popular with Lumbermen on both sides of the border.
Coats made from Hudson’s Bay point blanket material were truly investments, costing significantly more than identical coats in other fabrics. Some examples: In 1937, an Albert Richard coat in heavy mackinaw cloth cost $12.50. That same coat in the HBC fabric cost $22.50. In 1936, a different manufacturer was offering 32oz melton coats for $5.95. To upgrade to point blanket fabric doubled the price.
These coats were the ultimate in rugged, high-end outdoors garments. At the top of the price range for short coats, they were sold by such high-end outfitters as Abercrombie & Fitch and Von Lengerke & Detmold. By the 1930s, sportswear companies like Albert Richard and Maine Guide by Congress had joined the act. The Hudson’s Bay blanket coat enjoyed a surge of popularity on the United States market in the mid through late 1930s. Mirroring the Mackinaw craze of 1912-1915, the style was brought over the border to the US by tourists and seasonal workers who had seen the coats in use in Canada and been impressed with their warmth and durability. They briefly became a university fad in the 1930s, but really stuck with sportsmen who could afford the best.
Hudson’s Bay blankets were originally made in England. In the middle of the 20th century, they switched manufacture to Canada. Currently, they are again produced in England, by John Atkinson. Former competitor Woolrich Woolen mills has the contract to import Bay Blankets to the US, and other former competitor Pendleton now makes the blankets used in the coats sold by HBC.
As the 20th century wore on, the Hudson’s Bay point blanket coat remained a Canadian icon. It was the Canadian team uniform at the 1964 Innsbruck Olympics.

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1940s Hart Larsen’s double breasted suit jacket

http://www.ebay.com/itm/281130428575
This vintage double breasted suit jacket was made in the 1940s by Hart Larsen’s of Eugene, Oregon. It is a medium blue with a subtle stripe.

Chest (pit to pit): 22″
Shoulder to Shoulder: 18″
Sleeve (shoulder to cuff): 25″
Length: 30″

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The half-zip, half-double breasted coat

This style is an oddity to be sure.  The bottom half of the jacket has a conventional coat-style zipper in the center, single-breasted style. The top has a six-button, double breasted panel.

This Hudson’s Bay point blanket example sold on ebay a number of years ago.
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An ad from 1939 for a similar style, also made from Hudson’s Bay point blanket material. Marketed in Children’s sizes.
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A German ad from the same time frame, courtesy Florian Kremers. Also made from striped blanket material, but not Hudson’s Bay. The model name “Eskimo” references what seem to be the Canadian origins of this unusual style.
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http://blog.livedoor.jp/mcfly_store/archives/50731859.html
A modern reproduction of this style, by Freewheelers. This blends the styling of the blanket mackinaw originals, with that of hunting coats of the 1920s and 1930s, and throws in extra ’30s style zippers for good measure.
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Wimbledon WWII army officer’s shawl collar mackinaw

http://www.ebay.com/itm/271165233525

This vintage officer’s mackinaw was custom tailored by Wimbledon from fine kersey wool. It has a large shawl collar, epaulettes and a belt. There are wide differences example to example when it comes to these mackinaws- this one has the quilted liner, a square-ended belt, slightly larger buttons and no sleeve adjuster tabs.

Chest (pit to pit): 22″
Shoulder to Shoulder: 19″
Sleeve (shoulder to cuff): 25″
Length (top of collar to hem): 36″

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1930s Irish Tweed overcoat

As seen HERE

http://www.ebay.com/itm/281070726333

This vintage overcoat was made in the mid 1930s from “Obrien Fleece” tweed. It was sold in Saint Paul, Minnesota by the Golden Rule store. Obrien Fleece was a high end Irish tweed fabric of the period, made, as the tag states, in the Irish Free State. The Irish Free State existed from 1922-1937, which helps to date this coat. It has classic double breasted styling with raglan shoulders, patch pockets and cuffed sleeves. There is a throat latch inside the coat by the store label. A somewhat unusual feature is the small interior pocket, closed with an early Talon ball and chain zipper. The Talon name is seen on the slider and on the ball. Really incredible, detailed labels.

Chest (pit to pit): 25″
Raglan sleeve (center to cuff): 36″

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For more on trade with the Irish Free State (and some great art) see HERE