Italian Police jacket no. 2

A second version of a jacket I sold a couple of months ago, in much better shape.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/271175519611

This vintage jacket was made in Italy by “Giusti”. It is police issue, a double breasted style. It has raglan shoulders, buttoned tabs on the sleeves, a buttoned throat latch, and slash handwarmer pockets. It has a blanket wool lining. The leather is in great shape.

Chest (pit to pit): 25″
Sleeve (center of collar to cuff): 33″

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Belknap hunting jacket

http://www.ebay.com/itm/271175537380
This vintage field coat was made by the Belknap Hardware and mfg co of Louisville, KY. It is a standard field coat, with a large came pocket, corduroy collar, action back and multiple front cargo pockets. It is made from heavy water resistant duck canvas. It is partially lined in plaid flannel.

Chest (pit to pit): 27″
Shoulder to Shoulder: 20″
Sleeve (shoulder to cuff): 22-1/2″

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Leather Jerkin no. 2

http://www.ebay.com/itm/271175509970
This vintage leather jerkin was made in 1950 for the Belgian military. It is a similar model to that used during WWII by British forces. These were popular, both pre and post war among European laborers and hunters as an overgarment. This one has an olive drab blanket lining and plain shoulders. The tweed jacket pictured under the jerkin not included, and is pictured only to illustrate this vest’s use as a piece of outerwear.

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

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New Mode 1950s leather utility jacket

http://www.ebay.com/itm/281081116224
This 1950s vintage leather jacket has classic styling of the time period, with a zipped breast pocket and handwarmers. Examples from the 1930s generally would have had a half-belt back and side adjuster belts. This one has a plain back, with elastic in the side panels. With a nod to motorcycle jacket styling, it has zipped cuffs. The hardware is somewhat unusual. The jacket has super-early YKK zippers, from when that Japanese company first came onto the American market in the 1950s. The brass slide fasteners are near clones of the Talon zippers made at the time, with the logo replaced. The jacket has a snap front leather vest sewn in, so that the jacket can be worn open and still offer some protection from the wind. At the bottom, there is a double snap fastened tab, a detail more commonly seen on European jackets. The panels between the leather vest and the zipper are lined in corduroy, and have a leather reinforced pistol pocket. The rest of the body of the jacket is lined in a velveteen material. The leather collar of the jacket has a knit collar inside of it to hug your neck and keep the wind out. There are marks from where there originally would have been knit storm cuffs in the sleeves. The jacket has an earlier style label which reads “New Mode – Special Product”. A secondary label, sewn directly above the main one, also reads “New Mode”. The underside of the collar has reinforcement stitching. With a 48″ chest, this would best fit a size 44-46, depending on how you wear your leather jackets.

Chest (pit to pit): 24″
Shoulder to Shoulder: 19″
Sleeve (shoulder to cuff): 22″

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Country Western

Here’s another piece from the collection.
This suit was originally owned by a country/western performer named Robert Frost. Unfortunately I have been able to find out very little about him. The suit is a home-made job from the ’60s, in the style of the Nudie suits worn by Porter Wagoner. If anyone has any info on it, I’d love to hear from you.

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Simplified Hat Photography

Most of my shots are done professionally in a studio by Michael G. Stewart, but those of you at home can get good looking results with a minimum of cost or effort.
Here’s how.

01: A hat stand of some description is important for photographing your hat while maintaining the shape of its brim. This purpose made one cost $5. The backdrop is a sheet of 18″x24″ paper from an art store.
02: To minimize shadows, shoot outdoors on an overcast day, or at the very least in shadow. Make sure what you’re shooting does not hang over the edge of the white.
03: In photoshop (or GIMP, it’s free), white balance to the lightest point of the white backdrop.
04: Use a brush tool to knock out all the non-white sections of the photo.
05: Select the shadows and white balance that selection separately to eliminate them.
06: Crop.
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Five Pin Bowling Sweater

I found this vintage sweater in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. It is handmade from a pattern by the Canadian company, Mary Maxim dating to the 1960s, and depicts the sport of Five Pin Bowling, played only in Canada. Watch the video below to see another one of these sweaters in action.
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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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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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