Soo Woolen Mills plaid surcoat

Posted on October 31, 2013 by Spencer Stewart

http://www.ebay.com/itm/281198324999
This vintage plaid mackinaw coat was made by the Soo Woolen Mills of Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan immediately after WWII. It has a surcoat zipper attachment and length. The main zipper is a rare transitional talon- with a Talon marked stop box of the type used in the mid-late 1940s. The main zip has a square sided, square holed puller, a type used very briefly as they were transitioning between the square edged pullers with a small hole and round ended pullers with a larger hole. The pockets zip with bell shaped, round holed Conmar zippers. The overall cut of the coat is interesting, with its long rear pleat topped with triangle reinforcing stitching and a belted, buttoned back. Most plaid mackinaws were of very traditional designs which changed very little over the years. This particular Soo model was very modern and sport for the time it was made. It is lined in red flannel, and is marked young adult age/size 20, which going by the measurements, is about a men’s size 44 short.

Chest (pit to pit): 25″ (doubled = 50″)
Shoulder to shoulder: 19″
Sleeve (shoulder to cuff): 23-1/2″
Length: 28″

1930s Suede Leather jacket

Posted on July 28, 2013 by Spencer Stewart

http://www.ebay.com/itm/281142062357
This vintage leather jacket was made in the 1930s. From the rare variant of Talon zipper, it can be dated to about 1936 or 1937. It is made of brown suede leather, in a classic utility jacket style. From the sizing, I’d say this was made for the teenage market. Handwarmer pockets, yoked back, zip breast pocket, zip front, side adjuster belts. Both zippers are in excellent condition and work well.

Chest (pit to pit): 19″
Shoulder to shoulder: 15-1/2″
Sleeve (shoulder to cuff): 22″
Length: 17-1/2″

1930s zip-off topper swimsuit

Posted on June 21, 2013 by Spencer Stewart

http://www.ebay.com/itm/271226435642
This vintage bathing suit was made in the mid 1930s. This was a transitional time between the age of one or two piece men’s bathing suits, and that of topless bathing suits. The top is detachable on this one via a Kwik zipper, which bears patents no 1752111, 1814244, and a third which is somewhat difficult to read. The trunks have a diamond gusseted crotch and belt loops. The top is striped.

Waist (unstretched): 8″ (doubled = 16″)
Waist (stretched): 12″ (doubled = 24″)
Side seam: 9″
Rise: 12″

The half-zip, half-double breasted coat

Posted on June 12, 2013 by Spencer Stewart

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.

An ad from 1939 for a similar style, also made from Hudson’s Bay point blanket material. Marketed in Children’s sizes.

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.

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.

Spaide-Lox half-zip workshirts – 1928

Posted on June 11, 2013 by Spencer Stewart

Spaide-Lox was an early maker of half-zip workshirts. They sported early no-hole Hookless zippers.
Although half-zip shirts were made for a number of years, like This One, they never supplanted buttons, as zipper manufacturers hoped they would.

Blue Streak Union Suits – 1926

Posted on June 11, 2013 by Spencer Stewart

An early menswear usage of the Hookless fastener. Union suits were the most common type of mens underwear from the 1900s-1920s. For years, manufacturers experimented with new designs to reduce the number of buttons, and the complexities of the design. More often than not, these solutions actually made the designs significantly more complex, and did not catch on.

Zippers come to jackets, 1927-1930

Posted on June 10, 2013 by Spencer Stewart

The fully separable zipper was invented in 1927 by Gideon Sundback. It’s covered by patents 1813433 and 1813432.
From the invention of the zipper in 1913 until that point, zippers had been limited in their usage by an attached end. It was suitable for coverall suits, luggage and pullovers. But it made it inconvenient for applications in jackets. The new unlockable/ fully separable bottom end of the zipper allowed for its easy usage on jackets. By 1930, zipper fronted jackets were well on their way to becoming common.

1925. Typical 1920s style. Button front, marketed as a windbreaker, specifically for the sporting set. Suede was extremely common in this era.

1929. Before the modern separable bottom to the zipper, this pullover style was the workaround.

1930. Early zipper front style.

Lakeland Laskinlamb Grizzly leather jacket

Posted on April 30, 2013 by Spencer Stewart

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″

photo 561703_371638462913403_1678340749_n.jpg

Foster Sportswear long halfbelt

Posted on December 4, 2012 by Spencer Stewart

http://www.ebay.com/itm/281030603575

This vintage leather jacket was made in the 1950s by Foster Sportswear. It has a yoked back and front, a pleated and belted back and saddlebag pockets. It has pinked details throughout, giving it a casual western vibe. It has a Scovill / Conmatic zipper, which still works well. The leather has damage and repairs- there is a tear under one of the pockets, an old repaired tear on the side/back panel, and scuffing to the shoulder. The jacket is lined in Alpaca pile by “Inca Paca” / “Timme Tuft”.

Chest: 22″

Shoulder to Shoulder: 18″

Sleeve: 25″

Length: 33″

Talon Zippers

Posted on November 2, 2012 by Spencer Stewart

There are many more patterns of Talon zippers out there, so consider this a (very) incomplete guide. It is interesting, though, to see the evolution of Talon sliding fasteners over the years, 1930s-1960s, in the design of their pullers and stop boxes.

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