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VINTAGE MENSWEAR A COLLECTION FROM THE VINTAGE SHOWROOM DOUGLAS GUNN, ROY LUCKETT & JOSH SIMS

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Published in 2012 by Laurence King Publishing Ltd 361–373 City Road London EC1V 1LR United Kingdom Tel: +44 20 7841 6900 Fax: +44 20 7841 6910 e-mail: [email protected] www.laurenceking.com © text 2012 Doug Gunn, Roy Luckett and Josh Sims This book was produced by Laurence King Publishing Ltd, London Doug Gunn, Roy Luckett and Josh Sims have asserted their right under the Copyright, Designs, and Patent Act 1988, to be identified as the Authors of this Work. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording or any information storage and retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publisher. A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. ISBN: 978-1-85669-883-2 All photographs by Nic Shonfeld /www.nicshonfeld.com Design: Studio8 Design Senior editor: Peter Jones Printed in China

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VINTAGE MENSWEAR A COLLECTION FROM THE VINTAGE SHOWROOM DOUGLAS GUNN, ROY LUCKETT & JOSH SIMS

CONTENTS Introduction 6

CHAPTER 1 SPORTS & LEISURE

10 CHAPTER 2 MILITARY

University boxing blazer College blazer School rowing blazer Utility rugby shirt Cable-knit sports sweater Sports blazer and cap Racing coveralls Driving gloves Driving jacket Double-breasted motorcycle jacket Motorcycle suit Aviation jacket Phantom racing jacket Trialmaster motorcycle jacket International motorcycle jacket Motorcycle trousers Trialmaster motorcycle jacket Sporting club top Car club jacket Sailing coat Mountaineering smock Norfolk jacket Alpine walking suit Skiing trousers Mountain pack Walking smock Mountain jacket Solway zipper walking jacket Hunting coat Gentleman’s walking coat Hunting jackets Canvas hunting jacket Fishing jacket Game bag Hunting parka Sportsman’s hunting coat Hunting trousers Hunting jackets College sports jacket Varsity jacket Hockey club jacket Native American US varsity jacket

14 16 20 22 23 24 26 28 30 31 32 36 38 40 42 44 46 48 50 52 54 56 58 60 62 64 66 68 70 72 74 78 80 82 84 86 90 92 96 98 100 102

104 CHAPTER 3 WORKWEAR

Hussar’s tunic 108 Boer War keepsakes 110 Royal Navy grouping 112 Duffel coat 116 Stoker’s pants 118 Foul weather deck coat 119 Foul weather suit 120 Anorak 122 Ursula suits 124 Military-issue motorcycle suit 128 Despatch rider’s jacket 130 Paratrooper’s smock 132 Paratrooper jump jacket 134 Paratrooper’s Denison smock 136 C-1 survival vest 138 Aviator’s kit bag 140 B-15 flight jacket 142 Sidcot flight suit 144 Buoyancy suit 146 Escape and evasion boots 150 Pilot’s suit and accoutrements 151 Pressure jerkin 154 B-7 sheepskin flight jacket 156 D-2 mechanic’s parka 158 Pilot’s ‘Channel’ jacket 160 Cold weather parka 162 Military snow parka 166 Mountain parka 168 Mountain jacket 172 Snow parka 174 Prisoner trousers and boots 176 HBT POW grouping 178 Summer uniform 179 Tropical uniforms 180 Jeep coat 184 Smock and trousers 186 Windproof camo smock and combat trousers 190 Camo tank suit 192 Chindits sweater 194 M1934 water-repellent jacket 195 Mackinaw jeep coat 196 Officer’s trench coat 198 Despatch rider’s coat 200 B3 flying suit and boots 202 Military greatcoat 204

206

Tweed jacket and waistcoat Three-piece suit Farmer’s corduroy work trousers Buckle-back work trousers Peasant’s boro jacket Sapeurs-pompiers’ uniforms Work jacket Spanish postal worker’s tunic Denim sailor’s smock Sailor’s smock and jacket Fearnought smock and jacket Donkey jacket Work jacket Railway conductor’s jacket Leather work vest Horsehide work jacket Fireman’s jacket Expedition parka for USARP Riding boots Metal worker’s jacket Ammunition worker’s canvas overshoes Foul weather smock Fisherman’s sweater Brown denim work jacket Metal worker’s jacket Merchant navy trousers Patched denim chore jacket Denim waistcoat Work jacket Denim work jacket Railroad jacket Blanket-lined chore jacket Denim ranch jacket Work jacket Rider’s letter wallet Miner’s work belt Worker’s belt Buckle-back work trousers Salt and pepper overalls Bonedry logger’s boots Denim work trousers Denim work bibs

210 212 214 216 220 222 226 228 230 232 236 238 239 240 242 244 246 250 252 255 256 258 260 262 264 266 268 270 272 273 274 276 278 280 282 284 285 286 288 290 294 296

Index Acknowledgements

300 304

he Vintage Showroom is one of the world’s leading dealers in vintage menswear and The Menswear Sourcebook is a collection of some 150  of their pieces. The London-based company was established in 2007 but has already built a prestigious archive, elements of which it hires out and sometimes sells to the design teams behind some of the biggest names in fashion. These brands find inspiration in the design details – the way a collar is shaped here, the way a buckle is set there – in the fabrications, even simply in the ‘mood’ of a garment. Many are highly evocative of a bygone time – historic artifacts as much as pieces of clothing. Increasingly, The Vintage Showroom is asked to help brands organize their own archives – the vintage garments of the future. Vintage as a clothing category is widely misunderstood as representing simply the old. This is why younger generations will regard any clothing from as recently as ten years ago as ‘vintage’, all the more so since ‘vintage’ has become a fashion in its own right. Not so for the curators of The Vintage Showroom: it is rare that a piece in their collection is not both at least 50 years old and a benchmark example of its kind. Many are hard to find, now that history has taken its toll and old clothes have been lost, destroyed, fashionably customized (which for The Vintage Showroom amounts to the same thing) or recycled. More than that, many are one-offs – coveted by those companies who perhaps should but do not have examples in their own archives – or have been improved by their wearers in order to meet some need or circumstance unseen by the manufacturer. These are the pieces that The Vintage Showroom’s founders Douglas Gunn and Roy Luckett spend many months of the year trawling through dilapidated barns, warehouses and outhouses all around the world to uncover. Every vintage clothing collection has its leanings, and The Vintage Showroom is no exception. Gunn and Luckett favour those pieces with some technical or design pedigree – functionality before fashion. Consequently it leans heavily towards items of deliberate

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6

utility: sportswear, workwear and military clothing, the three areas expressed in the three chapters of this book. For each of these areas clothing had to be fitfor-purpose, an ethos that has permeated menswear design more broadly throughout the twentieth century and into the twenty-first. Men tend to like their clothes to be functional, with style following from that. The garments in this book may belong to the era of Gunn and Luckett’s grandfathers, or even their greatgrandfathers, yet they are recognizable templates for what is worn today. Without becoming a victim of nostalgia, there is, of course, a class and a quality to menswear of the 1960s and earlier that is hard to find today. In part that is because the economics of mass manufacturing do not allow for investment in considered design or acceptable pricing. In part it is because the attire of some professions and activities have come to be dominated by overtly technical clothing – no doubt superior in function if not in aesthetics. And in some small part it is because of a lack of pride in appearance: cheap, everyday casualwear seems enough for most men today. Small wonder that Gunn and Luckett, and other often fanatical enthusiasts of vintage clothing, feel there is also a romance in this choice of vintage menswear – in the adventurousness of sporting, working and even fighting men – that is less apparent in the today’s clothing, not even in the rapidly growing vintage reproduction market that seeks to tap into this romance. A garment that has lived is not the same as one that merely looks as though it has: patina is more than superficial, more than physical. The Vintage Showroom might well have selected a different 150 garments for this book. There was just an indefinable something about these that made them stand out at the time. Many of them have since been sold into private collections (and parting is such sweet sorrow), possibly not to see daylight again. Others Gunn and Luckett say they will never part with. But they keep hunting too. They’re going to need a bigger studio.

7

CHAPTER

SPORTS & LEISURE

ooking at today’s sportsmen and women, you might imagine that science and technology were as much part of their performance as training and talent – all the futuristic materials that go to make their clothing and footwear. There was a time when sport, however, was a more genteel affair, practised largely by the well-to-do – if only because leisure required money – and for which dress was as much a matter of codes and class distinction as their everyday attire. Indeed, the clothes were little more than readily-identifiable alternatives to weekend wear – cricket sweaters rather than argyle ones, flannels rather than worsted wool trousers, a striped boating blazer to show one’s elite education rather than the plain kind one might wear to one’s club. Even the most extreme of activities – still conducted by gentlemen amateurs – entailed simply the wearing of more rugged versions of what one might wear for the country: George Mallory, the British climber who died in his attempt to climb Everest in 1924, wore no more than several layers and heavy tweeds. This is the era of sports and leisure clothing that The Vintage Showroom collection celebrates: those clothes that, while clearly designated for sports, barely looked out of place (at least to today’s eyes) in a more

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everyday setting. Not that speciality design did not play a part: many of the leisure pursuits before World War II were almost ancient rituals: hunting, for example, for which a stout, thornproof, dirt-hiding fabric was basically all that was needed, such as the deep, rich cord of the archive’s French jackets or the ochre yellow of the American jackets. Even with wind and waterproofing held at a premium for the outdoors life, what passed for technical fabrics in the early decades of the twentieth century were no more complex than waxed cottons, and the patina these have taken on over the years is as alluring as the changes in well-worn denim or butter-soft leather. But many leisure pursuits were new ones, based around then newfangled machines: aviation and motorcycling pioneers approached tailors and outfitters for suitable clothing, cut to allow the right ease of movement, protective where it was required, with pockets in the right place. Many of these garments – among those featured – were the fore-runners of styles that would later become standards in the male wardrobe. But what such garments always seemed to maintain, unlike military or workwear pieces, was a certain timeless elegance. Those pieces selected here from The Vintage Showroom collection aim to show as much. 13

14

Castell & Son

A boating blazer might conjure up ideas of student life at the elite universities during the early twentieth century. Indeed, such ‘boating stripes’ can still be seen worn by the rowing competitors and spectators of Henley Regatta, a major annual event on the British social calendar, and around the Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race. 1930s This makes sense; after all, the blazer derives from naval uniforms. It was reputed to be the invention of one Captain Wilmott of the British Navy ship HMS Blazer, when he was under pressure to smarten up his crew in readiness for inspection by the newly crowned Queen Victoria. The blazer is based on a sailor’s short, double-breasted reefer-style jacket. This blazer goes against expectations, however. Look closely, and the raised silk embroidery on the breast pocket (see below) indicates not crossed oars but a pair of boxing gloves. This ‘boxing blazer’ is a reminder of a time when the sport was as much an upper-class pursuit as a working-class one – pugilism as a noble activity for gentlemen – and also of a time when the blazer denoted membership more than the wearer’s style. The blazer would have been worn by an ‘Oxford Blue’ – an undergraduate hailed as a local hero for his sporting achievement, for which he was awarded a ‘full blue’ and granted entitlement to wear just such a garment. He (most definitely a he) was probably a member of the university’s Amateur Boxing Club, which was founded in 1881 and remains the UK’s oldest student boxing club (these days it admits women, too). Castell & Son of Oxford still run the varsity shop and are official suppliers of such specialist garments.

University boxing blazer

Below: This style of covered button in contrasting colour blocks to match the cloth of the jacket was frequently seen in sporting blazers from the 1930s.

15

sicut lilium

college blazer 1949 This blazer from Magdalen College, Oxford University (motto: sicut lilium; ‘like the lily’), dates from 1949. It is typical of clothing made in the austerity era: while the jacket is only half-lined, the more expensive materials have been used on the exterior. The body is made from broadcloth, with lapel, pockets and cuffs given a grosgrain (silk) detail – both would have been rare and expensive fabrics of the time. Despite this, the blazer was made under the CC41 label, representing the ‘controlled commodity’ scheme introduced by the British government in late 1941. This had been a way of controlling the amount of fabric, thread and buttons used in clothing design in a bid to conserve raw materials for the war effort; it continued for a few years after the war.

17

20

bespoke

This classic, three-button rowing blazer with contrasting white piping and notched lapels would not have been worn for actual rowing 1940s but instead would have been put on after racing for the presentation of cups or medals. The competitor passes found in the pockets (see below) suggest that the blazer was used in the summer of 1948 but, given its near pristine condition, perhaps not beyond this one season. Made of wool but unlined, it was light enough for summer wear and would have been worn with white cotton trousers. The white eagle embroidered onto the pocket is the emblem of Bedford School Rowing Club.

school Rowing BLAZER

BELOW: The original competitor enclosure passes found in the pocket from two different regattas in the south of England, both still run today.

21

Although sports clothing might have been considered inessential during a battle for survival, the British government extended its CC41 scheme (see pages 16–17) of World War II and in the years following 1940s the war to sports clothes, with football shirts and cricket whites subject to strict maufacturing controls equal to those for more essential work clothes and civilian uniforms.

CC41

UTILITY RUGBY SHIRT

22

This rugby shirt shows the distinctive CC41 label on its hem. As part of the scheme, the government took control of the import of all raw materials, fabrics, and so on; clothing manufacturers were encouraged to produce longer runs of more basic, hard-wearing uniform-like garments in which no decorative excess (such as long tails on shirts, or turn-ups on trousers) was allowed. Prices were also controlled, comprising in part a money value and in part a clothing coupon value, these coupons having been issued to consumers by the government through a tightly regulated programme. The scheme, which was later also applied to furniture, was

discontinued only as late as 1952. By then the distinctive CC41 label – designed by Reginald Shipp – had become far more common in Great Britiain than any fashion label. The white eagle emblem on the chest is the same as that on the pocket of the rowing blazer on page 20.

Harrods

From today’s viewpoint, this sweater – machinemade and hand-finished during the mid-1950s for Harrods, the London department store – would be called a cricket sweater, so synonymous with the Mid-1950s sport has the cable-knit pattern and deep V-neck with coloured border become. But until the post-World War II period, the design was regarded as a general-purpose sports garment, akin

Cable-knit sports sweater

to the sweatshirt in the US. It would have been just as commonly worn for tennis, golf – this was before the Prince of Wales’ favoured a short-sleeved version and made that the fashionable choice. The cable-knit was even worn for bob-sledding: the sweater came to be the warm layer of choice for the daredevils throwing themselves at 50 miles per hour down the 514 deadly feet of the Cresta Run in St. Moritz, Switzerland. Indeed, the sweater may have its origins in fishing, the cable knit believed to be symbolic of the strength of fishermen’s ropes. Like the sweatshirt, the ‘cricket’ or sports sweater is more functional than it might at first appear. Made of

heavy wool, it has a degree of natural water-repellency (it is able to absorb some 30 per cent of its own weight before it begins to feel wet to the touch), while the natural fibres offer a degree of breathability ideal for any strenuous activity. Of course, for colder climates or more sedentary sporting activities – fly-fishing or deep fielding in cricket – wool’s insulating properties help keep its wearer warm.

23

bespoke

This British sports jacket was typical of the first decade of the twentieth century, with its distinctive high break, scallopededge hem, and four-button 1910 closure taking its cue from traditional horse-and-hound hunting jackets. The ticket pocket especially is expressive of a dandyish element creeping in from mainstream menswear to the sportswear of the time. Following the end of World War I, the Edwardian look was revived by young men of all social classes in Britain, with Guards officers and working-class men alike adopting the tapered trousers, brash waistcoats and the long, lean, high-buttoning jackets. This phenomenon was one of the first instances of fashion revivalism, as well as the first time in which it became acceptable for British men to take particular interest in their appearance. In the early 1950s, a less precise take on the Edwardian style gave rise to one of the first teenage subcultures. The so-called ‘Teddy Boys’ (named after a 1953 edition of the Daily Express newspaper headline that shortened ‘Edward’ to ‘Teddy’) combined the influence of US rock ’n’ roll with an exaggerated take on Edwardian menswear. The look was characterized by expensive tailor-made drape jackets, brocade waistcoats and drainpipe trousers.

SPORTS BLAZER & CAP

24

bolenium

racing coveralls 1950s These cotton coveralls were made in Britain during the 1950s with factory work in mind. Their practicality and, when made in white, dash soon came to be adopted by the playboy motor-racing drivers of the period, among them Stirling Moss, Graham Hill and Juan Manuel Fangio. Each of these helped to make the British racing tracks of the period – the likes of Brooklands and Silverstone – world-famous. The utility and style of coveralls had already been spotted by Britain’s wartime prime minister, Winston Churchill; his ‘siren suit’ was essentially a zip-front version of the coveralls, donned in a hurry over clothing or nightwear before entering an air-raid shelter. Although Churchill and members of his family had worn such suits since the 1930s (they called them ‘rompers’), the coveralls became a wartime sartorial signature for the PM. The dapper Churchill had several siren suits made in other fabrics, among them red velvet.

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27

28

hand-made

DRIVING GLOVES 1920s Much as the English leather driving coat shown overleaf features a doublebuttoning front for extra protection, these sealskin driving gloves, also dating from the 1920s, follow a similar, clever logic, with the gloves sliding into a mittentype pouch and providing additional warmth to the fingers. This arrangement also allowed the driver greater dexterity without removing his gloves entirely. Since the 1840s, sealskin had seen a steady growth in popularity – hats, scarves, cloaks, boots, the first parkas (based on the traditional Inuit garment), sporrans and even dolls were all made from the skin, with trade between Alaska, Canada and western Russia booming thanks to the steam mechanization and increased sophistication of sealing vessels.

29

unknown brand

driving jacket 1920s This early 1920s leather driving coat was almost certainly an expensive item in its day, since motoring was then still more a hobby for a wealthy minority than a mass pursuit. The coat lacks the protection of a high collar as it would have been worn with a thick scarf or, for motorcyclists, perhaps a helmet (although these did not become widespread until after 1935, when the death in a motorcycle accident of T.E. Lawrence – a.k.a ‘Lawrence of Arabia’ – brought widespread consideration of safety issues). The seemingly plain coat is not without its detail: the button front has a second leather flap, for example, to prevent wind or rain entering at the front, while a press-stud fastening at the hem allows the coat to expand or contract depending on the ideal driving or riding position.

30

unknown brand

DOUBLE-BREASTED MOTORCYCLE JACKET 1920s This English, custom-made leather jacket dates from the 1920s when hobby motorcycling was in its infancy. It sets a benchmark for subsequent biker jackets, though this one buttons up, lacking the signature asymmetric zip of later models. The hobby of motorcycling soon became a craze and manufacturers rushed to cater for it, each vying to create the definitive article and many basing their designs on hunting jackets of the period – a fact seen in the pocket positioning of this example. It stretches the idea to say that these makers liked to romantically compare the motorbike to a trusty steed, but early bikers did tend to wear jodhpurs too, if only because they were easy to wear tall boots with. This jacket, with its fleeced cotton lining, flapped pockets, handsewn buttonholes and horn buttons may lack any of the double-layered leather or safety features of later jackets, but its cropped style (allowing a crouched riding position), waist belt adjuster and elegant proportions make it much classier.

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James grose

Specialist clothing typically requires specialist rather than mainstream fashion design. So, when Londonbased company James Grose Ltd – established 1930s in 1876 and at one point declaring itself to be the ‘world’s largest sports store’ – created a motorcycle suit in the 1930s, it was given the credibility it needed. The suit was designed for the company by racers themselves, who were best placed to know what would and would not work, and by the end of the decade was approved by the Auto Cycle Union. Founded in 1903 as the Auto-Cycle Club, with the intention of developing motorsports through clubs, the ACU (renamed such in 1907) was enjoying boom times during this era. The motorcycle had been used to such good effect during World War I that peacetime saw a rapid increase in leisure riding. Some 18,000 members joined in the six months after World War I alone, sparking a new market for civilian clothing in which to ride. James Grose, selling under its brand name Jagrose, developed not only effective jackets and cropped trousers, but distinctive ones, with the shoulder, elbow, hip and knee quilting effect shown here becoming a signature. This tight-fitting jacket has a woollen inner part that buttons into the same in the trousers to provide top-to-toe insulation beneath the leather cocoon.

Motorcycle suit

32

RIGHT: Squared, reinforced padding for protection give the suit a distinctive look unique at the time to the manufacturer James Grose.

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RIGHT: Typical of motorcycle jackets of the period, this was to be worn tight on the chest and tucked into the trousers of the suit – almost like a shirt.

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Abbey Leather

The label shows what looks to be a bearded pipe-smoking shepherd, but also proclaims Abbey Leather, the British manufacturer of this 1940s sports jacket, to be a producer of ‘motor & aviation equipment’. Certainly civilian and some 1940s private flying continued during World War II, which would have necessitated the necessary kit. However, fuel shortages made such flying rare, possibly dating this jacket to the postwar years. Its similarity to leather jacket designs for military pilots, especially those of the US Army Air Force, is clear. Of course, the jacket could have been used for various activities, whether motorcycling, riding or other outdoorsman pursuits. One unusual design detail of the jacket is its side-adjustors: rather than simply pulling the jacket in at their placing, on this jacket they are attached to an elastic belt that runs along the full waistline at the back, making for a snug fit.

aviation jacket

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LEWIS LEATHERS

The biker jacket had long been a fashion staple by the time this Lewis Leathers Phantom model was created in the 1970s. The famed Perfecto model had been developed by Schott for a Harley Davidson dealer during the 1930s; it reached 1970s iconic status and sealed its rebellious image thanks to Marlon Brando’s misfit wearing one in the 1953 film The Wild One. Although specialist pieces had been designed for riding before, this became the benchmark for biker jackets, especially in the US. In the UK, however, Lewis Leathers was devising a more European feel – more fitted, longer and more blouson in style.

Phantom racing jacket

38

D. Lewis Ltd. had been in business since 1892 as a pioneering maker of clothing for early motorists and aviators; for this latter market it even introduced its own Aviakit brand. By the 1950s, it had entered the biker clothing market with styles that defined the ‘ton up’ boys of the era – also the British ‘Rockers’ so stylistically and culturally opposed to the scooter-riding and army-surplus parka-wearing Mods. Two decades on, the company was reinventing the biker jacket in the most obvious way – by producing it not in the standard black or dark brown, but in bold hues. In 1972, one catalogue proclaimed ‘the colourful world of Lewis Leathers’. This heralded a brash new look for motorcyclists, although it proved to be just an interlude in fashion terms before punk rock made black the biker jacket colour of choice once more.

ABOVE: The jacket has doublebuckle cinch straps at the waist and a café racer-style round collar.

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40

BELSTAFF

The Barbour International’s arch-rival in motorcycling circles has long been the Belstaff Trialmaster. Today the jacket has four patch pockets, but initially it shared the same ‘drunk’ left breast pocket, and was 1960s distinguishable only be being slightly longer in the body and by a few minor details. More distinctive perhaps was Belstaff’s readiness to use colour: this jacket, although now broken down with time and use to a shade of maroon-black, was once a bold red. Like Barbour, Belstaff grew out of a business built around the development of early technical fabrics. Established in 1924 in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England, by Eli Belovitch and his son Harry Grosberg,

TrialMaster motorcycle jacket

the company specialized in outdoorsy friction-, windand waterproof garments (although its logo, a Phoenix rising, did so from a fire rather than a muddy field). Later such garments resulted from experiments with rubber coatings. This led to Belstaff’s successful Black Prince clothing line, including the company’s first motorcycle jacket, and the waxing of cottons, the use of natural oils giving the fabric greater water-resistance while retaining its breathability. Like Barbour’s International jacket, the Trialmaster too won a stamp of approval from many professional motorcyclists, chiefly of the 1950s and 1960s. The champion trials rider Sammy Miller wore the jacket for many of his record 1,250 victories. Adding to its later appeal for some was the fact that the revolutionary Ernesto ‘Che’ Guevara wore this jacket for his legendary motorcycle ride across South America.

BELOW: The ghost of the original bright red colour can be seen around the stitching of the reinforcements on the arms.

41

BARBOUR

Few specialist clothing designs can be said to have been adapted for use by the military and then to have found life with civilians again. Perhaps one of the most successful examples is Barbour’s 1950s International trials jacket. The Barbour company was founded by John Barbour in South Shields, north-east England in 1894. He built a drapery business specializing in boiler suits, painters’ jackets and oilskins for the shipbuilders, sailors and fishermen of the local coastal towns, and later the farming community too. It was a hobby of John Barbour’s son Malcolm that saw the company build a motorcycling range during the 1930s – more or less exclusively kitting out the British International motor-racing team from 1936 onwards. One such design was adapted to make the Ursula suit for submariners during World War II, initially as a private order, and later as an official piece of wartime kit (see pages 124–27). Adapted slightly further, the jacket part of the suit found a third life with motorcyclists again from 1947. The jacket’s profile rose through the 1950s and 1960s thanks to its use by most of the riders at the UK’s Six Days Trial international motocross competition, as well as by keen cross-country biker and Hollywood actor Steve McQueen. The 1st Pattern civilian jacket, as with this example – still referred to as the ‘Barbour Suit’ in its labelling and only later coming to be known as the International – used the small-gauge, lightning zip of the Ursula and the moleskin-lined ‘eagle’ collar. Later models replaced the zip with a larger lightning pull, the collar lining with corduroy, and the plain interior lining with what would become Barbour’s signature tartan.

International motorcycle jacket

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BELSTAFF

MOTORCYCLE trousers 1970s Belstaff’s extended interest in producing motorcycle clothing – the Trialmaster is reputed to be the best-selling motorcycle jacket of all time – and readiness to explore colour resulted in such pieces as these motocross over-trousers. They are made of red waxed cotton and feature stress points at the crotch, seat and knees, all having an additional layer of white leather.

LEFT: The trousers are unused or ‘deadstock’, complete with the original labels and ticketing.

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BELSTAFF

trialmaster motorcycle JACKET 1960s Like the red Belstaff Trialmaster jacket featured on pages 40–41, this leafgreen 1960s version has darkened and broken down over the years to create a camouflage effect. The waxed cotton is hard to clean and the jacket would be repeatedly caked in dirt, so such pieces, like denim, gradually take on a unique look of their own. The checked cotton lining has a green, horizontal stripe that matches the green of the outer shell.

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Dura Craft

sporting club toP 1930s This simple sports shirt dating from the 1930s and made by Dura Craft of New York represents an early example of two developments in textiles science coming together. It is made of rayon, the semi-synthetic cellulose fibre. Although first developed as an artificial silk as early as 1855, rayon only became widespread during the 1930s, when experiments with broken waste rayon revealed that the filament fibre could also be used as a staple fibre. This greatly increased its commercial potential, and gave rise to the popularity of the Hawaiian shirt during the period. The lettering and picture on the chest is flocked, a process developed in the early 1920s by the Knickerbocker Knitting Company (also known as Champion) for use on sweatshirts; it was only later applied to other textiles. 48

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champion

This is a simple, zip-up jacket with fish-eye buttons at the cuffs and a short collar. What it signifies, however, is so much more. The hand-embroidered, chain-stitched imagery on its back places it squarely in the 1950s, at the height 1950s of the hot-rodding craze in the US. Hot-rodding was said to have been driven by young men returning from service abroad after World War II who had technical knowledge, time on their hands, and the habit of spending long days in male, if not macho, company.

CAR CLUB JACKET

50

Rebuilding and boosting cars for feats of both spectacle and speed – often 1930s Ford Model Ts, As and Bs, stripped of extraneous parts, engines tuned or replaced, tyres beefed up for better traction and a showstopping paint job as the final touch – became an issue of social status among hod-rodding’s participants; a status expressed through clothing too. There were the ‘hot-rodders’ of the 1930s, when car modification for racing across the dry lakes of California was more an innovative sport than a subculture, complete with the Southern California Timing Association of 1937 providing ‘official’ sanction. But by the 1950s, hotrodding was a style too. A decade later it was, as many niche tastes are, commercialized and mainstream, with car design showing hot-rod traits.

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yarmouth

SAILING coat 1960s Made of hi-vis rubberized cotton, with a corduroy-lined collar and armpit breathing holes for comfort, a single-breasted but deeply overlapping storm flap for the front fastening, throat latch and elasticated sleeve innards for protection, and even a whistle at the neck should the wearer fall overboard, this 1960s sailing coat was designed for serious deep-sea conditions. 52

unknown brand

MOUNTAINEERING SMOCK 1950s Reminiscent of the parkas designed for the US and German elite mountain troops of World War II (see the examples in the Military chapter), this 1950s smock too pulls over the head and would have been worn over full mountaineering kit of the time, which mostly comprised layers of hardwearing natural fibres. A key difference, of course, is the colour, the burnt red being devised to attract attention rather than to offer camouflage. The small envelope pocket would most likely have held basic rations, allowing eating on the go without having to remove any heavy pack.

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F.A. Stone & Sons

The Norfolk jacket was, as the British trade journal The Tailor & Cutter put it in 1888, ‘especially suited for bicycling, business, fishing, pleasuring and the 1950s moorland.’ It was, in other words, tailoring’s answer to the stout walking boot, typically made of a hardy cloth, like tweed, high-buttoning to afford protection, with tough leather buttons, deep bellows pockets and with a characteristic buttoning belt, fed through two box pleats down the facing of the jacket and down the back. Shoulder patches and a poacher’s pocket were often also found on the style. The jacket – sometimes called the ‘Norfolk shirt’ – is said to take its name from the fifteenth Duke of Norfolk. Its practicality was originally designed for Rifle Corp of the Volunteer Movement in 1859. The jacket was soon taken up in civilian life – or, more typically, that of the well-to-do – for stalking or sport shooting, with pleating allowing the easy raising of the arm to fire. The patronage of the garment by royalty – specifically the Prince of Wales, later Edward VII, who had a residence in Norfolk – ensured that it became a staple of the active male wardrobe of the time, even for boys, and internationally: in early twentieth-century Germany, for example, boys would be dressed in the Norfolkanzug. The Norfolk jacket’s popularity was influential in introducing the idea of men wearing trousers that did not match the jacket (as was standard in suiting). This particular example was actually made in Norfolk by tailors F. A. Stone & Sons of Norwich and Savile Row, London.

NORFOLK JACKET

above: Distinctive, one-button working cuff with handstitched button holes. LEFT: The belt is held in to the back of the jacket by long pleats down the back panel.

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Bespoke

Although smart and welltailored to modern eyes, this two-piece grey selfstripe suit was bespokemade during the 1940s specifically for rambling 1940s or hill walking. It has multiple deep pockets (with flap fastening to secure all contents); a collar buttoning to the neck; the use of a thornproof, waterresistant fabric; and trousers lacing from the calf, the better to tuck into high walking boots or to go under thick socks. This slightly Tyrolean style would also have been worn for skiing at this time. Indeed, from the late 1930s (and from later still in the US), Alpinestyle clothing remained highly fashionable; German and Austrian companies such as Lanz of Salzburg, makers of traditional folk costumes, had an established international export business from 1935.

ALPINE WALKING SUIT

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bespoke

SKiing trousers 1930s Probably dating from the late 1930s, these ski trousers – in heavy wool with flap pockets, braces buttons and integral fabric belt – would have been among the first items of clothing designed specifically for the sport. Until 1936, something of a boom year for interest in skiing, skiers would have worn warm layers and a ragtag assemblage of riding breeches, heavy work boots and gaiters. These were replaced by dedicated short gabardine jackets that were warm, tough, and easy to move in; fitted sweaters (often with a regional Austrian or Norwegian theme); and specialist loose, tapered trousers in dark colours (the better to hide soiling) such as these. There was a short window for the style – such was the sport’s popularity that by the late 1940s it had increasingly become the subject of fashion whimsy and technical advances. The likes of the Sun Valley Ski Clothing Company in the US introduced more streamlined styles, with 1952 seeing the first stretch-fabric ski clothing, designed by the Bogner company of Germany.

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unknown brand

MOUNTAIN PACK 1950s This French mountain pack from the late 1950s was less for serious climbs than for rambling or exploring the countryside. It is big enough to carry provisions and spare clothing for the day, but not so big as to be cumbersome. The distinctive red canvas is reinforced in leather at all stress points, including the base. The opening has an innovative closure system: the shoulder straps themselves bring the fabric together, and a leather latch and stud keep the gathering tight. 63

thor

Made in Britain during the 1950s, this typical mountain anorak would have been designed for the growing postwar interest in rambling and ‘the great outdoors’, in an era when holidays abroad remained rare and austerity measures made them less 1950s likely still. This jacket, by Thor (named after the Norse god associated with thunderstorms, oak trees and fertility) is made from Ventile (see page 167). It has been gently waxed to provide additional waterproofing. The anorak is close in design to the traditional original – a short Inuit garment made from fish-oil-coated caribou or sealskin and designed to protect from the damp and windchill of wide-open Arctic regions, it was worn pulled over the head, with hood attached and cinched waist and cuffs.

WALKING SMOCK

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BELOW: Distinctive buttondown central map pocket with zip closure.

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grenfell for Harrods

When Walter Haythorn-thwaite, owner of a mill in Lancashire, attended a lecture by Wilfred Thomasen Grenfell in 1922, he 1950s did not expect to leave with a challenge. Grenfell had led a pioneering medical mission to the most inhospitable Arctic parts of the Labradorean coast and was giving forth on the lack of available clothing for the mission’s needs. It had to be ‘light, strong, weatherproof and windproof. And above all it must allow body moisture to escape,’ he said. It was just not on the market. Haythornthwaite, owner of Haythornthwaite & Sons, put his business to resolving this. After a year of experimentation, he produced what he called Grenfell cloth – permeable enough to breath, but dense enough to keep out the elements; so dense, in fact, that the looms had to be strengthened to weave it and special methods developed to dye it. Grenfell himself was rather pleased with the result and adopted it for future missions. It was, he expounded, ‘light, durable, very fine-looking – a boon to us.’ It was a boon to others, too. By the 1930s, Grenfell cloth was the choice of the decade’s explorer-aviators, used by pioneering aviator Amelia Earhart; by the US Navy’s Admiral Bryd, for his ground-breaking flight over the South Pole in 1931; by Charles Kingsford-Smith, for his Pacific crossing; and by Jim and Amy Mollison for their Atlantic crossing. The racing driver Stirling Moss and other heroes of the sport had suits made from the cloth, as did Malcolm and Donald Campbell during their land- and water-speed record attempts during the 1930s and 1960s. Many everyday outdoors people benefited too. This walking jacket, made for Harrods, features a foldaway hood, a chin strap and reinforced shoulders to take the weight of any backpack. It is made of two layers of Grenfell cloth to make it doubly protective.

mountain jacket

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BARBOUR

The British brand J. Barbour & Sons did not invent waxed cotton – the process of waterproofing fabrics with oils and waxes pre-dates the company founded in 1950s 1894, possibly by millennia if the treating of skins this way is taken into account. British clippers of the late eighteenth century used oiled flax sails (pioneered by Scottish sailmaker Francis Webster), and later, in order to save weight, waxed cotton sails. Indeed, the methods for producing such sails did not differ much from that used by Barbour to produce waxed cotton items under its Beacon brand when the company was launched.

Solway Zipper walking jacket

It was not until the 1930s, however, that, after two years of development by Barbour and other companies, a waxed cotton was produced that neither stiffened nor yellowed with time. A new generation of comfortable, attractive and functional clothing made from it was possible, including motorcycle gear prior to World War II and, following the experimentation in design and manufacturer encouraged by demands of the conflict, many other styles. This Barbour Solway Zipper of the 1950s was one such item. In keeping with Barbour’s manufacturing practice of the time, the coat would have been lined with one of the proprietary tartans the company wove itself, and would have been made by one machinist from start to finished garment, including the waxing of the thread used to stitch the coat together.

ABOVE: Early ‘Barbour’s of South Shields’ label used prior to the company receiving the first of the three royal appointments which it now holds.

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bespoke

The red hunting jacket is characteristic of a bygone age in Britain, when fox hunts were a common countryside sight. As part of an ancient, if controversial, tradition, 1950s the jacket is replete with symbolism. Often referred to as ‘pinques’ or ‘pinks’ (it is said after the tailor who originally designed the jacket, though this may be more folklore than fact), the jacket’s red or scarlet colour is an echo of royal livery from the time of Henry II, who first decreed fox-hunting a royal sport. Only Masters of the Hunt, hunt staff and those who have received their ‘hunt button’ – given by Masters for long service to the hunt – are entitled to wear the red jacket. All other participants wear a navy or black one with plain black buttons, or, if under 18, a jacket in tweed (known among fox-hunters as the ‘ratcatcher’, the look also traditionally worn by all for hunts taking place outside of the season). The five brass buttons on this jacket – shown left reversed with its Tattersall check lining, also a signature style of these jackets – denotes that it was worn by horseman or a ‘whipper-in’, as hunt staff are known. Four buttons would denote a hunt master.

hunting COAT

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burberry

gentleman’s walking coat 1950s Burberry may be better known for creating the trench coat – an adaptation of its officer’s coat commissioned by the British War Office in 1914 – but their macs have become staples of the menswear wardrobe too. ‘This is the most popular model, being a direct descendant of Mr. Thomas Burberry’s original design,’ as a 1950s newspaper ad for this style of coat has it. ‘Cut on classic lines, it is suitable for all occasions. It has a ‘Panteen’ collar, fly front, buttoning pockets and back vent sleeves with a strap and button. All seams are overlapped and stitched. The check lining can be of wool, cotton or Union.’ But, for all the salesmanship, the mac has been celebrated more for its simplicity – it is effectively, a loose-fitting waterproof outer layer. It is waterproof especially if made of gabardine, a hard-wearing, water-resistant, breathable fabric made by treating the yarn before weaving and popularized by Burberry from 1880. The functionality of Burberry’s early clothing was recognized beyond civilian life by more than the army: Roald Amundsen, the first man to reach the South Pole in 1911, was outfitted by the company, Ernest Shackleton and his team on their expedition of Antarctica in 1914 wore Burberry too, as did George Mallory in his fatal attempt to climb Mount Everest in 1924.

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LEFT: Though now known for its house check, Burberry used various dfferent tartans and checks for its linings in the early part of the twentieth century.

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unknown BRAND

HUNTING JACKETs 1950s French hunting jackets of the 1920s through to the 1950s are among the most distinctive of sporting jacket designs, combining practicality with panache. After all, no function is served by the characteristic outsized, originally painted steel buttons, embossed with fanciful impressions of hunt quarry – rabbits, wild boars, deers and the hunter’s friend, his dog, all typically feature. In addition, the fit is often tailored to suit the strenuous nature of the activity. On the other hand, the multiple pockets, including a lined game bag at the rear, the belted cuffs, and the high-buttoning front all make for a suitable garment in terms of protection and storage. The fabric is pique or coutil, as it is known in France; this is a dry, extrastrong variant of corduroy with a flatter nap, also commonly used for French hunting and work trousers, not to mention to hold boning in place in corsetry. This fabric was able to withstand hard wear and contact with tough undergrowth alike.

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left: The poacher’s pocket at the back of the jacket shown here on the right of the image could be accessed from either side by the button-down, scalloped-edge opening. It allowed the hunter to store small game (or sandwiches).

ABOVE: These jackets typically feature pressed metal buttons embossed with animal motifs to keep to the hunting theme – commonly wolf, boar, hound, or stag.

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the motorist

In contrast to the more typical cord hunting jackets (see previous pages), this more elegant, 1920s summer-weight hunting jacket was designed by a gentlemen’s outfitters and sporting goods shop 1920s in Paris, namely the long-defunct Motorist, which no doubt also catered to the drivers of the newfangled four-wheeled ‘horseless carriages’. A more upmarket, lighter-weight and lightercoloured version, this rarer example has been tailored in pale, unlined cotton canvas. As is characteristic of pre-war hunting clothes from France, the distinctive brass buttons feature the hunter’s prey. The jacket also has an unusual arm gusset to allow maximum freedom of arm movement (see below right).

CANVAS HUNTING JACKET

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unknown brand

This canvas fishing jacket from the 1940s owes its unusual if characteristic shape to the needs of the 1940s sport for which it was specifically designed. The severe cropping allows the jacket to be worn with high waders, while the deep breast pockets provide as much room as the jacket allows for flies and other equipment without the need for a pack or returning to the riverbank. One additional pocket on the sleeve means that the fisherman can, with practice, retrieve an item while keeping both hands close together on the fishing rod. In its original state, it is likely that the canvas would have been gently waxed to provide some water repellency. The wool patch on the chest served to hold spare hooks and for the fisherman to dry his fingers.

FISHING JACKET

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hand-made

GAME bag early 20TH century

BELOW: The mixture of cord and leather on the strapping adds extra resilience, while the drawstring features fine, handcrafted detailing.

This French, hand-strung hunting bag, dating to the early twentieth century, has a series of metal loops around the closure that allow the bag to expand to hold larger game. The open weave of the bag lets blood or water drain without collecting – much as later, more structured, game bags would have a separate oiled or plastic-lined section to allow it to be washed out. The detailing here reflects the care expended on what is a functional but beautifully made item.

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Alaska Sleeping Bag Company

The writer Hunter S. Thompson was not impressed with goods from the Alaska Sleeping Bag Company, of Portland, Oregon. He wrote to the company requesting a refund for a hunting coat he had bought for $24.95 in the 1950s. His complaint was with what the catalogue 1950s had described as the ‘leather-lined’ pockets and ‘leather shoulder-patches’. ‘If the garbage on this coat is leather,’ he wrote, ‘I’ll eat it.’ The jacket was, he added, simply not up to the standard he had come to expect from the likes of L.L. Bean and Eddie Bauer, other brands he regularly bought from. In fact, the week before he had returned an ‘Everest Down Parka’ to the Alaska Sleeping Bag Company, one just like this one. ‘I suggest,’ he added, ‘that you be more careful about the wording of your catalogue.’ A second edition of the catalogue deleted the offending reference to ‘leather’. But the coat is not as poor as Thompson’s sharp missive might suggest – with a goose-down filling and a wolverine fur trim hood, it would have been exceptionally warm. Indeed, the Alaska Sleeping Bag Company was at one point a major player in the catalogue business for outdoors clothing, competing with the aforementioned companies as well as the likes of Orvis and Corcoran’s. But it folded during the 1960s, probably less as a result of its quality than its inability to deliver. The US mail-order business even has legislation named after it: the Alaska Sleeping Bag Law states that a seller must refund the buyer’s money if it cannot ship the goods bought within 21 days.

HUNTING PARKA

BELOW left: Capacious patch pockets with side access feature narrow openings resulting in a snug fit for cold hands.

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LEFT: The double stitching around the various pockets and pouches on the jacket gives it a quite distinctive look

DUXBAK

SPORTSMAN’S HUNTING COAT 1926 From the 1920s onwards, the makers of hunting jackets were keen to stress the utility of their garments as much in their name and branding as in their design. References to weatherproofing, dryness and ducks – for their own ability to fend off the water but also for being the game in question – were commonplace, despite the jackets being essentially simple, loose-fitting, thick canvas constructions with functional pocketing, notably the characteristic game pocket. The cloth itself is also typically known as duck – not from the hunting association, but rather a corruption of the Dutch word doek, meaning a plain linen canvas woven with one yarn on the warp and, unusually, two on the weft. The simplicity of the cloth belies its strength. The weave gives duck fabric the kind of toughness that has seen it used, in different weights, to make sandbags, tents and sails. It is one of the most popular fabrics for vintage workwear, since it is smoothfinished, tear-resistant and, given its unusual weave, wind-resistant. Duct or duck tape was originally made by adding an adhesive backing to strips of duck cloth. This example by Duxbak was patented on 9 February 1926 at the US Patent Office by William E. Conover and Bert D. Bush for their invention of ‘new and useful Improvements in Sportsmen’s Hunting Coats’.

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BELOW: A quote from the original patent gives an idea of the purpose: ‘The object of the invention is to provide a sportsman’s hunting coat that will be provided with a pocket adapted to be expanded for carrying game, shells or other objects’.

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RIGHT: The button-down side pockets allow access to the poacher’s pocket at the back which would have been concealed when empty but could expand like a bellows when used to capacity

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C.H. Masland & Co.

The construction of these hunting trousers melds both the traditional and the technical. Unusually for styles of the 1950s, their base is 1950s made from a cotton sateen of a kind typical of much military clothing of the World War II era. Since this would have been softer and more comfortable than simple cotton duck, but not as strong, the designer has added leather patches to the front of the legs from the hips down – suggesting that lining up the target would have been done on one’s front. Leather also reinforces the edges of front and back pockets. The military feel of this piece of workwear is no surprise when the manufacturer is considered. C.H. Masland & Co. was established in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, in 1866 by Civil War veteran Charles Masland. His business was making carpets, including, throughout the 1920s, carpets for Ford’s ground-breaking Model T cars. Carpets remained Masland’s business until 1940 – a year before the US joined World War II – when its looms were turned over to the war effort and the production of various canvases for military use. For this, it even scooped the Board of the Army and Navy’s Excellence Award. The war over, Masland successfully turned his looms to the making of outdoorswear, much of it featuring military touches. In the mid-1950s, production reverted to making carpets, which continues at the time of writing.

Hunting trousers

BELOW: The trousers are factory-sewn with a leather trim throughout for reinforcement, which would have made them extraordinarily hard wearing but also expensive.

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unknown brands adapted

HUNTING JACKETs 1940s – 1950s If the leather patches on the Masland hunting trousers featured on the previous pages were affixed by the manufacturer to provide added wear protection, these hunting jackets have been customized by their owners to much the same ends. This first British home-made jacket – made out of a rough canvas used by the British military in the 1940s and 1950s for varied purposes, including the construction of camp beds and water-carriers – has been reinforced using scraps of sheepskin for comfort at the shoulder (to soften the recoil of the stock on firing) and for wear at the elbows. The right elbow shows an additional layer of leather, probably a repair to a hole caused by shooting from the horizontal position. The second, Field Master, jacket (opposite) sees similar basic patches of fabric added for reinforcement or repair with little regard for camouflaging or colour co-ordination.

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this page bELOW: From left to right the details show: steel closure for internal poacher’s pocket; a cord-lined cuff to give additional strength; a shotgun cartridge pouch. The triple-layered pockets on the main image are from top to bottom: hand-warmer pocket, cartridge pocket, patch pocket.

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LEFT: This back view of the jacket shows hand-sewn red panels for maximum visibility from behind. Why? So that your buddy doesn’t shoot you in the back.

Sport Chief

college sports jacket 1950s The letterman-style bomber jacket has come in many guises, even if traditionally best-known as having a wool body and contrasting leather arms. This 1950s model by the now-defunct New York company Sport Chief opted for a wool body with unusual knitted sleeves that allowed for the addition of the extra stripe decoration.

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HERCULES

Hercules has become one of the most widely recognized and desirable workwear brands of the first half of the twentieth century, even if the name was first applied in 1908 by its 1930s US owners Sears to an early heating system. Sears went on to apply the brand name to a range of household appliances and even to an insurance scheme, until the winter catalogue of 1964/65, when it was used for the last time, specifically on a range of cotton bandanas. But Hercules was best known in conjunction with workwear – given a lifetime guarantee in keeping with the sense of strength and endurance suggested by the name – from chambray shirts to over-trousers. Hercules clothing was widely worn by munitions and industrial workers on the US home front during World War II. Also under the Hercules name came this 1930s letterman-style jacket, with its wool body, horsehide arms and distinctive American football-shaped pocket detail. The jacket lacks the chenille cloth letter (typically that of the first letter of the school’s name) awarded to a student for success in studies or sports as part of the letterman system that was widespread in the US until the late 1950s.

VARSITY JACKET

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Royal Canadian Air Force

The bomber jacket, once in a rich Royal Air Force blue, was worn by a member of the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) Hockey Club and, dated 1940, prefigures an unlikely if memorable victory. The Canadian Aviation Corps 1940s itself had inauspicious beginnings, being formed in September 1914, comprising two pilots, one mechanic and one biplane bought from a Massachusetts company for no more than the $5,000 allocated. Later renamed the RCAF, the force’s hockey team also started small. New guidelines for the Olympics of 1948 set down stringent rules on the amateur status of entrants to events, leaving Canada unable to field a team for the ice hockey event. But on hearing this, Squadron Leader A. Gardner Watson sought permission to form a team from RCAF members, which the various authorities gave without much hope in their advancement, especially since they gave him just 48 hours to build his team. The RCAF team, however, went on not only to compete in 1948, but to win gold, beating the Swiss team on home ground in the final.

Hockey Club jacket

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unknown brand

NATIVE AMERICAN US VARSITY JACKET 1940s This 1940s US varsity jacket is unusual for its contrast insets of different leathers – both in terms of texture and colour – across the shoulders and upper arms, and on the pockets. The embroidered bird design on both shoulders is of unknown origin, but is possibly Native American. The eagle traditionally represented honesty, courage and freedom, among other positive attributes; this could be a home-made logo for a perhaps nowdefunct American football team, birds having long been adopted by the likes of the Atlanta Falcons, Arizona Cardinals, Philadelphia Eagles and Seattle Seahawks, among others.

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CHAPTER

2 MILITARY

ilitary clothing forms a considerable part of the Vintage Showroom archive – a reflection of the influence of military clothing on civilian menswear. Indeed, its functionality has repeatedly made it appealing to the civilian market, with surplus meeting an ever-green demand for affordable, hard-wearing garments, often dyed or customized to disguise their military origins. Equally appealing are those service dress items worn less by the rank and file and more by the officer class – tailored to imbue authority rather than work well in the field. All military tailoring, in fact, finds its ancestry in a time when commissions were bought, and officers had to supply their own uniforms. But the wide appeal of military clothing lies in large part in the way it has traditionally been created: designed not by fashion teams but specialists in ergonomics – though they may not have carried that name at the time – who sat in government departments, coping with precise budgets (so no room for wastage) and then contracting out for production to reliable manufacturers who would produce them in often huge numbers. Or, as the Vintage Showroom archive suggests, in much more limited numbers when the end user had a more particular purpose: submariners and special forces, parachutists and bomber pilots. Many of the pieces shown here inevitably stem from World War II. The vast scale of the conflict ensured not

M

only that national output was turned over to the war effort (including that of clothing manufacturers, while civilians saw their clothing strictly rationed), but that the scope for clothing types was greater. The conflict raged in all climates and conditions. The period may have been a low for humankind, but it was a creative peak for standard- and specialist-issue clothing. The pieces here lean heavily to the British and US armed forces (and to a lesser extent those of France and Germany). The reason for this is simple: their considerable war machines, colonialist policies and central involvement in both world wars made them frontrunners in the design and manufacture of military clothing, much of which was copied by the armed forces of other countries. Their military clothing was typically produced in such vast numbers that a buoyant surplus market grew up after the end of World War II, with governments keen to offload as much excess stock as possible in order to at least break even on production costs. At the end of that conflict there was demand for such items out of pure necessity; their appeal lasted longer both because of their affordability but also their durability. Indeed, surplus military clothing has arguably been the prime mover in the utilitarian design of clothing that remains central to menswear today. 107

Stohwasser & Co.

Hussar’s tunic 1937 In the British coronation year of 1937 – and perhaps for related ceremonial purposes – tailors Stohwasser and Co. of Conduit Street, London, bespoke-made this braided tunic for a lord, who was a lieutenant in the 11th Hussars. The tunic is made of black barathea in the eighteenthcentury style adapted from uniforms worn by Hungarian cavalry, specifically the dolman, a short jacket with horizontal gold braid and so-called Austrian or Tyrolean knots at the lower sleeves. This decoration was typically worn only by officers – except, that is, in the Hussars where the knots were worn by all ranks.

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British Army

Boer War keepsakes 1899–1902 The First Boer War (1880–81) proved a rude awakening for the British Army; their red-jacketed uniforms proved dangerously conspicuous against the desert surroundings, while the Boers themselves were clad in khaki uniforms (‘khaki’ comes from an Indian word meaning ‘dun’ or ‘dust-coloured’). As imposing as the red may have looked – designed more to be impressive than to hide blood – the camouflage afforded by khaki came to be appreciated by the time of the second Boer War (1899–1902), when the British Army made the colour switch. A long way from their loved ones, soldiers would cut or tear patches from the surplus cloth, hand-draw the lettering and send the patches home as keepsakes.

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Gieves ltd

It was in 1835, 50 years after its foundation, that James Gieve’s men’s outfitters business really took off with officers of the Royal Navy. Although the 1910s company had established a reputation for excellence – such that Admiral Lord Nelson was a customer – that year it acquired Joseph Starkey Ltd., gold lacemen and wire embroiderers. These were artisans who worked to give their pieces the dazzle at cuff, collar and shoulder, a move that made the company the pre-eminent, one-stop shop of bespoke uniforms for senior ranks. At the time, no standardization of uniforms existed within the Royal Navy, leaving officers in the trusty hands of a specialist tailor. Gieves achieved particular distinction through its use of a special colour silk in their gold lace, while remaining true to the strict Admiralty standard (applied at least to officers if not

Royal Navy grouping

common sailors) of gold wire of 2.5 per cent gold and 90 per cent silver, regulations that were later eased in tougher economic times. At first, however, there was little distinction between dress and service uniforms, and such splendour – the coatee with slash pockets for white gloves, the bicorne hat with embroidered fouled anchors (worn by this time ‘fore and aft’, which is to say, with one end to the front of the head), the braided sword belt and slings – would have been worn at sea. The company went so far as to publish a guide, ‘How to Become a Naval Officer’, outlining the often complex details of naval uniforms of the time. This was a great help to a fledgling officer, especially since well into the mid-nineteenth century he is likely to have been appointed to his position without necessarily having ascended through the ranks, and would have been expected to provide his extravagant uniform at his own expense. By 1914, Gieves (then called Gieve, Matthews and Seagrove) had begun to publish for naval men what was in effect a forerunner of the mail-order catalogue.

below: The velvet-lined tin box for storing hat, sword belt and epaulettes. The interior of the hat shows Gieves’ royal appointment label.

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above: The gold epaulettes shown are stored in their own velvet-lined tin box along with the sword belt, hat and aiguilllettes. right: These are aiguillettes, the word is French and means small needle. Originally the word was used in reference to the lacing that linked plate armour together.

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far right: Ceremonial sword belt showing the ‘royal warrant of appointment’ given to Gieves Ltd by King George V. Royal warrants were first recorded in 1155 with a royal charter granted by Henry II to the Weavers’ Company. By the fifteenth century, royal tradesmen were recorded with a royal warrant of appointment.

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left: This original wooden toggle with rope loop offered a simple yet effective closure for duffel coats; they were commonly referred to as ‘walrus’ teeth’ .

john hammond and co

This 1943 Royal Navy duffel coat, made by John Hammond and Co., is a twist on the classic. In navy, shorter, without the hood and made 1943 in huge numbers the orginal was used during World War II, issued to captured or rescued enemy sailors and used widely by dockworkers. The version shown here has the original’s most characteristic elements: it is made from dense, blanket-type wool and the opening is secured using large, wooden ‘torpedo’ toggles and rope loops, which are easily fastened with cold, wet or gloved hands. The original model, of course, owes its fame to a landlubber – General Montgomery, allied commander of British forces during World War II and an army man, adopted the longer, camel-coloured and hooded version as something of a signature

duffel coat

style (along with his beret). The coat was designed to offer a cheap, warm, protective outer layer for Royal Navy personnel of all ranks when on deck. Indeed, the duffel coat came in loose, non-specific sizes and was designed to be thrown on by whoever needed it most at the time: the coats were rarely owned by one individual. The two-piece hood was cut loose so that it could be worn over a thick beanie hat or even a peaked cap. The name duffel is thought to come from the Belgian town of the same name, where a similar coarse woollen cloth has been produced for centuries. But it was sharp-eyed business people who really made its name: in 1951 the Ministry of Defence approached Harold and Freda Morris to help dispose of surplus duffel coats. They saw its civilian potential immediately and soon after began to make the coats. Their company, which had long made gloves and overalls, was reborn as Gloverall, and is still the maker of the ‘authentic duffel’ today. 117

royal navy

STOKER’S PANTS 1930s Standard trousers for ratings (noncommissioned officers) of the Royal Navy during World War II were distinctive for their historic touches – the wide, flared leg, for easy rolling up when decks needed to be swabbed, a lace-up back and a multi-button drop-down front panel. What makes the trousers pictured distinctive is not their zinc buttons (made in Birmingham, England), but the fact that they come in densely woven white canvas rather than the traditional, heavy navyblack wool, providing a more protective layer and a degree of fire-resistance. This is because they were worn by a stoker, the rating (non-commisioned sailor) charged with firing the engines of steam-powered warships. Hard, hot and dangerous work (the engine rooms were so deep within the ship that the chance of escape should it be shelled or torpedoed was very slim), the stoker’s was an officially recognized job from 1842. A century on, it was no more glamorous. Today, the term ‘stoker’ is used only colloquially in the Royal Navy to represent any marine engineering rating.

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Kriegsmarine

foul weather deck coat 1940s This foul weather deck coat was devised for Kriegsmarine (Germany Navy) U-boat crewmen who had to go up to the exposed surroundings of the conning tower deck while the submarine surfaced. Everything about it was designed to cope with water. It is made of rubberized cotton (being just half-lined), has a storm yoke across the shoulders to drain water off and away from the body, was double-breasted, helping to keep clothing underneath protected, and has wooden (and hence rustproof) buttons. Even so, the low profile of the submarine on the surface and the harsh weather of the North Atlantic meant that waves frequently engulfed any watch crew on the conning tower, which not even this coat could cope with entirely successfully.

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Belstaff/royal navy

Just as manufacturers whose main business was to create clothes for the public found themselves either co-opted to 1960 s a war effort or, in peacetime, winning contracts to supply the military, so often the designs and fabrics created to this end would later find their way back to the civilian market. This Belstaff foul weather jacket for the Royal Navy was manufactured by Belstaff during the 1960s, either to their own design or to a military spec. This included fully taped seams, making the coat

foul weather suit

both wind- and waterproof, a drawstring toggle at the neck to pull the hood across the face, and an integrated neck support to assist in flotation by keeping the head back should the wearer find himself in the sea. It also used a brightly coloured, heavy-duty waterproof nylon – then an advanced fabric. A decade later, Belstaff began to use the fabric as an alternative to waxed cotton for its famed motorcycle jackets (see pages 36–37). The foul-weather jacket itself underwent various improvements during the 1970s too, with this model’s asymmetric, button-front fastening being replaced with a Velcro storm flap.

Special Boat Service

One of the simplest garments in the Vintage Showroom archive is perhaps one of the most elegantly designed. This World War II-era anorak – or ‘anarak’, 1940s as the specifications label states – was designed to provide maximum utility with minimum complication, being modelled on the original anorak made of fish-oil-coated caribou or sealskin native to the Inuit of the Arctic region. Pulled over the head, the anorak’s hood and back section are made of one piece of oiled, windproof cotton fabric – the fewer the seams, the more waterproof the jacket. The neck is tightened with a basic pull, while an inset zip pocket on the chest provides storage.

ANORAK

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That design – possibly a customization by the jacket’s original owner – was likely to have been added to provide easy access to contents when sitting down, since this anorak would on occasion have been worn while canoeing. It was the Special Boat Service, an Army commando unit charged with special amphibious operations and for which this jacket was designed, that pioneered the use of submarinelaunched, lightweight folding canoes – easily hidden or carried over land – to use waterways to reach deep into enemy territory or attack coastal or harbour targets. Originally created as the Special Boat Section in 1940, its most famous operation was in 1942 – the sinking by limpet mines of four German ships on the Gironde River in an action that won its participants the sobriquet of ‘the Cockleshell Heroes’.

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royal navy

Ursula suits 1940s Away from senior officer oversight, servicemen of World War II would often adapt civilian clothing to their own use. As with members of the Long Range Desert Group (see pages 184–85), the unforgiving work given submariners afforded them a degree of laxity. They also best knew the conditions they worked under. Lieutenant-Commander Richard Barklie Lakin was a daredevil figure whose hobbies included racing Bugattis and his 1000cc HRD Rapide motorbike, then the world’s fastest. For this he wore a one-piece, tan waxed-cotton waterproof garment from Barbour that had two chest pockets, a velvet-lined collar and a zip-fly front. This he took with him when he joined the submarine HMS Ursula as navigating officer in 1938. Its Lieutenant-Commander, George Philips, quickly seized on the Barbour as a waterproof garment superior to the ones officially issued but ill-suited to the soaking conditions of the conning tower. At his own expense, he adapted it as a two-piece version – jacket and matching over-trousers – and tested it, albeit with the rather unscientific method of aiming a fire-hose at it. In 1941, the suit gained official sanction to be adopted as standard submariner’s clothing – at least for the crew of his submarine. Its cost meant that what became known simply as the ‘Ursula suit’ was never widely issued. Made by Barbour and Sons of South Shields, England, and also by Lawrence Nedas and Co., of Kent, England, the Ursula suit was ahead of its time. ‘The only consolation [of being a submariner],’ as World War II Royal Navy submariner Gus Britton noted, ‘was the comfort that a Barbour suit gave when those seas were coming solid over the bridge rail. Those poor bastards in the destroyers still had oilskins, seaboots and a towel around their neck, which did nothing to keep the seas out.’ The Ursula suit also inspired Barbour after the war’s end; it was a direct ancestor of the company’s International biker jacket, with its signature ‘drunk’ chest pocket (see pages 42–43).

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This page and opposite: The suit on this page shows the original fabric colour of a suit that has seen very little use. By contrast the suit on the opposite page was used by the owner both during his time in the navy and then afterwards as a foul weather suit on his motorcycle. The suits pre-date the International by Barbour and the Trialmaster by Belstaff and were picked up and used along with much military surplus in the 1940s and 1950s.

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opposite top: The suit was made to a very high standard, with a heavy-gauge, lightning zip-pull at the front, and extra-large Newey press studs to snap-close the wind flap that conceals the front zip.

opposite below: The waxed cotton outer shell was lined with wool for extra warmth. The edges of the pockets and zips were strengthened with leather for extra durability.

below: The suit featured both a chin strap and a storm flap for the face. It is really here that you see the influence this jacket had on later waxed motorcycle jackets.

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barbour

The British outerwear manufacturer J. Barbour and Sons may have pioneered waxed cotton for civilian purposes, but its utility for military garments had obvious application and was not overlooked. This 1945–1951 jacket is now better known as the International – a staple Barbour motorcyclist’s jacket, launched in 1936, that was popular among motocross riders and made iconic by its being Steve McQueen’s choice during his trial-riding days of the 1960s (see pages 42–43). The jacket also saw life between those periods with a military specification and with the British Army motorcycle couriers of World War II in mind – hence its being described as a ‘suit’, since this would have been worn with matching waxed cotton over-trousers. Indeed, after the war it was the jacket’s rising popularity as wet-weather gear among civilian motorcyclists – who picked up surplus examples – that probably encouraged the Barbour company to make more of its civilian version.

Military-issue motorcycle suit

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The jacket’s most distinctive characteristics are the ‘drunk’ or angled chest pocket, designed to hold maps and give easy access, and the stand-up ‘eagle’ collar, short so as to not interfere with helmet fastenings and moleskin-lined for comfort against the neck (this was later replaced with corduroy on civilian models). One tell-tale sign of the jacket’s military origins is its heavyweight Newey press studs, also found on British Army-issue Denison smocks (see pages 136–37), among other kit. Indeed, for military purposes the jacket is itself an evolution of the Ursula jacket (see previous pages), designed by Barbour, again to a military specification, for Royal Navy submariners. In terms of functionality and protectiveness (and, although hardly important during wartime, stylishness), this was as much an advance on the oilskins or unwieldy overalls typically worn by submariners as the Barbour suit was on the motorcycling capes commonly worn prior to its issue. Similar in style, the Ursula jacket – named after HMS Ursula, the submarine that trialled the jacket and trousers in 1939, although they were not standard issue for another two years – lacks the biker style’s distinguishing angled pocket.

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swedish army

Despatch rider’s jacket 1930 s This Swedish Army despatch rider’s jacket, dated to the 1930s, is designed to protect both rider and documents. Made of goat skin, with a grey wool blanket lining and with an asymmetric cut – akin to Schott’s classic Perfecto biker jacket of the same era – the front flap fastens down using a curious series of buttons, toggles and horn clips, with leather lace side-adjustors further ensuring a tight, streamlined fit. The asymmetric cut in this case also leaves room for the atypically large document pocket. Empty or full, this would have provided added insulation for vital organs during Scandinavian winters, but also ensured that all but the largest of documents stayed with the rider, should he fall from his motorcycle. This model jacket was replaced in the 1950s by a heavy green canvas version, which was issued by the Swedish Army into the 1980s.

right: The unique design of the jacket with its asymmetric fastening allows for the over-size document pocket that dominates the chest. The toggle fastening at the neck is unusual on motorcycle jackets.

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INDIAN ARMY

The Denison jacket was widely copied by armies all over the world, each making their own slight adjustments. This Indian Army paratroopers’ division jump jacket has, for example, buttons 1940s rather than the press studs of the World War II British Army original, is zip-through, and has knitted wool cuffs and two internal pockets. The Indian Army also made changes to suit the local environment – its version of the Denison is unlined and the brushstroke camouflage is more exaggerated, with a reddish-brown frond-like effect. The Indian Army founded its parachute division in 1945. It saw action in World War II and during the 1950s in Korea and Kashmir.

paratrooper’s smock

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us army

Perhaps no better designer of military equipment can be found than the people who will use it and depend on it. The M1942 paratrooper jump jacket is just such an 1940s item, having been devised by the US Army’s Lieutenant General William Yarborough, along with Corcaran jump boots and the parachutist badge. It was Yarborough who effectively moulded the US Army’s famed Green Beret parachute regiments, himself seeing action during World War II in Algeria, Italy and France. The jacket went through several variations before arriving at this version. It is reinforced by tough canvas at the elbows and characterized by its four signature bellows pockets with asymmetric flaps – parachutists were often cut off both from each other and from main forces and so had to carry provisions that allowed them to be as self-sufficient as possible. Bellows pockets also featured on the trousers. When all pockets were full – and they had two rows of steel press studs to allow fastening when fully stuffed – the figure appeared to be somewhat inflated, giving rise to the Green Beret nickname ‘devils in baggy pants’. A further design detail is the double-sided pocket built into the placket. This contained a small knife to be used for cutting parachute lines if snagged on landing. The general idea of the jacket’s design proved so successful that it was adapted for the US Army’s tropical combat uniform, which saw extensive use throughout the Vietnam War. Yarborough’s other contribution, the jump boots – high-lacing, soft-soled boots with a double-buckled strap at their top – were less successful, since the buckles could catch on parachute lines. Despite this potential danger, members of parachute regiments are said to have preferred them as a symbol of their distinction from humble infantrymen, who continued to wear standard M43 combat boots.

M1942 paratrooper jump jacket

far left: The concealed knife pocket that runs vertically down the front of the jacket just above the chest pockets could be reached with either arm due to its twin-zip opening. left: The signature bellows pockets with press studs were used to store provisions.

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british army

When Winston Churchill ordered the formation of a corp of 5,000 parachutists based on the German airborne troops who played so 1940s successful a part in the occupation of France in 1940, War Office designers immediately began work on specialist clothing for the job. They based their initial designs on the Knockensack, or ‘bone sack’ jacket worn by German troops – akin to overalls with thighlength trouser legs. The overalls were often removed and abandoned on landing. By 1942, they had been replaced by the more comfortable, more functional Denison smock, pulled on over the head, loose-fitting and consisting of an unlined heavyweight twill, making it windproof but not entirely waterproof or especially

paratrooper’s DENISON SMOCK

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warm. Some troops continued to wear the overalls over their Denison. High-ranking officers, the likes of General Montgomery, would typically have their Denison bespoke-made in gabardine. This smock was worn over webbing equipment but under parachute pack and harness, had four external pockets fastened by heavy-duty Newey press studs (the bottom two typically for holding grenades that could be thrown during descent), two internal pockets, a fabriccovered half-front zip, and a crotch flap to bring the jacket close to the body and limit inflation on descent. The flap often worked loose when walking, encouraging the Arabs of North Africa to nickname parachute troops various versions of ‘men with tails’. The camouflage was hand-painted and later screen-printed in a distinctive, broad brushstroke effect believed to be best suited for African and Italian landscapes. The pattern was made using non-colourfast

dyes, one alleged idea being that it would fade away over time to leave the jacket looking like a civilian labourer’s jacket and so help its wearer evade capture if cut off behind enemy lines. The jacket was also worn by glider troops and agents of the Special Operations Executive. A more fitted version was introduced in 1959, but variations on the Denison were issued until the mid-1970s.

above: The cuff has been customized with the addition of woollen, army-issue socks. This was common practice to make the sleeves warmer and more windproof. right: Detail of the steel, half-length zip fastener.

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aircraft appliance corporation

Survival vests aimed to do just what the name suggests – keep their wearers alive long enough to be rescued. This was particularly the case if the airman found himself ditched in 1930s water or crashed in deep cover – for example, the orange colour typically used, known as Rescue or International Orange, is designed to be highly visible from the air. The USAAF C-1 Sustenance Survival Vest, made by Aircraft Appliance and later Sears Roebuck, was issued during World War II but used during the Korean War and to a limited extent even during the Vietnam War. The vest was designed to be worn over uniform and A2 leather jacket, and under body armour, parachute harness and Mae West (an inflatable buoyancy aid). However, it proved so bulky with its pockets full of standard survival equipment (including first-aid kit, compass, knife, signalling mirror, fire starter, insect repellent, waterproof matches, sun goggles, water bladder, flares, gloves and survival manual), that it was eventually housed in a musette bag attached to the parachute harness ready for bailout. It could then be donned on landing. The vest was made from heavy-duty cotton or, later, as with this example, in ripstop nylon. It is much like the later RAF-issue T67 Firefly tabard (also used by the SAS and still standard-issue airman’s kit for NATO forces in the twenty-first century), which also has pockets in glove leather. Both are one-size-fits-all, adjustable by laces up the rear.

C-1 survival vest

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US military

aviator’s kit bag 1940 s Although designed to hold a US Army Air Force pilot’s personal effects, the powers that be were always on hand to remind him that even his canvas kit bag was, as the stencil here states, ‘property of US government’. This particular 1940s model could also be used by Navy personnel – the ‘AN’ prefix on the stencil denotes ‘army/navy’ – but its preference among flyers is what won it its nickname, the parachute bag. This kit bag entered pop culture when it was used by Captain Hilts, the American pilot POW played by Steve McQueen in the 1963 war film The Great Escape.

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reed products inc

Tough, warm leather and sheepskin had long been the preferred choice for flying jackets – especially 1940s by aviators, many of whom continued to use their leather jackets (against regulations) well into the Korean War era. But World War II saw the start of a process to replace them with styles designed using more modern fabrics, chiefly with the intention of making them lighter and less bulky (a serious consideration given the amount of other equipment that also had to be worn). The B-10 was the first step,

B-15 FLIGHT JACKET

followed by enhancements that saw the issue of the B-15A, this jacket, the B-15, followed by the B-15C and D models. The B-15 featured an off-set zip closure and leather clips for oxygen lines and press-stud clips for radio wires. The olive drab cotton sateen body – designed for the temperate weather of the European theatre of war – covered a windproof alpaca lining and had a high mouton collar with a storm flap. The collar was later replaced by a knit collar, primarily because thicker collars were found to interfere with new helmets. It also had several details that have survived to flight jackets today, including knit cuffs and waistband, vertical slash front pockets and, most characteristically, a pen pocket on the sleeve.

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Royal Air Force

The early history of the Royal Flying Corp (later the Royal Air Force) saw its flyers poorly dressed for the cold they faced at altitude. Its first official 1940s garment, in 1912, was just a wool-lined, thighlength, asymmetrically fastening jacket with map pocket, to which was later added a pair of leather trousers. It was not until 1916 that the RFC saw fit to issue any kind of waterproof clothing. But a happy accident by Flight Sub-Lieutenant Sidney Cotton of 3 Wing Royal Navy Air Service was to change all this. He found that his greaseimpregnated maintenance overall was more windproof than the purpose-made flying clothing. He took the idea and, with J. Evans of Robinson and Cleaver, created the first aviator’s overalls-style suit. It was made of proofed khaki twill over rubberized muslin and a mohair liner, with a fur collar, pockets above the knees and a map pocket on the chest. The War Office approved the so-called ‘Sidcot’ (after Sidney Cotton) design in 1917, and it became the standard right up until World War II. Later adaptations of the Sidcot suit saw it follow progressive military clothing design of the period in thinking in terms of layering systems – clothes that could be added or removed to provide more or less heat and protection depending on the environment (while also allowing crew to be at least part-dressed and ready for short-notice take-up all of the time). By World War II, for example, the Sidcot could be worn over a quilted kapok liner (which could also be worn without the Sidcot and a heated waistcoat), while the Sidcot itself had options – one was a detachable fur collar. The last version of the Sidcot, issued in 1941, was electrically heated, attaching by press studs to electrically heated gloves and boots too (the suit’s apparently too short arms and legs being designed to allow a seamless connection).

Sidcot flight suit

below left to right: Rear of suit showing part of buckleback fastening belt and side-hip entry pockets allowing access to the uniform underneath; button-fastening crotch flap; top of asymmetric zip showing wraparound collar for added warmth and windproofing.

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Baxtor, Woodhouse & Taylor

By 1942, British Air Ministry designers were having to respond quickly to the high casualty rates among the crews of bomber aircraft shot down over water, by providing clothing that could aid survival without 1942 making operation of either aircraft or its weapons unfeasibly cumbersome. The so-called Taylor suit – after Baxtor, Woodhouse & Taylor Ltd., the company that made it – was heavily padded with kapok (a kind of silk cotton, good for buoyancy), fully lined in a heavy cotton with a shell made of the same yellow material used for Mae West life preservers/buoyancy aids to assist Search and Rescue in sighting crew in the water. On later variants, the external pocket at the waist housed a signalling lamp and dye pouch for the same purpose (both items taken from the 1941 Mae West), while additional pockets were placed across the chest, legs and back of neck, into which kapok flotation

buoyancy suit

Below: Clockwise from top left: cuff pull tabs; parallel full-leg zips; collar fastening; Air Ministry stencil and label inside the Taylor suit; number marking on back. opposite: Detail of the torch pocket. overleaf: Early example Taylor buoyancy suit issued to aircrews of the Boeing Flying Fortress.

pads could be added for further buoyancy (since a Mae West was not worn with the Taylor suit in already cramped conditions). The suit was heavy – internal braces help its wearer take the weight – but also designed to be quickly removable; one zip fastens neck to crotch, two more the entire length of the legs. This was a point noted in promotional materials (presumably used when pitching for Air Ministry approval). ‘It [the suit] has been designed to give comfort, freedom of movement, warmth, electric heating, buoyancy, fire resistance, quickness of removal,’ it notes. Taken on, it was worn notably by crew of Lancaster bombers and, for the USAAF, of Boeing Flying Fortresses, although few benefitted from the electric heating claimed. This came only from a heated waistcoat worn, along with standard battle dress, under it. Often the elements were so unreliable – shorting out, causing burns – that flyers would remove or disconnect them. That left the main intended beneficiaries of the Taylor suit, tail gunners, shivering on, separated from the elements only by a thin Perspex shield, or sweating profusely come summer or a delayed take-off.

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Royal Air Force

ESCAPE and EVASION BOOTS 1943 The functionality of military clothing – such as these flyer’s boots for the RAF – did not only take in such considerations as durability, comfort and warmth. Designers had to ponder, for example, how distinctive – potentially dangerously so – they would be on an airman who had been shot down over enemy territory and wanted to pass unnoticed among the civilian population. Working for the War Office during World War II – specifically as a technical adviser to intelligence service MI9, the branch responsible for ‘escape and evasion’ – Christopher ‘Clutty’ ClaytonHutton created many useful devices for air crew. These included escape vests, torches concealed in bicycle pumps, compasses concealed in buttons and pens, and maps printed (by Waddington’s, the board games manufacturer behind Monopoly) on silk handkerchiefs – the cloth able to survive a soaking, its road markings and so on sometimes camouflaged amid a bigger, seemingly innocuous, pattern. For these boots, Clayton-Hutton ensured that the top, sheepskin-lined section could be easily cut away, using a blade concealed in the boot, turning a hefty boot into a plain black Oxford shoe that would not draw unwanted attention. Other models saw escape aids fixed into a hollow section of th e heel, an idea later to appear in the cinematic exploits of James Bond. Clayton-Hutton’s 1960 book, Official Secret, was one of the first postwar memoirs to divulge the techniques developed by MI9.

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irvin/RAF

pilot’s suit and accoutrements 1940s Clothing for combat flying during World War II quickly became highly technical and specialized, as advances in aircraft design meant flying higher and for longer, resulting in increased exposure to pressure variations and the cold. Some air forces were more prepared than others, with the Royal Air Force among the most advanced in its designs. One US Army Air Force pilot, Lieutenant Royal D. Frey, noted how he and his crew wore a ramshackle selection of warm clothing – everything from tank crew jackets to GI high-top shoes and silk gloves, for an additional layer under leather ones – when he began flying sorties over Europe from bases in England. ‘A few of us lucky ones in the 55th Fighter Squadron had well-used RAF helmets given to us by our British friends,’ he added. They modified these to accommodate AAF earphones rather than wear the AAF helmets issued. This RAF leather helmet and 1941-pattern leather gauntlets would have been particularly in demand; the gloves have the welcome improvement over their predecessor of the diagonal zip, which made putting them on over an Irvin sheepskin jacket much easier. The RAF Mk3 goggles, however, were of mixed appeal, largely because the Perspex lenses, while shatterproof, scratched easier and melted in high temperatures, such as during cockpit fire. Despite service throughout the Battle of Britain, they were replaced by superior designs later in the war.

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opposite: The Irvin jacket is synonymous with World War II RAF fighter pilots. It was made of thick-pile sheepskin fleece and coated on the outside with a brown, waterproof dye.

below: Type-C helmet, suede-lined at the front. The elasticated strap of the Mark V111 goggles is held in place by a series of leather straps and fastened at the back with a buckle.

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P. Frankenstein & Sons/raf

The RAF Pressure Jerkin, issued from the 1940s, took its nickname, ‘the Frankenstein’, not from its seemingly frightening arrangement of zips, toggles and straps, as its manufacturer, namely the Victoria 1963 Rubber Works, also known as P. Frankenstein & Sons of Newton Heath, Manchester. The company specialized in making rubberized fabrics and, on the outbreak of World War II, survival equipment. It would later make the orange spacesuits used in Stanley Kubrick’s 1968 movie 2001: A Space Odyssey. The Frankenstein had the standard attributes of survival vests, such as the Rescue Orange colouring and survival equipment, but was also more advanced than many models of the time. The Mae West inflatable was built into the garment, which also went some way to negating the impact of G-forces on an airman bailing out of his aircraft at speed and high altitude (trousers with the same function would have been worn with it to protect the lower half of the body, since the RAF never issued a full-body pressure suit). As such, it prefigured the jet age and was worn by crew of Lightning fighter interceptors, as well as the Canberra, Victor and Vulcan bombers throughout the 1950s and, as with this model, into the early 1960s.

Pressure Jerkin

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aero leather company/USAAF

The choice of white for this military garment is easily explained: it was designed for camouflage effect in Arctic environments. But the use of shearling 1930s sheepskin – warm but heavy and slow to dry – is unexpected, making this piece especially rare, and evocative more of pioneering Arctic expeditions by the likes of Ernest Shackleton at the turn of the twentieth

B-7 sheepskin flight jacket

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century than anything typically worn three decades later. Sheepskin was an ideal choice for high-altitude flying up until World War II – leather in general being a flyer’s choice for its warmth and strength long after the open-air cockpits of early aircraft became a thing of the past. But it was quickly replaced by lighter-weight technical fabrics after the conflict. As befits the tight budgets to which military garments have been made, especially during wartime, the coat is not made from large sections of sheepskin – as a modern equivalent might be – but from sections of skin, each seam reinforced by a leather trim in goat or horsehide. The

shoulder tabs are to hold markings for rank, since the rest of the wearer’s uniform would have been well covered up, though fully sewn-down tabs were also used by some to feed through parachute straps – an action that military command dissuaded after parachutists became tangled in the lines. The patch/map pockets ensured that gloves – essential to avoid crippling frostbite – were always at the ready. Later versions of this shearling sheepskin parka in brown were created for US ground crews of the Aleutian Islands campaign off Alaska during World War II (from June 1942 to August 1943) and were in production for just one year.

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Aero Leather Company

While the US Army Air Force used much standard equipment across various roles, certain jobs were sufficiently particular, in working conditions and hazards, to require specialist garments. Aircraft mechanic was deemed to be one of these 1943 jobs worthy of some of the vast research and development budgets the US military at times applied to the design of its uniforms. Mechanics, after all, had to spend long hours exposed to all weathers,

D-2 mechanic’s parka

often in below-freezing conditions, and were subject to being splashed by highly toxic aircraft fuel. Required was the D-2 mechanics’ parka, in this instance made by the Aero Leather Company of Beacon, New York, a company that fulfilled many military contracts from World War II onwards. In 1936, mechanics were issued with B-3 winter flying jackets and trousers, just as pilots were, but when this cumbersome kit proved tough for mechanics to work in, a replacement was developed. This was the heavyweight, thick, dark brown shearling, fleecetrimmed D-1 of 1940. But it was still too bulky. So in 1943 came the D-2 parka – this time made of alpaca-lined boat

cloth in an attempt to find the ideal compromise between warmth and a lightness that made the mechanic’s work more manageable. Unusually for a still hefty garment, it was pulled over the head, both to minimize openings that could let out heat, but also to reduce the metal on the jacket – the scraping of which could cause sparks (hence the press studs at the cuffs are set on the knitted cuff under the sleeve). Leather patches also prevented the cord used to tighten the neckline from fraying the fabric. The hood and lining were both fully removable to make the coat wearable in warmer weather, and to make the shell more easily cleanable. 159

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Luftwaffe

This jacket, designed in many fabric types for Luftwaffe pilots during World War II, had one core function: to keep its wearer warm, either at high altitude in bombers, for which this fleece-lined blue 1940s shearling version was probably created, or when ditched in water. Hence the German air force pilots’ somewhat bleak nickname for the garment: the ‘Kanal’ or ‘Channel’ jacket, after the stretch of water separating Britain from the European mainland. This example was made from several pieces of leather, since larger pieces were prohibitively expensive and offered no advantage of utility. All channel jackets shared key details – zip cuffs with elasticated inners, large map pocket and a large-toothed zip which was less likely to snag on gloves or equipment wiring.

Pilot’s ‘Channel’ jacket

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RAF Mountain Rescue Service

Aircraft could be built by the thousands, but pilots were not so easily replaced. Consequently, World War II saw the RAF place a growing emphasis on the importance of search-andrescue operations, with the RAF MRS, or Mountain 1950 s Rescue Service, being formed by a medical officer, Flight Lieutenant George Graham, at RAF Llandwrog in North Wales in 1943. Since the MRS’ members were volunteers, no official uniform existed – this despite the obvious need for clothing that could withstand the elements without hampering mobility. Most members would wear an ad-hoc selection of warm and waterproof clothing. However, one jacket that the MRS did later make its own was this; part of the RAF flying uniform of the 1950s. Many of its design details are ideal for the conditions in which the MRS operated (many have also appeared on other military garments): an angled map pocket, a pen pocket on the sleeve, wooden toggles and outsize buttons that would be easier to use while wearing gloves, the ‘beaver flap’ that pulled up between the crotch to create something of a cocoon, and an internal belt that cinched in the warmth but also in part supported the back when carrying a pack. No wonder, then, that – despite the RAF’s habit of destroying outmoded kit rather than selling it to surplus dealers – the jacket was also popular with explorers and mountaineers including Edmund Hillary, the first man to climb Mount Everest.

cold weather parka

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RAF

The cold weather parka on the previous pages also came in a rare polar-white version, used by the RAF for winter operations. This example has a wool lining, an angled map pocket and heavy wood 1940s toggles (see below) so that the neck fastening could be easy undone when wearing gloves. The beaver tail (shown below right) would drop down at the back if it wasn’t buttoned in to the coat. The zip pull, also shown here, was reinforced with leather. Perhaps the stand-out feature of both this and the previous jacket was the use of Ventile, one of the technical fabrics developed during World War II by the Shirley Institute in Manchester, England, initially for pilots’ immersion suits. This was a densely woven cotton, using long staple cotton fibres, which provided excellent breathable windand waterproofing for the time (the weave expands on contact with water, closing any gaps between it). For covert military purposes, it also had the advantage of being soundless, unlike the rustle of competing technical fabrics. Since it also used up 30 per cent more yarn than conventional woven fabrics, the military provided garments made with it rather sparingly.

military snow parka

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Gebirgsjäger

How to camouflage oneself in a terrain that might go from the extremes of snow plains to fir forests? The solution for the 1940s Gebirgsjäger, the German Army’s elite mountain riflemen during World War II, was twice the jacket. It was a simple (if expensive to produce) reversible anorak known as the Windbluse, one side in white, the other in one of several tones of tan, grey, brown or green depending on the landscape in which it was to be worn. It provided a windproof layer over the standard uniform. As with this example, buttons were made from composite pressed fibre, created to deal with the damp and cold of the operating conditions, but also to allow dyeing to match the fabric colour on which they were set (although other versions also used buttons in metal or glass). A series of pockets, front and rear, were placed in positions that would not interfere either with the use of a backpack or during skiing. Cuffs, neck and crotch all had enclosure mechanisms to minimize the effect of windchill, the cuffs on more advanced versions using a complex, spring-loaded buckle that was widely used on mountaineering jackets of the time. The jacket was originally made using a blend of 67 per cent cotton and 33 per cent rayon, although this was soon replaced by a cheaper 100 per cent rayon version. As World War II advanced further cost-saving measures led to the white side of the jacket being produced by covering the fabric with a white rubber paint, and non-reversible versions.

Mountain parka

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this page: The three distinctive pockets across the chest make this parka instantly recognizable. To ensure maximum protection against the elements, the parka featured a button-fastening, asymmetric neck and face protector that sits over the lace-up storm flap.

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this page: The pockets which give this parka its unique look and include the small back pockets shown here, were positioned to allow maximum accessibility.

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US ARMY

The US Army mountain jacket has one of the most striking features of all specialist clothing designed in 1942 for service during World War II – a large-capacity cargo pocket across the back, closing on the left side by way of a zip, effectively 1940s providing a built-in rucksack. Although not strong enough to carry heavy items, this space did allow clothing and food to be carried when a backpack was deemed impractical, such as on short or covert missions. An internal harness system of canvas straps even allows the wearer to better distribute the load of any supplies carried in this outsize pocket. Indeed, this device – together with the hood which folded down into an integral pocket on the back – was an example of consideration given to the needs and operational requirements of elite forces, in this case the 10th Mountain Division and the First Special Service Force. The jacket, devised for the European theatre of war, is made of a rain- and wind-resistant cotton. It has two large chest pockets, fastened with both zip and buttoned flaps, and a channel through which any belt could have been slipped; again a means of helping to cope with heavy loads by keeping the full integral pack close to the body. The jacket would have been worn as the outermost of a number of layers, including a wool undershirt, a standard-issue flannel shirt, and several wool sweaters.

MOUNTAIN JACKET

below left: The internal system of harness straps that allows the wearer to redistribute the load of the built-in rucksack.

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US Army 10th Mountain Division

SNOW PARKA 1942 The simplicity of the US Army’s reversible snow ski parka – closely modelled on traditional Inuit examples – belies its functionality. The A-line cut allowed freedom of movement, two chest pockets allowed hands to be warmed against the body when necessary, an over-thehead fit meant fewer opportunities for heat to escape, while the fur trim also kept in warmth. Wolverine fur was used specifically since it was found to have superior frost-shedding and de-icing properties compared with other furs, real or synthetic, both of which tests showed would be damaged by having the frost knocked or brushed out of them. This, a 1955 report to the US Patent Office noted, was probably down to wolverine fur having ‘the greatest filament diameter within the Carnivora order, with consequential exposure of less surface to ice per given weight of hair’. Several versions of the parka led to this one, of 1942, worn by the 10th Mountain Division during World War II; it was later replaced by one with a zip down the front. 174

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broad arrow

Founded in the early twentieth century in Rushden, Northamptonshire, England – the epicentre of the Goodyear welted footwear industry – John White has two seemingly 1940s contrary accolades. It was the first British men’s footwear company to have a department in New York’s famed Macy’s store, and – co-opted to the war effort, as so much industry was – it was also the biggest supplier of boots to British troops during World War II, making some 1.25 million pairs of its ‘Impregnable’ model every year. The company did not only make boots for soldiers; it also made them for prisoners of war. The broad arrow stitched onto the front of the upper of the pair opposite was a sign typically used to denote the Ordnance department – organizer of suppliers to the military. It is

prisoner trousers and boots

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a derivative of the pheon, a two-barbed arrow used as a heraldic device. Its use can be traced back to the first Office of Ordinance, created by Henry VIII in 1544, and generally used to denote government property (or property purchased using the monarch’s money) until 1855, when the War Department alone continued to use it. The arrow used as a symbol of imprisonment – as with these prisoner’s trousers, issued by the British Army to POWs – similarly denoted ‘crown property’ and again pre-dates its more familiar use on military equipment. The idea of covering prisoners’ uniforms with arrows was that of Sir Edmund du Cane, Chairman of Convict Directors in Britain during the 1870s, who considered the arrows a hindrance to escape (akin to the striped or boldly coloured uniforms worn by prisoners in the US today). The same ‘felon’s brand’ broad arrow pattern was indented on the soles of prisoners’ boots, each step leaving its impression in dust or earth. Its use was discontinued in 1922.

this page: This pair of leather shoes featuring the stitched broad arrow would have been worn by a prisoner of war.

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Us Army

HBT, or herringbone twill, was adopted by the US Army initially as a blue-dyed, 232gram heavy cotton fabric for work uniforms – worn for base maintenance tasks – 1940s as a replacement for those originally made in denim. But the utility of such a hard-wearing fabric as HBT meant that, dyed light sage green or khaki, by 1941 it was soon seeing active duty, initially as a cold-weather layer to be worn over standard wool clothing, and also, when its suitability for

HBT POW GROUPING

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tropical climates was realized, on its own. HBT became a signature fabric of the US Marine Corp, with the HBT utility uniform (comprising trousers, shirt and cotton canvas hat) in use as late as the Vietnam War. Its hard-wearing nature meant that there was always surplus of HBT – hence the uniform being stencilled ‘PW’ and used as a uniform for prisoners of war held by the US during World War II. Ironically perhaps, the nature of the light sage green dye meant that repeated washing would slowly bleach the uniform into a shade closer to grey – a tactical concern given both its visibility at night and its similarity to German uniforms leading to potential ‘friendly fire’ incidents.

A new pattern was introduced in 1943. Gone were the 1941 version’s small chest pockets and adjustable waistband in favour of a much simpler shape and more carrying space, with two large cargo pockets each on shirt chest and on trouser hips. It was also now made in a much darker shade.

US ARMY

Military uniforms typically show a progression an emphasis on appearance – in which dress and service uniforms are close in style – to one on functionality, in which 1910s smartness is secondary to utility. This US Army summer uniform dating from 1917 is a case in point. The colour, the four large patch pockets and the blackened brass of the buttons are utilitarian (the latter do not reflect light, which might attract an enemy sniper), while the nipped-in waist

Summer uniform

of the fit, the stand-up collar and the button decoration are more about maintaining a military bearing in the ranks. After World War II, one Lieutenant-General Edmund Gregory noted that military uniforms tended to revert to the dressier, tighter fit during extended periods of peacetime. The buttons may be one reason why soldiers of the US Army Expeditionary Force during World War I were given the nickname ‘doughboys’: some argue that the outsize buttons of the jacket and the white spats typically worn over boot tops and below puttees suggested the traditional gingerbread man. Another suggestion is that the moniker comes from the era of the

Mexican-American war, when the desert dust suggested soldiers sprinkled with flour. It was from the experience of the Spanish-American War that 1899 Army Uniform Regulations first provided a uniform in khaki for field service, to be introduced in 1902. The war had seen both olive drab and blue uniforms used, the wearers of the latter recording disproportionately higher casualty rates. World War I saw the introduction of a single khaki uniform for active service and non-combat or ordinary duty alike. The US military did not introduce special uniforms for specialist environments or uses until 1940, when involvement in World War II looked increasingly likely.

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Japanese Army

While most innovations in military clothing were pioneered by the armed forces of the US, Britain or Germany in the run-up to and during World War II, the 1940s Japanese Army were ahead in their switch to khaki colouring. Indeed, it was the first army to discard bold colour for ceremonial duties as well as for clothing in the field. This occurred at the end of the Russo-Japanese War, when only the cavalry of the Imperial Guard and officers of high rank were allowed to retain dress uniforms for certain special occasions. For most servicemen, this style of tropical-weight tunic (below) and parka (opposite), from the 1930s, was standard. The parka is allegedly the inspiration for the robes worn by Jedi knights in the Star Wars series.

tropical uniforms

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Left: The coat has a removable hood which in this case looks to never have been worn. The fabric on the coat has broken down to a much lighter shade than the hood which was found in the pocket. The removable chin strap is held in place with bamboo buttons, as is the hood which buttons off. Right: These images showing the partially lined shoulder and the back of the garment that appears on page 180 and highlight the tailored aesthetic of Japanese military clothing of the period. Single-stitched throughout, the lightweight cotton tunic is designed for tropical warfare and fastened at the front with bamboo buttons.

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private purchase/LRDG

During World War II, it was not unknown for members of special forces to buy their own equipment – less out of necessity than as preference for some 1940s functional detail that they chose over the standard-issue clothing. Doing so was, strictly speaking, against service regulations, though the outsider status of special forces often meant that officialdom turned a blind eye to such activity. Such was the case with this jeep coat, a private purchase for a member of the British Army’s LongRange Desert Group. This group was founded in Egypt in 1940 by Major Ralph Bagnold as a reconnaissance and raiding unit, operating deep behind enemy lines, typically in the deserts of North Africa and later the eastern Mediterranean. The work of the LRDG was highly dangerous and the group never numbered more than 350 men, all of whom were volunteers. The jacket, heavily lined in kapok, shows signs of having had patches removed from the epaulettes; this was done either to hide the soldier’s rank in case of capture, or because the jacket saw further use on return to civilian life. The LRDG was disbanded at the end of the war in 1945.

jeep coat

below: From left to right: epaulette showing the ghost of major’s regimental ranking; internal kapok lining; collar heavily stitched for both strength and flexibility; belt buckle with the remnants of the original leather.

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British army/LRDG

The smock and trousers worn by members of the Long-Range Desert Group were made of an unlined, tightly woven fabric, with drawstrings to pull both in 1940s tight to offer their wearers protection against sand and wind (although design departments of the time never referred to such items as being ‘windproof’). But their primary purpose was one of camouflage. Worn over a standard uniform, the plain colouring of the set was ideal for the desert setting of North Africa in which many of the LRDG operations took place. Ironically, perhaps, the same pieces often found a second life after the war, worn by RAF Search and Rescue teams, but also by mountaineers – for whom high visibility rather than camouflage is typically considered the wiser option. The smock and trousers were also produced in white; they were supplied in huge numbers by the British government to American troops ill-prepared for winter warfare during the Battle of the Bulge, and for forest camouflage in other theatres of war.

smock and trousers

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British special forces

Waste not, want not. When excess stocks of so-called SAS Camo were left over at the end of World War II, it was made up into a small run of new windproof uniform sets issued for elite forces British Army operations over 1940s the remainder of the 1940s, notably in India, Burma and around the Malaysian insurgency from 1948 through to 1960. The broad brushstroke pattern was less intricate than

windproof camo smock and combat trousers

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many camo designs of the era, giving it a more general-purpose utility, and here was made up into trousers – issued to a member of 15 Para in 1945 – that are an unusual hybrid of previous patterns. The camo smock here uses a subtly different camouflage pattern, lacking the trousers’ tell-tale paintbrush streaks. Like the Denison smocks (see pages 136–37), it was designed by the Royal Engineers’ Major Denison, also of the British Army’s Camouflage Unit during World War II. The design was considered so versatile that it was subsequently adopted by armies in Asia, the Middle East and Africa. It also inspired derivative camo designs, notably ‘lizard’ during the 1950s and ‘tiger stripe’ during the 1960s.

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British Army

Camo tank suit 1944 The nicknames coined by servicemen for some military pieces are often tinged with humour and intended to undercut their seriousness, especially when used by conscripts in wartime. This impressive tank suit was typically known as a pixie or zoot suit – the latter perhaps because its bagginess resembled that of the 1920s and 1930s US tailoring style of the same name. It was designed for tank crews and, while most such overalls came in plain drab, this one comes in a brushstroke camouflage (as used on the standardissue Denison smock; see pages 136–37) The overalls were designed to provide a comfortably cool outer layer (typically worn with minimal uniform beneath) for the often unbearably hot conditions within the enclosed tank, while pockets, such as those near the ankles, were ideally positioned for sitting positions within the tank’s tight confines. The camo version was issued towards the end of World War II, and again for the Korean War, in order to provide additional cover for tank crews during rest stops or while awaiting orders, while great efforts were made using netting and brush to hide tanks from artillery or airstrike reconnaissance. As Roland Penrose, artist and camouflage pioneer (first as senior lecturer at the wartime Eastern Command Camouflage School in Norwich, then at the Farnham Castle Camouflage Development and Training Centre), noted: ‘To an old soldier, the idea of hiding from your enemy and the use of deception may possibly be repulsive. He may feel that it is not cricket. But that matters very little to our enemies, who are ruthlessly exploiting every means of deception...’

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British Army

Not all British military equipment during World War II was issued from the War Office and shipped by the quartermaster around the world; some items had more local origin. Such was the case with this sweater, made in 1944, probably in India, 1944 with a mixture of comfort, durability and dress regulations in mind. The deep V-neck, buttoned up with two small horn buttons, gave the wearer some versatility; the elbow patches – akin to those on sweaters issued to British commandos – covered the areas of greatest stress; and the slits at the shoulders allowed rank to be displayed through the wearing of epaulettes, even on such a seemingly casual garment. But if this is no ordinary sweater, in military dress terms, that may

Chindits sweater

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be because it was made for no ordinary military force. This example was made for a member of the Chindits, a special forces division of the British Army formed and lead by General Orde Wingate to complete operations deep behind enemy lines, typically against the Japanese in northern Burma during 1943–44. As well as the sweater, for night-time chills, the Chindit uniform was characterized by the wearing of a slouch hat and the carrying of a machete – a Chindit take on the Ghurka kukris. The Chindits – named after the Chinthay, a mythical half-lion, half-griffin beast that guards Buddhist temples in Burma – was multinational, comprising volunteer soldiers from Britain, Burma, Hong Kong and West Africa, as well as Ghurkas. Like Ghurkas, Chindits were regularly expected to haul 32-kilograms-plus of equipment – more than the mules they used – through tortuous landscape for hundreds of miles. Self-sufficiency and mobility were key to their success.

KING KARD OVERALL CO

This jacket has the look of a military piece but actually dates from the interwar period, specifically the late 1930s, when it was made for the CCC, or Civilian Conservation Corps. The CCC programme had been established by President F. D. Roosevelt as part of the New Deal – a rescue package aimed at countering the effects of the Great Depression – and comprised the organisation of huge 1934 numbers of the unemployed (and others) to take part in massive labour schemes, including the building of new interstate highways, as well as impressive engineering projects like the Boulder Dam.

M1934 WATERREPELLENT JACKET

The jacket’s pattern, designed in 1934, was heavily inspired by hunting clothes created by US rugged outdoors clothing manufacturer C.C. Filson – particularly in the use of tincloth, a heavy cotton canvas (also known as ‘duck’) as durable as denim but also slightly waterproof due to its light wax covering. The piece featured here also has double-layered shoulders, back and sleeves for extra protection; the top section is made from one piece of cloth, the lack of seams making it all the more waterproof. It was manufactured by the King Kard Overall Company, which would go on to make several garments for the US Army. Prefiguring this, the specification label is very similar to those used in strictly military pieces of the period, with details including the contractor that made it, the date of manufacturer, and sizing.

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A. WHYMAN LTD FOR US ARMY

The mackinaw or jeep jacket is typically associated with the US Army, for which it was designed; the first 1943 version appeared towards the end of World War I. It was probably based on a pattern not unfamiliar during the frontier days of the late nineteenth century, when a plaid or blanket cloth was typical. This, in turn, was possibly based on a garment first commissioned in 1811 by trader John Askin (on behalf of one Captain Charles Roberts) for the militia of Fort St. Joseph, the contract being fulfilled by the Metis aboriginal people of Canada. The style was named after the Straits of Machinac, Michigan, and was quickly taken up by loggers and hunters. Indeed, the readiness with which the short, double-breasted pattern has moved between civilian and military use is perhaps a recommendation of its functionality and style. The World War I pattern was adapted in 1938 as part of the US Army’s winter uniform, now made in green canvas and blanket-lined (actually a floating lining, not being sewn to the lining at the hem), with a wool facing on the signature shawl collar. A thinner version was introduced in 1941, one of 1942 coming without the wool facing, and one of April 1943, the last, also dispensing with the belt (possibly for reasons of wartime economy). Not all mackinaws were produced in the US. Some, such as this example, were made under licence in the UK. Dating to 1943, it retains the belt, suggesting that it was made in spring of that year, or perhaps made as a special order. This version was made in a darker shade cotton twill, with its plastic buttons also a tell-tale sign of its British manufacture.

Mackinaw JEEP coat

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moss bros & co ltd

The trench coat is arguably one of the most suggestive of menswear garments, in large part because film noir made it part of detective iconography – the essential coat of Sam Spade, Philip Marlowe 1930s–1940s and Dick Tracey, an association parodied by Peter Sellers’ role as Inspector Clouseau in the Pink Panther movies. The coat itself is of civilian origins – Burberry’s so-called officer coat – even if its success lay in its being adapted for military use to meet a War Office contract during World War I. This version with its distinctive D rings (from which equipment was hung) is from the British outfitter Moss Bros, founded by the unusually-named Moses Moses in 1851. Although the company would later come to be better known in the UK for its menswear hire business (created to outfit musicians who needed formal attire for performances at private dinner parties), in 1910 it established its ‘military department’ to outfit officers. Moss Bros had decided that there was good business in this market after the successful sale of a storeroom full of military clothing left over from the Boer War.

OFFICER’S TRENCH COAT

right: The cuff straps are belted to allow maximum protection agains the elements. The steel buckle retains some of its original leather covering.

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albert gill Ltd

Despatch riders provided an invaluable, if not crucial form of communication during both world wars. With telegraph and radio communications lines often broken by enemy 1943 activity, or the messages relayed on them uncertain of interception, the despatch rider provided an almost assured means of delivery – the likelihood of a single rider being physically arrested by the enemy was slight. He would be able to use his motorcycle to circumvent blocked roads and bomb damage, to move at speed and to deliver in person. He had to operate at all times and in all weathers; hence the need for considerable protection. This despatch rider’s coat, made by Albert Gill Ltd in 1944 and marked, in quartermaster fashion, ‘coat, rubberproofed, motor cyclist’s’, is made from bonded, rubberized cotton canvas fabric by Macintosh. Even after softening and with its perspiration eyelets under the armpits, it would have been an uncomfortably heavy and hot garment to wear. But it afforded almost complete water- and wind-proofing. The bottom of the coat even snapped together to cover the tops of the legs of the rider, with the front rear edge press-stud-fastened (using brass Newey studs typical of the 1930s and 1940s UK) onto the rear hem, creating a kind of military-grade romper suit. Straps on the interior that would have been used to secure the coat to the rider’s legs, preventing it from flapping about. A double-breasted cut provided an additional layer of protection to the chest, with a storm flap designed to keep water away from the body. The most distinctive feature of the coat, however, remains the slanted chest ‘map’ pocket that would have carried the message – a design detail copied for later cotton civilian biker jackets.

DESPATCH RIDER’S COAT

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USAAF

B3 flying suit and boots 1940s If the RAF has its iconic, short, sheepskincollared Irving flight jacket, the Army Air Corp – the forerunner of the United States Air Force – had its not dissimilar B3, adopted by the AAC in 1934 as its standard issue jacket, to be worn with sheepskin trousers and a pair of these A6 boots. It was favoured chiefly for the warmth it gave in the open gun bays – before the advent of Perspex provided some shielding from the elements, the air temperature could drop to 70 degrees below zero. The jacket has several considered design elements: the zip, for example, is backed with a flap that provided a kind of window sealant from the cold. It had an oversized collar ideal for turning up to protect the face and with double straps to hold it there, when turned down, it had press-studs on the underside to keep it neatly in place during windy conditions. The jacket was made of horsehide – which accounts for the two-tone effect of the leather – both for warmth and strength, since the jacket was prone to catching on edges in the cramped conditions of an aircraft interior. Perhaps less successfully, certainly from the wearer’s point of view, the B3 had a single pocket – just about enough for gloves or a packet of cigarettes – but no others, after someone in senior ranks decided that this would only encourage flyers to indecorously keep their hands in them.

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bespoke

Military clothing from the early twentieth century was often passed between allied troops of different armies, providing the immediate need of warmth and protection, rather than that of identification and – in the heat of battle – certainly not that of 1920s reflecting military dress regulations or discipline. This is one such item, making its origins hard to pinpoint. It has no hardware or labelling indicative of a particular nationality, making identification harder still. However, given its ‘dipping’ double-cuff design and the fact that it is single-breasted, it is likely to be French. The quality of the jacket, with its hand-sewn buttonholes, suggests that it was probably tailor-made for an officer rather than an enlisted soldier. It has since been customized rather crudely, with a coarse fur lining and a goatskin collar, perhaps suggesting that it made its way into the hands of a rank-and-file soldier (or perhaps dire circumstances necessitated its basic improvement for warmth).

military greatcoat

left: The choice of lining under the fly front shows the quality of the coat. above: Detail of the dipping double cuff.

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CHAPTER

3 WORKWEAR

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lthough today specialist workwear is increasingly only worn for specialist tasks – by those working in dangerous environments, or by the emergency services and so on – in the first half of the twentieth century to wear such kit was the norm rather than the exception. One piece of what was originally workwear – five-pocket Western jeans, devised by Levi Strauss & Co for miners and gold panners in the American West – has become the default for all sorts of manual workers, but also as an almost universal piece of leisurewear. Once a profession as humble as a street-sweeper or dockworker could be identified by the clothing the man put on for work – and he would wear it only for work. In the US train drivers wore locomotive jackets; in France a road-builder would wear the distinctive short, blue canvas jacket with the Peter Pan collar; in the UK a factory worker would wear similar, only his would be of a darker blue and have revers (turned-back edges) – smart even amid the smut. The Vintage Showroom’s collection of workwear is as much an expression of the diversity of work – or, at least, of manual work – as it is of the clothes that were created to make that work safer and easier; be that through the level of protection it afforded or – something

A

that is almost universal to workwear – the durability of the fabric and construction, which has meant much of it is still going strong today. Not that some of it hasn’t taken a battering: arguably a large part of the appeal of vintage clothing is best suggested by workwear: the lives of the clothing as expressed in the darns and patches, the alterations and home repairs. The idea of ‘Sunday best’, of keeping back a pristine outfit for more formal or public occasions, is surprisingly global, and with less need for work clothing to be presentable – in any conventional sense – it was worn until it fell apart. And was fixed and fixed again until it could take no more fixing. Perhaps more so than sports and leisure, or military clothing then, the workwear selected by The Vintage Showroom has, down the decades, become more art works than workwear: each piece originally mass manufactured, and over time becoming more and more hand-made, albeit by hands more concerned with the practicality than the prettiness of the effect. It serves as a reminder that the rarity of a piece of vintage clothing is not always simply a question of it being one of a few remaining survivors. Sometimes it can become a true one-off only through the long use it has endured. 209

bespoke

Dating to the period around 1900, this British tweed jacket and waistcoat – possibly of Irish rather than Scots origin, judging by the unusual multi-coloured flecks in the bottlegreen fabric – must have had a c.1900 long life of hard use, as its many repairs confirm. The fabric makes it an unusual and expensive choice for labourers’ clothing; labourers of the period simply wore hard-wearing but nonspecialist attire. However, the leather patching on stress points (a homemade addition by the owner) is typical of attire worn for manual labour at that time (and is seen on dedicated workwear as late as the 1960s). The lining, being a basic ticking stripe, is characteristic of the Victorian era; silken and boldly coloured linings became fashionable later, by the 1920s.

Tweed jacket and waistcoat

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bEsPOKE

On Tuesday 14 November 1939, a London tailor fi nished this three-piece Harris tweed suit. It was never worn – perhaps the owner failed to collect 1939 it because World War II had broken out two months previously and he had been drafted. Certainly the country life, for which this suit would have been made, was about to change forever. It is cut in a classic style for the period: the jacket with a broad peak lapel, the waistcoat cut with a central vertical buttonhole for a watch chain, the trousers wide with turn-ups, highwaisted and with braces buttons. The fabric is also a sign of the times, tweed being exceptionally heavy and hard-wearing. ‘tweed’ derives from ‘tweel’, Scots for ‘twill’; the word was purportedly coined when a nineteenth-century London merchant misread a fabric order and took ‘tweed’ to be a new brand name taken from the River Tweed on the Scots borders. Harris tweed has been hand-woven on the Scottish islands of the Outer Hebrides for centuries. It fi rst found favour among the well-to-do in 1846 through the patronage of Lady Dunmore, widow of the Earl of Dunmore, who had Harris weavers copy the family tartan in tweed for wear by her groundsmen. The fabric was so admired in her social circl e that the idea of gentlemen wearing tweeds in the country (as opposed to when in town) began to take root in British culture.

THREE-PiECE suiT

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unKnOWn bRAnd

fARmER’s CORduROy WORK TROusERs 1930s While the nineteenth-century frontiersmen and pioneers of the American West took a hard-wearing fabric of French origin and made it their own (‘denim’ derives from de Nîmes, a heavy eighteenth-century cloth woven in the French city), French workers of the same period wore corduroy themselves. In its heavier weights, this is just as tough as denim, while the tonal variation of cord itself and the colours it was worn in at the time – from seal grey and tan through to dark brown – somehow seem a better fit with working European earth. The bigger French workwear brands, such as Adolphe Lafont, often started out in business making just such traditional garments. Corduroy was also the choice of farm labourers in Germany, who referred to the fabric as ‘Manchester’, and a pair of cord trousers consequently as Manchesterhosen. This points to the origin of the fabric. Corduroy does not come from France, as is popularly believed – the connection between ‘corduroy’ and corde du roi, the fabric of kings, in French is tenuous at best, even if members of the French court did wear the fabric, along with its smooth cousin velvet. Rather, cord was fi rst produced in the seventeenth-century textile-making regions of northern England.

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unknown brand

BUCKLE-BACK WORK TROUSERS 19 th century It was not until the 1920s that lowerwaisted trousers entered men’s fashion, and with it the need for a belt – until then a largely decorative item. The norm prior to this was for trousers to be high-waisted (which in part accounts for the long rise on many pre-1920s trousers) and worn with braces, as would this pair. Braces also allowed a greater ease of movement at the waist, so they appeared even on work trousers as here. These were originally made in a dark navy herringbone cotton and are probably of French or German origin (such fabric was favoured by manufacturers in both countries in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries). The buttons – nearly all odd, some rusted, some zinc military style – and the fabric – with its numerous repairs and colour variation – speak of the life these trousers have led, but also of more straitened times when repair and reinforcement rather than replacement was typical and a garment was expected to offer long service.

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opposite: These buckle-back trousers would have been worn with braces fixed to buttons shown here.

below: The amount of repairs to the pocket suggest that these were perhaps the owner’s only pair of work trousers.

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hand-made

The popular conception of the kimono is as a ceremonial garment, but it actually has a tradition as workwear, which is the case with this peasant boro jacket. Hand-spun, hand-made th 19 century and hand-repaired in a cotton fabric, this late nineteenthcentury Japanese jacket follows the basic, traditionally Eastern, style of a flat-cut garment: unlike the standard tailoring of the West, cut to fit closely around the body, it closes only with a tie fastening. The jacket’s simplicity of style, however, is in stark contrast to the effect of decades of repair; the many different but complementary fabrics used to bridge rips and holes create a visually arresting variation and turn the jacket into something approaching an art or craft piece. The many repairs also speak of the value of the garment to its owner during its lifetime, and of an era when one’s clothes were few and rarely regarded as disposable. The same richness of life and apparent usage is occasionally found in later vintage garments, notably pre-World War II French industrial and agricultural workwear. The jacket also points to the early use of indigo in workwear – most famously with denim jeans – as a readily available, easily applied dye that hides dirt well and, over time, has even entered the language: ‘blue collar’ denotes manual labour. Indigo had become central to the textile culture of Japan by the time this jacket was made, following the banning of the use of silk for over two centuries until the late 1860s. This encouraged the importation and planting of cotton, which in turn was found to be difficult to dye, with the exception of indigo.

peasant’s boro jacket

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RIGHT: The buttons of this jacket and that oveleaf show the insignia of the sapeurs-pompiers, the civilian version of the firefighting units first established as paramilitary organizations and in 1810 as a bona fide part of the French Army’s engineering branch. Its members were France’s first professional firefighters.

uNKown brand

Might the French fireman have been the best-dressed emergency service in all Europe during the early twentieth century? These garments (see also overleaf) 1900s suggest as much. Although the patina of time (and possibly some waterproofing or fire-retardancy treatment) has turned the black-velvet-collared, single-breasted tunic (overleaf) into a dark brown shade, the cut is almost Elizabethan in its snug fit and intricately panelled back. The later double-breasted, indigo-dyed linen jacket (opposite and below) is more theatrical still, with its gilt buttons, epaulettes, and extensive piping and braiding. The high-waisted herringbone linen trousers (overleaf) that complete the uniform similarly carry a gold trim and, although these would have been worn with braces, the look is finished by the broad black and red belt. Sapeur means soldier while pompier references the manual water pumps used by the firemen. This in part explains the uniform’s military bearing. Indeed, the fire brigades of Paris and Marseille – the Brigade des Sapeurs-Pompiers de Paris and the Bataillon de Marins-Pompiers de Marseille – remain part of the French armed services (army and navy respectively), with today’s uniform still incorporating the same black and red belt.

sapeurs-pompiers’ uniforms

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RIGHT: Buckle-back trousers made of a heavy cotton herringbone twill. These would have been worn with braces.

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RIGHT: The heavy, cotton herringbone twill fabric has been treated with some kind of waxed or resin finish for waterproofing or fire resistance. The collar is edged with velvet.

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unknown brand

work jacket 1930s French workwear during the first half of the twentieth century displayed a love of stripes, though typically black and charcoal ones, lending an air of respectability to a garment while also allowing the fabric to better hide dirt. This French jacket’s black-and-white hickory stripe makes it unusual in using a pattern and colour scheme more usually associated with American workwear, though the almost Edwardian high-breaking revers and four-button closure maintains the customary French smartness.

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tailored

SPANISH POSTAL worker’s TUNIC 1940s This Spanish postal worker’s jacket is made of a heavy indigo-dyed cotton, like much workwear, although its decoration, including epaulettes, cuffs and brass buttons, suggests that it may have been worn more for ceremonial or clerical duties than in the fields or on the roads. Multiple pockets on the inside and outside of the jacket include one positioned over the expandable side vent, possibly for the easy storage of some kind of night stick.

228

BELOW: The same jacket inside out, showing its interesting grey linen lining.

229

230

US Navy

Military garments often have a second, civilian life, particularly after vast production runs to meet wartime demands leave considerable surplus once th Early 20 century hostilities cease. Indeed, governments have proven themselves keen to find dealers ready to buy up this excess at a cheap rate. So it may have been with this denim, selvedge-edge sailor’s smock characteristic of the first pattern devised for work duties of ratings in the US Navy.

Denim sailor’s smock

The embroidery reveals its use at some time by sailors of the Dollar Steamship Company. This was established in the early decades of the twentieth century by Scotsman and lumber baron Robert Dollar to move lumber from the Pacific Northwest to markets further down the coast, and it became a major player in the industry during the inter-war years. Based in San Francisco, the company not only bought its uniforms from the government, but seven of its ships, allowing Dollar to also establish a round-the-world passenger service in 1923. Robert Dollar died in 1932 and the line went bankrupt five years later. 231

232

Japanese merchant Navy

Sailor’s smock and jacket 1940s Both of these Japanese pieces date to the 1940s and are made from heavy cotton twill of the same khaki shade. The smock was designed for sailing – the pattern is familiar to seafaring communities and organizations around the world – while the jacket was for dockworkers. The jacket is half-lined with a fabric in a white and navy stripe, similarly a traditionally seafaring motif. 233

tHis pAGe: Jacket shown inside out. Only the shoulders are lined, perhaps to save on costs.

234

tHis pAGe: The front of the jacket has distinct, narrow-topped, pleated pockets, common in Japanese workwear and military wear.

235

236

Royal Navy

fearnought smock and jacket 1940s Although the sailors of the Royal Navy during World War II prided themselves on keeping their uniforms neat and tidy, the workers who stocked and repaired the ships while they were in dock had no such concerns – warmth and protection were their priority. Consequently, jackets were issued to them made of undyed felt or fearnought, produced by pressing and compacting together woollen fibres rather than weaving, a more expensive and time-consuming process. Felt had the advantage of being fire-retardant too (such that it was also used in the construction industry). The simple construction of these jackets, one an overhead smock with the opening fastened with cord and toggle, the other with its patch pockets, zinc buttons and one-piece stand-up collar, belies their sheer utility.

237

Arthur Miller

The donkey jacket retains its reputation as a garment of British working-class roots, having become an icon of the 1980s miner’s strike, of street sweepers, and even 1950s of radical politicians of the left. Small wonder then that it also came to be adopted by radical subcultures, from punks to, more typically, skinheads. Its utility was widely recognized – inexpensive to make, typically of black felt, with, in more recent times, plastic protective patches, it also became the coat issued to British prison inmates until the 1970s. But its origins were more industrial.

donkey jacket

238

The donkey jacket was said to have been created by tarpaulin manufacturer John Partridge for use by workers in the steel and pottery works of Staffordshire, England, on the request of a foreman responding to complaints from workers that constantly dripping water from heavy machinery meant they were soaked more often than not. Named after the steam-powered donkey engine of the early twentieth century, the jacket offered warmth in its unlined, woollen shell and, thanks to its strategically placed patches, both durability and protection from above. The pattern of the donkey jacket was based on a simple nineteenth-century sack coat. Early donkey jackets had their patches made of waterproof waxed

canvas of the kind that Partridge could supply. Later, more luxurious, models – as far as the donkey jacket was ever luxurious – came with leather patches, covering not just the shoulders but also the tops of the arms, with leather reinforcement strips on the cuffs. The jacket shown here was made for the London Borough of Lambeth (L.B.L.A.M. on the collar) by manufacturer Arthur Miller of Sheerness, Kent.

Selfridges

‘The customer is always right’ was one maxim of Harry Gordon Selfridge, American founder in 1909 1930 s of the now internationally known London department store Selfridges. And what the customer once wanted, from what is now regarded as an upmarket retailer, was work jackets such as this one, produced during the 1930s under Selfridges’ own label. Made of wool, doublebreasted, and with leather reinforcement around the pockets, on the cuffs, at the elbows and along the back length of the forearms, this was a jacket built to offer the value for money that Selfridge espoused.

WORK JACKET

Not that events always agreed – the Wall Street Crash of 1929, global depression, and the outbreak of World War II slowly brought the retail institution to its knees. Selfridge was forced to sell his business; the provincial outposts went to John Lewis Partnership soon after the war, while the Oxford Street flagship store went to the Liverpool-based Lewis’s department store chain in 1951. By that time, Selfridges’ pioneering founder – and one-time lavish entertainer and castle-owner – had died in straitened circumstances.

239

240

John Hammond & Co.

What job might entail constantly reaching into one’s pockets, so that their openings would need to be so extensively leatherlined as they are on this coat? The answer: a train conductor, who would 1950 s have kept change, ticket punch, schedules and ticket books in them (indeed, such multiple pockets are characteristic of train conductor uniforms internationally). This British coat, made for a railway conductor during the 1950s, although never worn on the job, was made by John Hammond & Co. – a company better known for the military clothing it made under contract throughout the first half of the twentieth century. Its piping and generally formal appearance were important in representing both the railway and in giving the conductor the necessary air of authority.

Railway conductor’s jacket

RIGHT above: Leather reinforcement patches on the coat’s pockets. right: The maker’s and cutter’s ticket on the interior of the coat. far right: The embroidered griffin on the lapels with their contrasting piping indicate that the coat was made for the Railway Service of London Transport.

241

improvised

Leather work vest 1940 s Almost medieval in appearance, this simple leather jerkin is workwear at its most minimalistic; basically, it is a leather carapace to be worn over a less hardy uniform to protect both it and its wearer. The idea was initially pursued for servicemen during World War I, particularly for motorcycle riders, although both British and American troops it adopted them too. Trevor Howard, who plays Major Calloway, the investigating British military officer in Carol Reed’s 1949 movie The Third Man, wears one throughout the film. The example shown dates to the 1940s; it is wool-lined, with reinforced buttonholes and Bakelite buttons, and made from a patchwork of leather off-cuts, in keeping with the need to ration and make the most of all raw materials. It would have seen most of its working life after the war; it was then that surplus supplies made the jerkin better known as part of the characteristic appearance of dustmen and coalmen (for whom the protection was ideally suited), and also for road workers.

242

243

Goodyear rubber Company

Although less attractive to modern eyes, this 1930s work jacket was advertised by the Goodyear Rubber Company as being made from premium-grade, front-quarter horsehide. It may have been made specifically for members of their workforce, though the quality 1930 s of the coat makes this unlikely. Alternatively it may have been a small diversion into clothing that was soon dropped. With its sheepskin lining the coat was undoubtedly made for cold weather, and the label’s boast of front-quarter, guaranteed horsehide leather suggests that it was made to last. Shearling-lined, it has knitted internal cuffs lined with corduroy, hand-warmer pockets, a high collar with a high fastening and a belt to pull the garment close to the body. Horsehide was commonly used in the US from the 1930s to the 1950s. Rather than being a product of deliberate slaughter, the leather was very much a by-product of the abundance of horses used in agriculture and farming. As horses were used less and less in farming their skins became more scarce and the cost of horsehide increased, making it an uncompetitive choice of leather. It was dropped in the 1950s in favour of steerhide.

HORSEHIDE WORK JACKET

244

gLObE mAnufACTuRing

The basic template of this US fi reman’s jacket from the 1950s remains largely unchanged today, with the exception that modern equivalents tend to be made from hi-vis, highly fi reretardant technical fabrics 1950 s such as Kevlar or Nomex. Indeed, as the label inside this cotton duck canvas jacket stresses, it is not an ‘approach’ garment, meaning that it is not designed to be worn by fi refi ghters working in close proximity to the heart of a blaze, for which additional liners are required.

fiREmAn’s jACKET

The 1950s saw the development of a threecomponent system to fi refi ghters’ jackets in the US. This comprised an outer shell, a moisture barrier, and a thermal barrier, between which were pockets of air referred to as ‘dead zones’ that further insulated their wearer from extreme heat. Throughout the twentieth century, standards of heat protection in such clothing have increased, through the use of synthetics, from some 260°C (500°F) to 650°C (1,200°F). Much about this older jacket (made by Globe Manufacturing of Pittsfi eld, New Hampshire, established in 1887 and still running) is still highly functional. The double front enclosure gives some protection from fi re,

and the fast-release aluminium clasps (also used on US Navy garments from World War II, as alluded to by the anchor motif) allow the jacket to be both fastened and unfastened with gloved hands and, more importantly, removed at speed should it catch alight. In addition, the pockets are deep to allow for the carrying tools, and the hi-vis strips would allow a fi refi ghter to be seen under even weak torchlight in dense smoke. Part of what fi refi ghters sometimes referred to as ‘bunker’ or ‘turnout gear’, the jacket would have been worn with bib trousers on suspenders, boots and, of course, the distinctive fi reman’s helmet.

247

248

left: The back of the jacket features a long reflective strip.

below: Top to bottom: Inside pocket with button right on the edge for easy fastening; Globe manufacturer’s label; steel, quickrelease clasp fastening on the front of the jacket, a feature commonly found in both civilian and military firefighters’ clothing.

249

250

Arctic Insulated Clothing Inc.

This parka may remind movie fans of the 1968 Rock Hudson Cold War thriller Ice Station Zebra – although the bright orange colour of its outer 1960s facing marks it as being for civilian rather than military use. (Around this time, military garments adopted so-called Rescue or International Orange as a lining for jackets for air crew in particular, allowing the jacket to be turned inside out to give the wearer a better chance of being spotted from the air by search aircraft.) In this instance, the orange has faded from years of use, the thin atmosphere and bright skies of the poles possibly contributing to this effect. This garment was made for the US Antarctic/Arctic Research Program (USARP). Prior to the development of specialist technical fabrics, this would have been superbly warm, taking its effectiveness

EXPEDITION parka for USARP

direct from nature. It is filled with duck or goose down, which has the advantage of being light and soft relative to its density, while the hood is trimmed with wolf’s fur. Unlike synthetic trim, fur does not act as a repository for ice crystals condensed from the wearer’s breath – a fact that the clothing of Inuit and Saami peoples has demonstrated for centuries. The leather trim on the knitted cuffs was added later by the coat’s owner – a DIY design detail that would have made these stress points harder-wearing. The maker of this garment, New York’s Arctic Insulated Clothing Inc., hell is made from a windproof and water-resistant tightly woven cotton akin to Ventile, a fabric developed for the British military during the previous decade (see page 167). In addition, the large pouch pockets are fastened using Velcro; although invented in 1941 by Swiss engineer George de Mestral, the ‘zipper-less zipper’ was not patented until 1955 and did not see commercial application until around 1958, not long before this parka was made.

BELOW: The original patent for this parka says that the use of wolverine fur was chosen because of its ‘superior frost-shedding or de-icing properties’.

251

ROyAL CAnAdiAn mOunTEd POLiCE

These high, cap-toe boots, with functional front lacing and decorative side lacing, were part of the traditional distinctive dress uniform of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Canada’s national police force. It features midnight blue and yellow trimmed 1930s breeches, brown, broad-brimmed Stetsonstyle campaign hat (with the front-on, so-called ‘Montana crease’), Sam Browne belt (of leather with a diagonal support going over the shoulder) and red serge jacket with blue epaulettes – these replaced gold-trimmed scarlet straps when King Edward VII granted the mounties ‘Royal’ status for service in the Second Boer War (1899–1902). All together, this striking kit was known as ‘Review Order’ and was only commonly worn for ceremonial duties. Much of the uniform pre-dates the formation of the RCMP in 1920, being part of that worn by the North-West Mounted Police, founded in 1873. This force kitted itself out from a mix of British military surplus and US Cavalry uniforms. The RCMP itself was formed out of the combination of the North-West Mounted Police and the Dominion Police.

Riding bOOTs

253

254

jayees

metal WORKER’S JACKET 1950 s Less common in British workwear than the more usual heavy cotton drill, denim was often the fabric of choice for machinists and metal workers. The durability of the fabric suited it to more physical tasks. The jacket is of a basic cut with three large patch pockets, a metal, button-fastening front with a one-button working cuff. The extra length of the jacket has clearly been useful as protection in the past.

255

unknown brand

In times when the soles of work boots were often hob-nailed, worn boots could have exposed nail heads used in their construction. Even the smartest of shoes were worn with a ‘blakey’ – a small metal horseshoe-type strip 1953 across the front of a leather sole to minimize wear – and the contact of metal with the ground could literally make sparks fly. Obviously, sparks had to be avoided in an ammunitions factory, hence the wearing of these British canvas overshoes. They were made in 1953 using wooden rather than metal pins (see opposite).

Ammunition worker’s canvas overshoes

256

257

unknown brand

Made of rubberized cotton, in hi-vis allover yellow – essential for those lost overboard – this jacket and matching hat would have been standard wear among fishermen until the 1960s, when technical fabrics offering a better combination of warmth, breathability and waterproofing began to replace more traditional garb. 1950s This jacket is an update of previous types that would have been made out of oil- or tar-coated canvas. Both jacket and hat were colloquially known since the 1830s as a sou’wester (or, in some regions, as a nor’wester) – an abbreviated form of ‘southwester’, in reference to the wind known to bring rain and turbulent seas. The short brim, upturned lip and low profile of the hat ensured that it stayed on the head even in the roughest of such winds, with the lip acting as a gutter that channelled water to the back and away from the body.

FOUL WEATHER smock

259

handknitted

This fisherman’s sweater, dating to the 1940s, is akin to the British guernsey or gansey sweater, knitted with heavily oiled wool flat and tubular so that it 1940 s can be put on in a hurry either way round (and so that areas of wear can be repaired and turned away from further friction). It has a distinctive pattern traditional to the fisherman’s home port or village. This sweater differs from the original guernsey in having a rollneck (rather than a short stand-up collar) and standard-length sleeves (a guernsey typically has sleeves slightly short for the arm), suggesting that it is likely to have been home-made to the maker’s own design.

Fisherman’s sweater

260

opposite: The front panel of the sweater is knitted in a different stitch to that lower down. Fishing communities would sometimes develop patterns that were specific to a particular port or coastal region, with the man’s initials knitted into the pattern. The body of a fisherman who drowned could then be returned to his home port, identifed by the pattern of the sweater that he wore on his back.

Rotherex

While most British work jackets of the 1930s to 1950s were made of dark navy Bolton twill, a hardwearing Sanforized cotton fabric, this jacket from the 1940 s 1940s is unusual in being made of a brown denim. This is akin to the green denim used to make the first pattern British Army battledress during the late 1930s (later replaced with a wool serge). The jacket, produced by Rotherex, a workwear company operating out of Rotherham in northern England, is reinforced using cotton tape at all points of stress, including the tops of the pockets and from the underside – both distinguishing characteristics of British, as opposed to French or German, workwear of the same period. The jacket also comes with split-pin removable buttons, which allowed the garment to be industrially laundered without damage to the machinery. The jackets would have most of the water in them squeezed out by being fed through the two rollers of a mangle. Even the cut of this and other British work jackets of the time – designed to lie flat – aided their passage through this unforgiving process.

brown denim work jacket

262

right: The process of Sanforization, used here on the brown denim, pre-shrinks or pre-stretches fabric before it is cut, thus ensuring that the garment does not lose its shape through further washing or wear.

263

unKnOWn bRAnd

mETAL WORKER’s jACKET 1930s This French work jacket features a number of unusual characteristics that differ from the more standard bright blue jackets of the period. It is white, an unexpectedly impractical choice for heavy work, suggesting that this may have been worn more in a service role. White is, of course, a better option in the heat, as is the choice of fabric; it is a heavy linen rather than sateen or twill cotton, making the jacket ideal for more tropical locales. Although it buttons to the neck, its only collar is a small stand-up one, a look that again fits with service. The randomly inked stamp suggests that the jacket perhaps saw a second life after being ‘decommissioned’.

265

unknown brand

These trousers, worn by sailors of the Japanese Merchant Marine, share characteristics with their military equivalents, and with those of different nations’ navies. They are cut for a specific function 1940s – albeit a largely defunct one by this time – the wider, flared legs allow them to be more easily rolled up, an idea dating from times when deck hands would scrub the deck as a daily ritual. The silhouette is exaggerated by the trousers being nipped in at the waist, thanks to a lacing arrangement – rather like women’s stays – at their rear. And, atypically for naval trousers, they have a prominent bellows patch pocket on the rear.

merchant navy trousers

big smith

Heavily worn and with multiple repairs and patches, this denim chore jacket looks as though at some stage it underwent a sulphur wash to remove both dirt and a deep layer of colour, leaving the denim with a striated, 1950s watercolour effect. Just how far wear and this process has faded the denim is apparent in the area above the right breast pocket, which at one time had a flap fastening that protected the much darker fabric beneath. All denim fades, of course, because indigo dye is insoluble in water, and fills the spaces between denim fibres (and the spaces in them) rather than being more permanently absorbed by the fibres themselves. Washing or friction encourages the indigo to fall away – one useful means of judging the age of a vintage garment.

patched denim chore jacket

BELOW left: The hand-stitched button holes seem strange on a workwear piece of this era, more at home on a bespoke suit. BELOW right: A close-up of the bottom of the jacket.

269

adapted

In the history of menswear the second half of the twentieth century may have pigeonholed the denim waistcoat as being the stuff of outlaw biker gangs and heavy rock – 1930s ostensibly denim jackets with the sleeves cut off (biker lore suggesting that this is all the better to display tattoos identifying allegiance to a certain clan).

denim waistcoat

270

But the denim waistcoat proper has a long history, dating to the early twentieth century as a more functional garment, as this high-buttoning, lightweight example from the 1930s shows. It appears to have started its working life as a jacket and was later adapted by the sleeves being removed. Distinctive are its metal buttons and the skirt of pockets, suggesting that it may have been worn with a denim apron by the employee of a grocery or hardware store. The typical buckle-back fastening belt at the rear contrasts with the distinctive glass buttons and the hand-

stitched button-holes, which seem a more tailored finish than one would expect from a piece of workwear. The piece, suitably, manages to be simultaneously practical and elegant.

271

lybro

work jacket 1950s This British work jacket from the 1950s is, in many ways, characteristic of similar jackets of the time. It is made from navy Bolton twill – tough enough to withstand frequent heavy laundering with minimal shrinkage and maximum colourfastness – and has removable buttons, allowing the jacket to be passed through a mangle for cleaning. Stress points, such as at pocket corners, are reinforced with heavy stitching – on this example in a contrast pale blue colour (red being more commonly used). And the labelling carries the kind of manufacturer’s name characteristic of the period, typically implying the place of manufacture: Lybro, for example, was made in Liverpool, north-west England, while Rotherex (see page 262), a competing company, was based farther east in Rotherham. What makes the jacket unusual is the fastening to the neck – more a signature of French work jackets – and that the collar has a trompe l’oeil effect, being created as though one has been stitched down onto the body of the jacket. This would have preserved the look while providing an added safety feature – the lack of a true collar meant one less part of the jacket that could be caught in heavy machinery.

272

home-made

denim work jacket 1920s The very crude stitching on this earlytwentieth century denim work jacket seems to imply that it was a home-made piece rather than factory made. This gives it its own unique character and charm. Single stitched throughout with hardly a straight seam, it does not look to be the work of a professional machinist. Apart from its distinctively American donut buttons the jacket has the look and feel of a European piece. The patch pockets, set to the side away from the work area and, again, quite crudely cut, are reminiscent of British and French work jackets of the time, as is the double-faced denim front and scalloped edge.

273

274

Headlight

Headlight was one of the more established workwear brands in the US during the first half of the twentieth century. It was part of Crown-Headlight of Cincinnati, Ohio, and specialized in overalls 1920 s and jackets, such as this mid1920s railroad jacket. Headlight worked in the shadow of the mighty H.D. Lee Mercantile Co., established in 1889, with the Lee brand growing quickly to become the main rival to market leader Levi Strauss & Co. It was Lee that, in 1913, combined the jacket with bib overalls to create the all-in-one garment that came to be

railroad jacket

known as the ‘coverall’ or ‘Union-All’ (in reference to the all-in-one ‘union suit’ underwear garment). The ‘Union-All’ was commissioned by the US Army to be the official fatigues for its troops during World War I. Similarly, in 1921, Lee introduced the first ‘railroad jacket’ too, called the Loco jacket and designed specifically for railroad workers. Its roomy shape and pocket type and position were produced after the company interviewed railroad workers on their requirements; the workers also later tested the jackets. While Lee would go on, Crown-Headlight would not; it was acquired by the Carhartt company in 1960 (along with Detroit overalls makers W.M. Finck & Co.), which for a while sold workwear under the label of Carhartt Headlight & Finck. 275

lee

While Lee’s 101 Western and Storm Rider jackets are among its most famous contributions to workwear, the company’s 91B was an unsung, underrated design. A basic work jacket 1950s – albeit one with distinctive pockets, borrowed from designs for biker jackets – it sold chiefly to industrial workers and dockworkers during the 1950s, despite sometimes being known colloquially as a tractor jacket. This example, the 191LB, is the same model with the addition of a blanket lining (here striped but sometimes also found in red flannel) crucial for any work outdoors during winter months. This piece pre-dates 1965, when Lee first began to circle the trademark registration on its labels.

blanket-lined chore jacket

276

277

Buckaroo by Big Smith

Denim ranch jacket 1950 s The iconography of the Wild West remained an effective marketing tool even during the postwar urbanization of the US during the 1950s – especially to those workers still employed in ranchwork and agriculture. This dark, raw denim pleated work jacket by workwear company Big Smith was produced under the spinoff label Buckaroo – named after the traditional vaquero horse wranglers of California. Along with popular canvas hunting line Duxback, Big Smith was one of the brands launched by Walls Industries, Texas, established by George Walls in 1930.

right: Although the pleatedstitch front is a common feature of denim jackets of the era, the positioning of the chest pockets so low on the chest, along with the unusual placement of the snap fastening at the very edge of the pocket, gives the jacket a unique look. 279

hand-repaired

french work jacket 1920s Worn and repaired, worn and repaired, this early twentieth-century French work jacket, with its distinctive high-fastening, small collar, is characteristic of the era’s general commitment to a ‘make do and mend’ philosophy. Indeed, in large part the character of this piece is found more in the repairs than the jacket itself, with close darning akin to a kind of blue-collar embroidery in its abstract detail and, more importantly, its strength.

280

hand-made/ pony express

Before the US Postal Service came the Pony Express, horseback riders carrying saddlebags of mail over a relay covering some 2,000 miles between Missouri and California, covering the full distance in an impressive 11 days 1859 or fewer. The service was launched in 1860 and by its heyday had 100 stations, 80 riders and 400 horses. But this once essential, and legendary, means of communication was to last just 18 months: the advent of the Pacific Telegraph line made it redundant, leaving this Pony Express pouch, with its interwoven strap wrapping tightly around its letters, as much a relic of Wild West history as a vintage accessory.

rider’s LETTER wallet

282

283

buhrke industries

Miner’s work belt 1940s The metal badge on this thick, wide leather belt states ‘mine safety devices’ of Chicago – so it may well have been used as much in construction work as mining. Like the nineteenth-century work belt featured opposite, it is wide enough to suggest that it was made more with back support in mind. The strength of the belt around the loop that holds the chain – riveted as well as stitched – suggests that it would have been used to hold heavy tools, with the chain’s closed loops perhaps indicating that it had a role as a kind of harness attachment, and was expected to take the weight of the man wearing the belt should he fall. The belt’s maker, Buhrke Industries, was established in 1949 by Fred Buhrke, a German immigrant to the US. Originally a toolmaker, he later developed the ring-pull for the canned drinks industry and the metal trays used for the popular ‘TV dinners’ of the 1950s.

284

hand-made

Worker’s belt 1880s While the belt only became a staple of menswear with the advent of a lower rise on trousers (a higher rise typically being worn with braces), manual labourers from the mid-nineteenth to the early twentieth centuries would often wear a belt as well as braces. The belt was fastened around the upper waist, regardless of the presence of belt loops, and was done as much to support the lower back as to support one’s trousers. Hence the belt, like this one, was usually wide, somewhat akin to a weightlifter’s belt. The look may have given rise to the expression ‘belt and braces’, meaning ‘doubly secure’.

285

unknown brand

After footwear, it is arguably work trousers that have to be built to take the most punishment from manual labour – especially since, unlike a jacket, they were rarely removed for work, and, unlike a shirt, were 1930 s typically worn day after day. This buckle-back pair in heavy cotton, dating from the 1930s and probably French or Japanese in origin, is especially well made, having seat, waistband and side-pocket openings reinforced at point of manufacture. The knees have been reinforced or repaired by the addition of patches by the owner at a later date.

Buckle-back work trousers

286

287

vetra

Workwear items made of so-called ‘salt and pepper’ fabric – marked by a fine mixture of black and white threads to give an overall charcoal effect – were a popular alternative to workwear blues from the 1930s early twentieth century, in part for being able to hide dirt and stains especially well, as well as for offering a smarter look. The fabric was especially popular with US manufacturers such as DubbleWare, Big Mac, Madewell and Sweet-Orr up until the late 1950s, who used it in various weights for trousers, shirts, shop coats and jackets – although these unworn overalls are French in origin. Less common, and less popular, was a blue salt and pepper cloth akin to faded or stonewashed denim.

salt and pepper overalls

288

289

unknown brand

bonedry logger’s boots 1950s While certain brands dominated the US work boot market for much of the twentieth century – Red Wing, White’s, Danner, Chippewa and Justin were just a few among the many – it was more distinctive styles, often designed with specific working conditions in mind, that became important. For the pioneering Red Wing, for example, it was the mocfronted boot; for Justin, the stacked heel. This logger’s boot, of unknown brand, makes its mark through its heavy tread and unusual monkey-boot-style lacing to the toecap. The deeper opening of the boot actually made its removal easier, especially in an emergency.

291

unknown brand

Part of the appeal of vintage workwear is the signs of work that they reveal. These 1930s work trousers, for example, are made of denim with a 1930 s donut button fly – so called for the characteristic centre hole, later replaced by the solid-top style, which also presented a new branding opportunity for an increasingly competitive market. They also feature a locomotive-stamped waist button and a brightly coloured thread for the chain-stitched seams. They have clearly been worn around clay, which has become ingrained in the fabric of the trousers and dulled the brightness of the thread – a characteristic of this pair’s history that is integral to the appeal of the piece.

denim Work trousers

294

BELOW: Donut-button fly with a locomotive embossed on the top button. The bottom of the leg has been reinforced and patched with a second layer of denim.

295

osh kosh b’gosh and unknown brand

Although still worn in industry and agriculture in the US, denim bib or dungaree overalls are now inextricably linked in the public imagination with the Great Depression era of the 1930s. This is largely because of the documentary photographic work of the likes of 1930s Dorothea Lange and Mike Disfarmer, but also through cinematic representations of the time, such as John Ford’s movie of John Steinbeck’s 1939 novel The Grapes of Wrath. The decade saw large-scale migration of those in search of work; bib overalls, widely worn by people in those areas worst hit by the economic and social catastrophe, in particular those dependent on mining, logging and crop farming (which suffered a 60 per cent drop in prices), came to symbolize the unemployment crisis. The two styles shown here both date from the late 1930s. One unidentified model has, over the years, undergone multiple repairs, including the use of starburst and wreath pattern buttons more commonly associated with military clothing as late as the Vietnam War. The other pair – distinctive for its contrast green reinforcement stitching and the red and white elasticated section of its braces – has a much better understood story. These overalls were made by Osh Kosh B’Gosh, one of the oldest workwear companies, launching in 1895 as the Grove Manufacturing Company in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, and specializing in hickory stripe (thin blue and white stripe) bib overalls. It adopted the characterful name of Osh Kosh in 1897, but started to label its clothing Osh Kosh B’Gosh from 1911. Legend has it that one of the company’s then owners, William Pollock, had heard the phrase used in a vaudeville skit. The company found new life in the late 1960s, when it discovered a new demand for the small-scale bib overalls it produced for children, although more as novelty items than as a serious business concern. When a mail-order company selling Osh Kosh B’Gosh decided to include a pair, it was inundated with orders for 10,000. A new business in childrenswear was launched, one that by the 1980s had eclipsed the company’s workwear heritage.

denim work bibs

296

RIGHT: Square back of Osh Kosh bibs with elasticated braces.

297

below lEFT: Front of Osh Kosh bibs. opposite: Victory wreath buttoned denim bibs.

298

299

INDEX

buttons

A

183

bamboo

61, 213, 219

for braces

brass Page numbers in bold indicate illustrations

Abbey Leather

36

accessories see bags; belts; packs; wallets Aero Leather Company

156, 159 114

aiguillettes air force clothes

100–1, 138–67, 202–3

Aircraft Appliance Corporation

138

Alaska Sleeping Bag Company

85

Albert Gill Ltd

200

alpaca ammunition worker’s overshoes Arctic Insulated Clothing Inc.

compressed fibre



15 50, 57, 228, 255

cuff fastenings

donut

273, 294

fish-eye

50

four-button closures

24, 71, 226 223 270

256–7

hunt

71

leather

57



outsize patterned

238 140–1

168, 170, 194, 265, 272

neck fastenings

army clothes 108–9, 111, 122–3, 128, 130–7, 168–75, 178–87, 190–4, 196–201, 204–5

75, 77, 255, 270

metal



Arthur Miller company

168

covered

glass

52, 200

aviator’s kit bag (USAAF)

30, 59

143, 159

251

armpit breathing holes

collar fastenings



gilt

64–5, 122–3 see also parkas

anoraks



71, 78, 179, 228

75, 78, 162, 179 75, 78, 223, 294, 296, 298

plastic

196, 242 64, 77, 88, 173, 249

pocket fastenings

262, 272

removable

B

split-pin

262

wooden

119

zinc B-7 flight jacket (USAAF)

156–7

B-15 flight jacket (USAAF)

142–3

B3 flying suit and boots (USAAF)

202–3

bags barathea J. Barbour & Sons

242

camouflage

109

canvas

41, 42, 69, 124, 128

Baxter, Woodhouse & Taylor

147

‘beaver tail’ flaps

162, 167

Belstaff belts

15

275, 296–9 269, 279 14–17, 20–1, 24–5 159

Bolenium

26

Bolton twill

262, 272

Bonedry

291 134, 150, 176, 177, 202, 203, 252–3, 290–1

boro jacket

220–1 61, 147, 213, 217, 219, 223, 296

braiding

109, 113, 223 111, 128, 136, 176, 185, 186, 190, 193, 194

British Special Forces

190 176, 177

broad arrow symbol broadcloth

17

Buckaroo ranch jacket (Big Smith)

buttonholes

50–1 16–17, 22

boat cloth

Burberry

24–5

car club jacket (Champion) CC41 clothes

blazers

Buhrke Industries

caps

57, 61, 114, 162, 196, 217, 223, 244, 270,

Big Smith company

British Army

278–9

38, 145, 153, 168, 185, 199 284 72, 199 31, 57, 213, 242, 269

Champion

48, 50

‘Channel’ jacket (Luftwaffe)

160–1

Chindits sweater (British Army)

194

Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC)

195

coats deck

119

double-breasted

119, 196, 200

driving

30

duffel

116–17

greatcoats

204–5

hunting

70–1, 86–9

jeep

184–5, 196–7

sailing

52–3

trench

72, 198–9

walking cold-weather clothes

68–9, 72–3 84–5, 162–7, 174–5, 178, 244, 250–1

see also mountain clothes; skiing clothes

collars buttoned

café racer-style

‘eagle’ fur

300

63, 78, 80, 92, 118, 134, 140, 200, 256

see also duck fabric

Castell & Son

bib overalls

braces



132, 136, 156, 168, 186, 190, 193

41, 45, 46, 120

284–5 see also buckles

buckles

C

82–3, 140–1, 173

Bakelite

boots

118, 217, 237

30, 59 38 42, 128 143, 145

42, 52

asymmetric

120, 131, 145, 170

203

buckle-back

216–17, 224, 270

round

38, 208

clips/clasps

131, 247, 249

shawl

196

drawstrings

83, 120, 186

lined oversize

stand-up

179, 237, 265

stitching

185 124, 223, 225

velvet wool

196

college clothes see university clothes corduroy

42, 52, 75, 214, 244

cotton dyed

178, 221, 223, 228

lining

31, 46

oiled

41, 69, 122

rubberized

52, 119, 259

Sanforized

262 41, 45, 46, 69, 124, 127, 128

waxed

see also canvas; duck fabric; kapok; sateen; twill; Ventile

coveralls

latches

52, 63

press-studs 30, 127, 128, 134, 136, 143, 159, 200, 203, 279 42, 122, 127, 147, 159, 167

pulls toggles

83, 93, 159, 237

cord

59, 118, 131, 134, 170, 253, 267, 291

laces

26–7, 275

cuffs



75, 199

buckled

168 50, 57, 228, 255

buttoned

93

cord-lined double

205

internal

168, 244

knitted

132, 137, 143, 159, 244, 251

zipped

161

D

see also buckles; buttons; straps; zips

denim

158–9 199

214, 231, 255, 262, 269, 270, 273, 279, 294, 296

Denison smocks

128, 132–3, 136–7

despatch riders’ clothes

130–1, 200–1

26–30, 66 see also motorcycle clothes

driving clothes

99, 156, 203, 244

hunting clothes Hussar’s tunic

236–7

132

indigo dye

221, 223, 269

237, 238

International motorcycle jacket (Barbour) 41, 42–3, 124, 128–9

Field Master jacket

92, 93–5

Irvin

118, 147, 223, 225, 237, 247

fire-resistance firemen’s clothes

222–5, 246–9

fishing/fishermen’s clothes

80–1, 258–61

151–2

J

flaps 136, 145, 162, 167

crotch pockets

31, 59, 61, 134 52, 120, 127, 143, 170, 200

storm

31, 153, 161

flocking flying clothes and accessories

fur

31, 38, 124, 131, 276

bomber

96–7, 100–1

CCC

195

cropped

31, 80

36–7, 138–57, 160–1,

Denison

128, 132–3, 136–7

donkey 119, 120–1, 124, 258–9

P. Frankenstein & Sons

biker

48

202–3 see also paratrooper clothes foul-weather clothes

jackets

238

double-breasted driving

30

85, 143, 145, 174, 205, 251

fishing

80–1

flying

G

36–7, 142–3

high-buttoning

61, 72, 136

Gebirgsjäger (German Army) Gieves Ltd Globe Manufacturing goatskin

30–3, 35–43, 99, 100–3, 143

letterman-style

168

mountain

113, 114

sailors’

247, 249

tweed

151, 153 113, 114, 223

gold trimmings

leather motorcycle

131, 156, 205

goggles

13, 57, 70–1, 74–9, 92–5

151

28–9 see also gauntlets

gloves

work

56–7, 210–11

see also blazers; tunics

Japanese Army

180

Japanese Merchant Navy

233

jeans

208

48

goose down

87

Grenfell cloth

66

jerkins see vests

grosgrain

17

John Hammond & Co.

gussets, arm

78

John White company

embroidery epaulettes

H 114, 185, 194, 223, 228

176

K

Harrods

23, 66

kapok

hats

258–9

keepsakes

HBT see herringbone twill Headlight 57, 196, 251, 273

khaki 275

145, 147, 185 110–11 111, 145, 179, 180, 233

King Kard Overall Co.

heated clothes

145, 147

kit bags

helmets

151, 153

Knickerbocker Knitting Company see Champion

factory workers’ clothes

26, 208, 256

Hercules

farm labourers’ clothes

214–15, 296

herringbone twill

fastenings

117, 241

15, 21, 22, 50, 103, 231, 241

F facings

32, 34

James Grose Ltd

Duxbak

85, 251

66–7, 172–3

226–7, 239, 244–5, 254–5, 262–5, 268–9, 272–81

Dura Craft

244

96–9 31–3, 35, 38, 124, 128–31, 276 15, 233, 234–7

296–9

Goodyear Rubber Company

24, 57, 75, 244, 280

hunting

dungarees

E

31, 223, 239

154

87, 91, 195, 247

66, 136, 153, 168, 178, 221, 223, 228, 269

108–9

I

duck fabric

dyes and dyeing

13, 57, 70–1, 74–9, 84–95

felt

gauntlets D-rings

31, 131, 194

horsehide

Indian Army

Fearnought smock and jacket (Royal Navy)

gabardine

D-2 mechanic’s parka (USAAF)

horn

117, 120, 131, 154, 162, 167, 237

fleece

belted

64, 66, 85, 117, 120, 159, 173, 183, 251

hoods

hi-vis clothes

99 178, 223, 224, 225

knitted garments Kriegsmarine foul-weather deck coat

195 140–1 23, 260–1 119

52, 95, 138, 147, 154, 247, 249, 251, 259 301

Merchant Navy

L

233, 267

metal workers’ clothes

254–5, 264–5

military clothing

42, 57, 72, 91, 106–7, 231

mineworker’s accessories labourers’ clothes laces/lacing

136, 210–11, 214 59, 118, 131, 134, 170, 253, 267, 291

lapels

17, 21, 213, 241

Lawrence Nedas and Co.

124

leather 284–5

buttons

57

clips gauntlets

145

slash

91, 92, 159, 210, 238 83, 153 91, 156, 251 242–3 275, 276

leisurewear

12–13, 208

Levi Strauss & Co.

208, 275

Lewis Leathers

38 223, 229, 265 see also Duck fabric

lining alpaca

143, 159

blanket

131, 196, 276 42, 52, 128

corduroy cotton

31, 46

fleece

31, 161

floating

196

fur

205

kapok

145, 185

leather

85, 241

linen mohair moleskin tartan ticking

210

velvet wool

113, 114, 124 32, 127, 131, 167, 242

pulls

120, 122, 159

rollneck

260

toggles

120, 131, 167, 237

V-neck

23, 194

120, 138

O

pressure jerkin (RAF)

154–5

prisoner of war clothes

176–8

Q 32, 34

quilting

R RAF Mountain Rescue Service

162, 186

railway workers’ clothes

208, 240–1, 274–5 48, 168

Osh Kosh B’Gosh

296

reinforcements

overalls

26–7, 136, 144–5, 192–3, 275, 288–9, 296–9

143 34, 41, 66, 92, 242, 262, 272, 286, 294,

296 see also under leather repairs

P

92, 209, 210, 217, 219, 221, 269, 280, 286, 296

revers

208, 226

reversible clothes

168, 174

riding boots 62–3, 173 34, 147

paratrooper clothes parkas

57, 91, 92, 111, 159, 194, 210, 238, 269, 286

Perfecto biker jacket (Schott) Phantom racing jacket (Lewis Leathers) pique (coutil)

pockets

196, 238, 242 57, 235, 279 57, 134, 267 64, 77, 88, 173, 249

cargo

173, 178

for cartridges

M1934 water-repellent jacket (Civilian Conservation Corps) 195

concealed

mackinaw coats



88, 93

122, 128, 131, 145, 170, 173, 174, 178, 200, 279

for documents

‘drunk’

252–3

Rotherex Royal Air Force (RAF)

262, 272 138, 145, 147, 150–1, 153, 154, 167

Royal Canadian Air Force

100

Royal Canadian Mounted Police

253

Royal Navy clothes

113, 117, 118, 120, 124, 128, 237

rubberized fabrics

52, 119, 145, 154, 168, 200, 259

rucksacks rugby shirts

173 22

S

168, 170, 171, 193

buttoned

chest

38–9 75

bellows



38, 131 21, 223, 241

piping

272

132–7

55, 84–5, 156, 158–9, 162–71, 180, 181–82, 250–1

patches

Lybro

302

282–3 228–9

Reed Products Inc.

pleats

91

Pony Express rider’s letter wallet postal worker’s jackets (Spanish)

rayon

plastic

196–7

24 64, 122, 173

276

161

134–5

113, 143

191LB work jacket (Lee)

185

C.H. Masland & Co.

56–7

nylon

Luftwaffe

M

127, 128, 136, 200

Newey press-studs Norfolk jackets

Long-Range Desert Group (LRDG)

M1942 paratrooper jump jacket (US Army)

168, 170, 194, 265, 272

buttoned

padding

71

112–27, 128, 230–7

neck and neck fastenings

145

42, 69, 73

Tattersall

93, 147, 251 88, 145, 228, 273, 286

zipped

naval clothes

packs

150, 151, 153, 244

sheepskin

235 57, 77, 88

ticket

N

229 42, 128

143, 162

poacher’s

muslin

63, 91, 127, 156, 167, 238, 239, 241

Lee

78

41, 85, 93, 156, 179, 237, 255, 267, 273

pleated

151

see also sheepskin

linen

31–5, 38–47, 124, 127, 128–31, 242–3

85, 93, 174, 244 64, 145, 156, 161, 162, 167, 200

pen

side

85, 241

vests

patch

pouch

131, 253, 291

trimming

198–9

143

lining

straps

hand-warmer map

99 57, 75, 77, 87, 88

145 42, 128

mountain clothes and accessories 12, 54–5, 62–7, 72, 168–73

30–3, 35–43, 99, 100–3, 143

patches

football-shaped game

26–7, 42, 66

The Motorist

31, 59, 61, 134, 269

284

mouton fur

laces



motor racing clothes

55

flapped

143 151, 153

helmets

reinforcements

Moss Bros and Co. Ltd motorcycle clothes

belts

jackets

mohair moleskin

envelope

88, 134 131 41, 124, 128

sailing clothes ‘salt and pepper’ fabric sapeurs-pompiers SAS sateen school clothes Schott sealskin

52–3 288 223 see also firemen’s clothes 138, 190 91, 143 20–1 38, 131 29

seams

72, 120, 195

Selfridges

139

sheepskin

92, 143, 150, 151, 153, 156, 161, 244

shirts

22, 48–9, 178 256–7 see also boots

shoes

156, 185 see also epaulettes

shoulder tabs Sidcot flight suit (RAF)

144–5

side adjustors

36, 131

skiing clothes

59–61

sleeve inners

52, 161

smocks 258–9

military

32

flared

118, 267

high-waisted hunting laced

windproofing

87, 120, 136, 137, 143, 145, 167, 190, 200, 251

wolverine fur

85, 174, 251

44–5

naval

118, 266–7

prisoner of war

176, 178

skiing

60–1

wool coats collars cuffs

23 117 196 132, 137

jackets

20–1, 97, 99, 238, 239

lining

32, 127, 131, 167, 242

213

54–5

wide-leg

118, 267

sweaters

23, 260–1

214–19, 286–7, 294–5

trousers

61

230–23, 230–1, 236–7 64–5

see also parkas

Solway Zipper walking jacket sou’westers

68–9 258–9

Special Boat Service

122

Sport Chief

97

sportswear

12, 10–103

Stohwasser & Co. F.A. Stone and Sons

109 57

38, 66, 83, 127, 153, 183, 199, 200, 203, 282

submariners’ clothes suede

42, 119, 124, 128 153

suits

work tunics

108–9, 180, 183, 223, 225, 228–9

tweed

57, 210, 213

twill

136, 145, 178, 196, 233, 262, 272

U

patches

workwear

army

111, 179

firemen

222–5

Hussars

108–9 15, 112–15

naval

zips

prisoners

179

asymmetric

RAF

162





144–5

summer

179

flapped

120–1, 124

tropical

180–3

foul-weather motorcycle

32–5



siren suits

26



tank suits

192–3

Union-alls

212–13

US Army

212–13

US Army Air Force (USAAF)

58–9

see also Ursula suits

survival vests sweaters sweatshirts Swedish Army

tartan Taylor suits ‘Teddy Boys’ fashion style 10th Mountain Division (US Army) Thor ticking Trialmaster motorcycle jacket (Belstaff)

42, 124–7, 128

23, 61, 194, 260–1 23, 48 131

cuff fastenings

half-length lightning off-set

pocket fastenings

31 161 203 136, 137 42, 127 143 64, 122, 173

134, 138, 173, 174, 178–9, 196 138, 140, 147, 151, 156, 159

US Navy

231

USAAF C-1 survival vest 138–9, 154

T tabs

14–17, 98–9, 102–3

Ursula suits

tweed walking

275

university clothes

three-piece

52

Z

146–9

flight suits

26, 87, 99, 159, 208–9

Y Yarmouth

uniforms

80

see also barathea; felt; gabardine



buoyancy



196

90–1 118, 176, 178, 186–7, 190–1

motorcycle

41, 64, 69, 80, 195

A. Whyman Ltd

213, 217, 223 59, 118, 267

military

waxing

turn-ups

walking

straps

cropped

282–3 64, 69, 72, 80, 120, 122, 167, 195, 200, 225

waterproofing

128, 132–3, 186–7, 190

mountaineering sailors

wallets 216–17, 224, 286–7

buckle-back



foul-weather



trousers

138–9

USARP (US Antarctic/Arctic Research Program) utility clothes

251 16–17, 22

V varsity clothes see university clothes

147, 156 42, 69, 73

Velcro

120, 251

velvet

113, 114, 124, 223, 225

Ventile

64, 167, 251

146–9

vests

138–9, 154, 242–3

24

Vetra

288

173, 174 64 210 40–1, 46–7, 124

The Vintage Showroom

7–9, 13, 107, 209

W

trimming fur gold leather

85, 174, 251 113, 114, 223 91, 156, 251

waistcoats

24, 210–11, 213, 270–1

waists/waistbands

64, 143, 213, 267

walking clothes

58–9, 64–9, 72–3 303

the authors Josh Sims is a freelance style writer who contributes to The Financial Times, The Independent, The Independent on Sunday, Mail on Sunday, Channel 4, the BBC, Esquire, GQ, Wallpaper* and i-D. He is the author of Rock/Fashion, A Dictionary of Fashion Designers, Mary, Queen of Shops, and for Laurence King Icons of Men’s Style and Cult Streetwear Douglas Gunn and Roy Luckett are co-founders of The Vintage Showroom, a definitive collection of 20th-century menswear. With over 35 years knowl edge and experience of vintage clothing between them their collection has become a must-see destination for fashion designers from around the world.

Acknowledgements hanks to all our team at the Vintage Showroom, especially Simon McLean for his help with the book. The business is like a second family for us and without the hard work of Simon, James, Paul, Bhavesh, Caleb, Snaily, Moon and Nic we would not have been able to develop it in the way we have. Special thanks to Nic Shonfeld for doing such a great job in photographing our treasured pieces! We also need to thank those whose advice, help and knowledge has been of immense value to us over the years: Jessie Girard, Richard Lambert, Chris Russell, Darren Smith, Lee Barber, Peter Hawkins, Toby Bowhill, Ian Paley, Jason Sharp, Simon Andrews, John Hamilton, Adam and Mark, and Paul Robinson. Last, but by no means least, thanks to our wives and families for putting up with us and our obsession!

T

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