French cycling jacket aka luftwaffe jake

Charlie · May 6, 2013

Hello

Just a few picture taken during the "front populaire" in France (1936), the leather jacket was the jacket "par excellence" of the young workers of these days

Flat Foot Floey · May 6, 2013

Thank you for the pictures. I really like the "french workwear" style and found it difficult to research (since my french skills are very limeted)
Apart from the leather jacket I really like those caps too!

Fastuni · May 6, 2013

These French leather jackets are wonderful indeed - thanks for the photos. Rather ironic that an iconic garment of French workers now is mostly associated with the "Luftwaffe".

V.C. Brunswick · May 6, 2013

Based on my reading, leather flight jackets appeared to have been nonissue items in the Luftwaffe and thus were of civilian origin for the most part. As a great many Luftwaffe pilots were posted in France at one time or another it's most likely that their flight jackets were sourced locally.

bn1966 · May 6, 2013

Fantastic original pictures, thanks very much for posting. Below is my ELC version:

Flat Foot Floey · May 6, 2013

Hah! Almost poststructuralist language theories at work here. I would never buy a "Luftwaffe" jacket. But French cycling jacket? Yes.

Fastuni · May 7, 2013

If ebay search-term spamming hasn't already numbed one's sensibility towards semantics.

What's worst are sellers who push hard the "Luftwaffe" angle for obvious sales-reasons and even attach Eagles, pins and other badges (or worse sewn on!) to any kind of civilian leather jacket - thus destroying it. :eusa_doh:

Benny Holiday · May 7, 2013

From the days when even simple workwear looked great. Love the photos Charlie! Thanks for posting them.

Charlie · May 7, 2013

some others exemples

I own myself two originals (not pictured) but they are quite rare to find nowadays, even in France !

Fastuni · May 7, 2013

Lovely. The leather-patches/mending at the rear bottom don't diminish the beauty of the first jacket.

Edward · May 7, 2013

Fastuni said:
Lovely. The leather-patches/mending at the rear bottom don't diminish the beauty of the first jacket.

Agreed - I'd like to see a close-up of those... I'm fascinated by well-made repairs. I think it's the idea that something is worth repairing, and not part of the contemporary disposable society that appeals.

Benny Holiday · May 8, 2013

Edward said:
Agreed - I'd like to see a close-up of those... I'm fascinated by well-made repairs. I think it's the idea that something is worth repairing, and not part of the contemporary disposable society that appeals.

:arated:

hpalapdog · May 8, 2013

V.C. Brunswick said:
Based on my reading, leather flight jackets appeared to have been nonissue items in the Luftwaffe and thus were of civilian origin for the most part. As a great many Luftwaffe pilots were posted in France at one time or another it's most likely that their flight jackets were sourced locally.

I saw a picture of a bomber crew stationed in France and they were wearing French cycle jackets. Not for flying duties but some sort of off-duty trophy. My guess is most were not owned by fighter pilots but all Luftwaffe personnel.

Numerically most of the early private purchase jackets seen in Luftwaffe fighter pilot photos are of Austrian or German manufacture. Of those still with labels an address in Wein Austria crops up quite a lot. I think many were made there for various German outfitters. The same place was making latter war Government issue leather jackets like those bellow. Hungary was also making leather Luftwaffe gear.

Submariners:

tank:

Charlie · May 8, 2013

Some others examples

the FFI look during WWII (FFI stand for Force Française de l'Interieur : the resistance to german/nazi occupation)

another style of jacket very praised during WWII "la canadienne"

Charlie · May 8, 2013

and the real stuff

Charlie · May 8, 2013

HoosierDaddy · May 8, 2013

Great photos,Charlie.
Thanks
HD

Charlie · May 8, 2013

I found also a gall

a jacket made of wool and leather

herringbonekid · May 8, 2013

thanks for the photos Charlie. we need more French vintage here.
i have a French brown wool and leather jacket:

http://www.thefedoralounge.com/show...wool-jackets&p=1621504&viewfull=1#post1621504

p.s. i also have a pair of these glasses with the angled 'hexagonal' top:

Metatron · May 8, 2013

This is my kind of thread. My favourite is the first photo from post no.9 by Charlie.

A similar jacket worn in post war reconstruction in Germany, late 1950s:

'La jour Se Leve' 1939

Dirk Bogarde in 'Despair'(1978) set in 1930s Germany

French cycling jacket aka luftwaffe jake

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