I have a Cal straight zip with an awesome collar for sale in the classifieds and I think we’re about the same size wink wink nudge nudge.
Well that fits great!
It’s so hard finding anything in roughly our sizing. Well, they exist but it’s either shelling out a lot for customs or coming across a miracle vintage find. I feel you! Haha
Terry have you gotten the Trojan from Japan
Is the Black Sign from Yahoo auctions? I have been looking at one like that for ages but didn't pull the trigger. It was cheap.
All 3 are second hand unworn with tags from Yahoo auctions jp. 6800 yen for the Westride, 7000 yen the Black Sign and 39800 yen for the B-15.
yep! that's the one. Good catch.
This one is identical to one that is sold here by another member about a year ago even down to the missing wear and tear parts. So it seems this exact model has a few weak points. Difference is one mine 1) the seller repaired most of those parts; 2) it still has the horsehide label and 3) the leather is in better shape. It is missing the four stars on the epaulet, one of the sleeve zippers is torn near the tip. Lining repaired at the hem and neck area.
). From 1942 onwards, they made them in the same green as the USAF B15. The N1 was, as I understand it, not issued to an individual per se, but primarily provided in bulk amounts so anyone headed on deck could grab one off the wall (why so many originals carried stencilled details on the back marknig them as belonging to a specific ship). Of course they made their way into individual hands in all sorts of legitimate and illegitimate ways! - Not a bad article here, to the best of my knowledge - https://standardandstrange.com/blog...contemporary-the-legacy-of-the-n1-deck-jacketFor me a lot of that is political/societal things. But there’s also the I’m not military and don’t want to look like I am. That feels awfully cosplay to me or as if I’m claiming something I am not. That is why boots? I’m fine with that they have no military identification on them and have been used by non-military people for ages. I’m also ok with wearing any military gear as long as it doesn’t have any patches or logos that identify to a specific theater, company, brigade, ship, or say you’re a veteran. It would be a lie, and also avoids people asking if you were there or your family was. I have no problem with people wearing whatever they want, and I have no problem with actual coslayers-re-enactors. This is simply a personal choice. Don’t want anyone reading this thinking I judge or care, I really don’t; just how I feel on the issue. Minus the aforementioned political/sociological issues which this is not the place to discuss. As for the N-1 it’s incredibly warm and fairly water resistant. I figured it was fairly new and possibly a repro. The other jacket I have no idea about. The boots if I ventured a guess would be Canadian. I have owned a few pairs of combat/dress boots that look very similar and a lot of them were marked Canadian. I believe they wore similar boots from the 80s-early 2000s and these would fit that age. All I know is that I got 2 great fitting jackets, one a great winter jacket (so much so I donated my other winter jacket...1 in 1 out rule) and some hard wearing boots for a total of 250 dollars. The deck jacket being the expensive part at 150. Totally worth 150 in my mind. There’s no flaws, it fits, and it does its job. If I wanted to get a modern repro of similar build they start around 209 and go up to 600-700 hundred. So it all works for me.THe USN produced the N1 in blue pre-entry into WW2 (the US didn't show up until after the half-time intermission, remember.
Your jacket looks new, in which case it's definitely a repro. Looks like a fairly decent one, too. Usuaully the biggest difference with the more afordable repros is that the collar might be faux rather than mouton, and the lining wool or a wool mix rather than specifically Alpaca, but they're still a hard-wearing, warm jacket. I've seen a lot of photos of them on the back of otulaw bikers, hot rodders and all sorts from back in the 50s/60s, and they're still almost as popular as a B15 type among the rockabilly hot rod crowd as a warmer, Winter alternative to leather.
I know exactly what you mean about being in two minds about military gear. Some of us will feel the same - I'm sure a lot of folks will also feel similar about specific miitary items, such as Axis items. Me, well... I have the philosophy that there's a lot to be said for repurposing quality clothing that comes at a bargain price via government surplus. There's a surprising amount of it (even more so with a little suss on home-dye jobs) as can provide a significant chunk of a period look wardrobe that doesn't cost as much as quality 'vintage repro' tailoring, or original stuff.
Nice. I am currently fighting a temptation to order one of the Aero ice hockey jackets in that blue with white sleeves... I love how these have a hint of the varsity style but with a very different sporting implication.
