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The Fedora Lounge guide to Sheeplined Coats

Dinerman

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Sheepskin lined box coats rose to popularity around the turn of the last century. They were lighter weight than a comparable wool coat of the same warmth and less expensive than the fur and fur lined coats which the style was based upon. These coats typically had durable canvas or moleskin shells, mouton collars, sheepskin lined bodies and blanket wool lined sleeves. They generally were shawl collared and belted. Taking a cue from the shawl collared fur coat styles of the period, many did up with loops instead of buttonholes. Double breasted styles were the most common, although single breasted styles did exist in great numbers. As the style gained popularity, more variations on the style cropped up. Leather and leatherette became popular alternatives for the shell, and regular coat-style collared models started to show up alongside the shawl collared ones.

The shawl collared sheepskin box coat enjoyed early popularity in lumber camps, along with the similarly cut shawl collared wool mackinaw coat. Lumbermen needed a coat which allowed for freedom of motion, and which was priced within the reach of a laborer. Period articles talk about the superior warmth of fur lined coats, but state that in active outdoor professions like farming or felling trees, this extra warmth is actually detrimental. Fur-lined coats are fine for more sedentary activities, but will cause overheating and heavy perspiration when worn by highly active outdoorsmen. This moisture lowers the body temperature, and in the end actually proves colder. That kind of advertising talk may be well and good, but objectively, I think the lower cost was probably a larger factor.

The coats were popular early on with automobilists and motorcyclists. As with many rugged styles, they were marketed heavily towards children and teenagers.



Shawl collared sheeplined coat from the 1930s. The classic cut: double breasted, belted, mouton shawl collar, sheepskin lined body, blanket lined sleeves.


WWII mackinaw "jeep coat". This army coat blurred the lines between the Mackinaw coat and the sheeplined coat, substituting wool for sheepskin into the pattern of the traditional sheeplined coat. Probably due to the mackinaw name of this coat, after the war, the "mackinaw" name started to be applied to sheeplined coats, even though no part of them was made of mackinaw cloth.


Postwar sheepskin mackinaw. This coat dates from the 1950s. It is sheepskin lined, double breasted and has a mouton shawl collar, but also blends in elements more typically seen on hunting coats.


Ranch Coat. The basic style persisted- this example dates from the 1970s. Corduroy was seen on sheeplined coats in the 1910s-1930s, so the material is not foreign to the style. Single breasted styles were also seen during the heyday of the sheeplined coat. As a cost saving measure, this coat substitutes acrylic pile for actual sheepskin.
 
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Dinerman

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1908- The style is already established.


1919- A variation: corduroy body and hook fasteners


1930
Image199Stitch.jpg


1940
 

Xenophon

One of the Regulars
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142
Location
New Delhi (India) / Ostend (Belgium)
Thanks, interesting although I'm more in favour of a fur lined collar (but then I'm not out and about chopping wood in winter).

Had to laugh when reading the 1919 ad: 'Get the habit of buying on credit. It is good, sound business practice.'. Too bad the bankers also read it, fast forward to 1929 and 2007....
 

Doctor Damage

I'll Lock Up
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4,263
Location
Ontario
Great images and I'm glad someone has taken the time to accumulate and hold on to them. I particularly liked seeing the polo coat in the one illustration.
 

EmergencyIan

Practically Family
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New York, NY
I really like this style of jacket, but finding vintage ones in wearable condition and in your size is difficult. I'd like to have one, or a new well made reproduction, but those are though to come by as well.

- Ian
 

mikespens

Call Me a Cab
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2,913
Location
Tacoma, Wa
Thanks for sharing these as well as your other guides Spencer. Very nice collection. I've recently been afflicted with a fetish for shawl lined collars and recently (today in fact) received a modern repro of a coat obviously inspired by the likes some of yours. It cost considerably more than those featured in your vintage ads though :) Mine is made of denim and I wonder if during your research and acquisition of these you came across any vintage denim versions?
 
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Simonoggio

New in Town
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20
Location
Switzerland
Thanks a lot for all the interesting info! I find the ads particularly interesting, because they show a price for the garment that is considerably lower than what our eyes are used to these days :) Does anyone know how much money that would be, if you adjust it for inflation?
 

Capesofwrath

Practically Family
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780
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Somewhere on Earth
Thanks a lot for all the interesting info! I find the ads particularly interesting, because they show a price for the garment that is considerably lower than what our eyes are used to these days :) Does anyone know how much money that would be, if you adjust it for inflation?


http://www.usinflationcalculator.com/

Not totally accurate because wages and prices don't reflect the true reality of costs at the time.
 

Simonoggio

New in Town
Messages
20
Location
Switzerland
Thanks! Using that calculator, one of these coats from 1940 would today be around 83$. But as you said, it's not totally accurate as many factors were neglected. I was also expecting it to be higher, somewhere in the area of 100$ - 300$. So, I did a bit of thinking. A loaf of bread at that time would have cost around 8 cent (http://www.tvhistory.tv/1940 QF.htm). That means that the sheeplined caot of the 40ies at about 5$ is roughly 62 times the price of bread. Applying this to today: the average price of bread loaf is 2.37$ (http://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/country_result.jsp?country=United+States). So 62 x 2.37 = 146.94$. I think this is more accurate, but obviously still not spot on. I'm using bread as a base because it's something people would buy often, meaning that the demand for it would have always been about the same. Thus it's not really subject to market forces like the gold price or computers or whatever. Again, far from being the truth but probably closer to it then just using the calculator. What do you reckon?
 

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