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VINTAGE 1985 Banana Republic "On The Road" Leather Jacket.
SOLD!
MADE IN THE USA from hairsheep leather. Size L (42 - 44).
SOLD!
MADE IN THE USA from hairsheep leather. Size L (42 - 44).
Endorsed by Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Beat poet, founder of City Lights bookstore in SF, publisher of Allen Ginsberg's *Howl*, and counterculture icon!
A wonderful 1980s take on 1950s cool!
A wonderful 1980s take on 1950s cool!
Tagged L. (BR suggests that this is a 42 - 44). Measurements:
Chest: 24 1/4
Sleeve, including knits: 25 (36, measured like a shirt)
Shoulder: 19 3/4
Length (BOC): 26
It's 1985. Reagan is President for a second term. You're dismayed as Coke has been replaced by New Coke, which is disgusting. You're intrigued by the new computer software that's just been released, even if it has a weird name: "Windows 1.0". You suspect that the new Rookie of the Year--Michael Jordan--might turn out to be pretty good. And you're now boring your friends by telling them just how awesome that new cartoon strip "Calvin and Hobbes" is once you get past the fact that it's about some kid and his toy tiger. That he talks to.
But most of all you're looking forward to the Holiday Catalog from Banana Republic. You were worried that the takeover by The Gap a couple of years ago would turn your beloved BR into, well, The Gap, but that didn't happen--the original founders are still running the show, and the catalog and clothes are still as gnarly as ever.
And once the catalog arrives, there it is.
The Jacket of The Gods.
You'd love a Schott Perfecto, but now George Michael wears one it's just not so cool. But Banana Republic have saved you. THIS is the jacket you want. No--this is the jacket you NEED! And Lawrence Ferlinghetti thinks so too--after all, he described it as a "dream raimant" and said how he'd have worn this smoking reefer in the back seat of Kerouac's car! How cool is that?!
Called the "On the Road" jacket this is deliberately cut with 1950's cool. It's made from hairsheep leather--known for its great strength and natural elasticity, this is the most popular leather for dress gloves. It's also fairly lightweight, buttery soft, and extremely durable. You now this, as you went to the library to look it up, having read in BR's catalog that this is the leather they used.
With an A-1 lurking somewhere in its ancestry this beauty has a zipped front (with a heavy duty YKK brass zipper) and a knit shawl collar. It also has two slash handwarmer pockets in the front, and a deep interior pocket with edging from the same leather as the shell. The cuffs and hem are also knit. The jacket is lined in heavy cotton twill in an brown reminiscent of wartime A2 lining.
It was, of course, Made in the USA.
This is that jacket you wanted so badly when you received the Holiday Catalog in 1985. And you're lucky, as it's in great condition--not surprisingly, as hairsheep leather really is exceptionally durable. The brass zipper at the front works beautifully smoothly, and while there is some fuzziness to the knits there are no holes or moth damage. The jacket does have some patina and some minor blemishes commensurate with age (especially some darkening on the elbows) but nothing major at all--just the normal patina of a well cared-for jacket! The lining is excellent, and the pocket bags are all present and complete. It *did* have a VERY faint smell of smoke on the knit collar when I acquired this, but this was VERY faint and after eight months of constant airing to get rid of it has vanished. This carries the classic 1980s Ziegler era Banana Republic label.
Overall, this is in (conservatively!) Very Good/Excellent condition, and a bargain at just $85 (appropriately...!) or offer, boxed, shipped, and insured in the USA.
The original price was $239 in 1985... or $538 now, which was very, very reasonable for a jacket of this quality!
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