Age of this buckskin/suede jacket?

[Atterbury Dodd]

Hey y'all!

Found this old jacket at my friends antique store. What era would you all say it belongs in? To me it looks like it could possibly date to the 1950's... but idk.

 

[Atterbury Dodd]

 

[Atterbury Dodd]

 

[Atterbury Dodd]

 

[Atterbury Dodd]

You can say it's from the seventies if you like

 

[Atterbury Dodd]

No opinions?

 

[Horace Debussy Jones]

I would say 1970s. I had one myself actually. Mine was a "Buckboard" brand, dark brown suede with a rayon or nylon lining. Long fringe along the top and short along the bottom edge like yours, and if I recall correctly side slash pockets also.

 

[tropicalbob]

My guess would be either mid-fifties, during the Davy Crockett craze (I had DC lampshades and linoleum in my room), or later Sixties, during the Hippie days. Bands such as the Byrds and Buffalo Springfield , among others, wore them. I've no idea if they can be considered trad. Western wear.

 

[dh66]

I'd go with 60s or 70s, because of the really long fringe, and also the knap of the suede. I've seen plenty of that style from the 40s and 50s, but all had shorter fringe, like what is around the bottom of yours, and most, but not all, were more of a nu-buck type leather, a much smoother finish. Some of the old ones were even real buckskin. I have seen split cowhide jackets like yours as recently as from the eighties, but none of them had the super long fringe. By the 90s and up until now most of what's out there seems to be pigskin, which is much thinner.
It's a darn nice jacket, and depending on what you wear it with you could easily pull off a 50s look with it. Just avoid the bell-bottom pants, and it will look good with about anything.

 

[dh66]

Oh....and Tropical Bob, the fringed buckskin look was quite a fashion sensation as far back as the days of the traveling wild west shows, so you could easily call it traditional western wear.
A couple of cool books you guys might be interested in, if you can find them (amazon, maybe) are"How the West was Worn" by Holly George-Warren, and "100 Years of Western Wear" by Tyler Beard.
Somewhere around here is a thread for vintage western duds, but it hasn't seen much action in a while. Maybe you could post your new jacket there too, Atterbury Dodd.

 

[kyboots]

1970

 

[tropicalbob]

Thanks, dh66.

 

[Atterbury Dodd]

Thanks people, I wasn't sure but 1970s seems like a legit guess.