Best Vintage WWI era German Leather Jacket

[Marc Chevalier]

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At least, it's the best one I've ever seen. Anybody here have something comparable? Do you think it's from the 'teens, or more likely from the '20s?


http://www.ebay.com/itm/brown-vinta...pt=Vintage_Men_s_Clothing&hash=item19cb82c556

 

[ButteMT61]

I saw that sucker when it went up. Would love to see some big sizes in this old stuff, but almost never. Beautiful piece.

 

[Tony B]

I have been after one of these for a long time and if the fella gets back to me with paymant details I have just got a grey one last night of german ebay.

Nothing about that jacket says WW1 it is just a standard german jacket type that has been around for years and similar ones have been worn be most german police forces up until the eighties.

One common name for that type of jacket is Kutscherjacke (coachmans jacket) google it or striwa and you should find allsorts.

The one thing that does mark this out as earlier than most is the top seem, it drops back about an inch or two behind the shoulderbone rather than strait down the shoulder, this to me marks it as pre 1945 at least as post war the german tailors seemed to just abandon that type of shoulder seem and use the universal style that rests right on the knuckle of the shoulder bone...shame that because the older sort like that jacket has leaves a far nicer look from the front and for a heavy leather coat means no big seam right on a bone...and just says period piece.

I have had my eye on that one for a while now but have given up trying for one of those in my size (46 inch) so if I get my post war one it will be have a set of patterns taken off it and then I will mod them almost to clone the jacket you posted except I will be trying to add set of expansion pleats on the back from the two scallops on the yoke down to the halfbelt and a mouton collar and will be in brown pull up leather to age in as quick as possible.

Most weeks you see jackets like that on german ebay three went last week and that was just the brown ones that I was watching. I have seen fifties ones with the later shoulder style go for £10-20 in the summer, have a look at these ones from my ebay watch list just in the last week
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/170742036443?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649 http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/320800980821?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649 http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/330649009331?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649

Regards Tony

 

[ButteMT61]

It would help if you had some good info on this jacket, Tony lol
Thanks for the details. Very nice.

 

[Marc Chevalier]

Nothing about that jacket says WW1 it is just a standard german jacket type that has been around for years and similar ones have been worn be most german police forces up until the eighties.

See, I thought that the two vertical strips of leather running down along the button line were indications of an early jacket. Was I wrong?

 

[Pegasus jackets]

No, you are right Marc. However, that detail does not necessarily date the jacket absolutely to teens or 20's IMHO. I agree with some of Tony's remarks. "Kutscher" jackets are quite common in Germany and you can find them easily in France. I have (and have had) nearly identical jackets without the strips down the front and without the button through pockets, but identical yellow velvet lining, leather, overall details, buttons etc. Those jackets were of 40's or 50's vintage as far as I could tell. Some of the jackets also had pleats down the back yoke and others didn't. I also have a 1960's jacket with the shoulder details Tony describes (so this is also not an "absolute" feature to tell vintage either). The link you posted is I believe of an earlier vintage but could be anywhere from the teens to the 40's for me. If I had to guess, I would say 1930's. The problem with these particular jackets is that there were many companies who made them (Stiwa being only one) and there were so many variations on the same theme that its often difficult to tell the precise vintage. In conclusion, lots of overlap in timing concerning these details. Just my 2 cents.
Kevin

 

[Tony B]

Marc I have seen those stips behind the buttons on seventies police jackets. Like Kevin says there is a huge variety but button wise those strips are there so that the buttons are sewn through two layers of leather for strength and other version is no extra layer but grometed hole for shank buttons fixed behind with a split rind or something similar.

Scott the jacket I hopefully have bought is a post war version of the grey submarine coat from WW2, basically a deck officers jacket but with the scalloped yoke and should be 52 inches round the chest so will need minimal changes to get what I want. As long as my "improvements" don't cock it up I would send a set of the patterns up to Will at aero if he is interested so you could get your hands on one...but with my medeling that is a big IF......mine is gonna be nicer than the others though, I have been hording a little bit of pure cashmere melton until something just right came along and this is where it will be going evntually.

Kevin that back on the ladies jacket you showed today is exactley what I would want any attempt at a kutscherjacke to look like, when done as well as yours it looks fantastic.

Regards Tony

 

[Marc Chevalier]

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Wow! I'm learning so much ... thank you!!

 

[Tony B]

If learn of somewhere I can buy a brown one in size 46-48 feel very free to give me a shout.

Butte one option for a new one would be badwolf ...but they call the things Dr who jackets so if you got one of those and some nerd came upto you in the street and asked if it was dr who jacket you would have to be polite and fess up rather than jst tell him to ....well you get the idea.

I have heard good thing and bad about them but a lot of the good comes form people who think wested are the zenith as far as leather tailoring goes.

They also say the design was from a uboat jacket, the issue items had strait yokes not scalloped and were either black for engineering officers and those who were meant to stay below deck and grey for deck officers that would see the light of day while on the surface. So their history is rubbish as well, and they back it up with a pic of someone presumably in a private purchase jacket.

 

[Jeff M]

If learn of somewhere I can buy a brown one in size 46-48 feel very free to give me a shout.

Butte one option for a new one would be badwolf ...but they call the things Dr who jackets so if you got one of those and some nerd came upto you in the street and asked if it was dr who jacket you would have to be polite and fess up rather than jst tell him to ....well you get the idea.

I have heard good thing and bad about them but a lot of the good comes form people who think wested are the zenith as far as leather tailoring goes.

They also say the design was from a uboat jacket, the issue items had strait yokes not scalloped and were either black for engineering officers and those who were meant to stay below deck and grey for deck officers that would see the light of day while on the surface. So their history is rubbish as well, and they back it up with a pic of someone presumably in a private purchase jacket.

I have experience with the "Bad Wolf " jacket, and would not recommend going that route. Very disappointing. Ended up being "money down the drain" for me.
Rather, I recommend contacting Aero leathers, sending them a photo of the jacket, and asking if they can make that design.
When I sent them a photo of the Kleigsmarine jacket similar to what you are talking about, they said they could make it. It is very similar to their Barnstormer and "Peacoat" designs.

 

[Tony B]

I must admit badwolf was never on my agenda, I always wanted a proper original one but have just had to give up an try doing one myself, anything over a 42 inch chest and you can pretty much forget old originals byt the look of it.

I was going to send any pattern I make up to Will at aero sometime to see if he was interested but one thing I thought might be an issue is the panel size of the front (especially for people like but and me) as these jackets dont have under arm seems so the front panel goes right through to the seems going down the back from where they meet the arm seem behind the shoulder...that could be a big ask for horse quarters.

Jeff what colour are you going to get your you Uboat Jacket in an what sort of time frame did he give you for a non standard design.

 

[Jeff M]

Currently I have no plans to get the jacket. My attention has been diverted to other jacket styles.
If I do I will contact Aero to make it for me.
Last I checked with Amanda, the current waiting period was, I believe, 14-16 weeks. That was about 7 months ago.

 

[Tony B]

This looks like a good honest old jacket with the seller not trying to pass it off as a uboat jacket (which if refreshing)....needless to say if it was my size I wouldn't be posting the details untill the auction was over and hopefully I had got my mits on it.....but one of those in our climat and I would probably die of heatstroke...but with that fur lining it is as near to a WW1 flying jacket as you are going to see I would have thought. I am not saying it is by any means but it is a cracking looking thing if you live somewhere cold enough ot justify it.

http://www.ebay.de/itm/alte-Lederjacke-dreisigern-Kutscherjacke-Fahrerjacke-Kultjacke-/200687589586?pt=Militaria&hash=item2eb9e998d2

 

[Tony B]

YES....I finally got the fella's bank details and got him paid so hopefully this will be landing on my doormat first thing in the new year.......shame it aint a brown though.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/270867038581?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649

Still the tag looks like it was made in september 1962 and it looks pretty much unworrn...god I hope it fits.

If it does I will be getting the tracing and pattern making paper and rulers out to copy it and mod it with all the little period touches that will make it look like an old un and then getting my old knackered looking old brown pull up leather out to make a new/old one.

I was intending to take it apart to copy but I don't think I can bring myself to do it so it will take a lot longer this way, meaning I should have one ready just in time for mid summer if I get my finger out, mind you with the summers we have these days that might not be a bad thing

I was watching the red baron on telly yesterday and the more I see those old WW1 jackets the more I want one.

Regards Tony