IRVIN NUTS?...the ULTIMATE thread for those who love 'em!

[Faisalha9159]

Irvin jacket from Aviation leathercraft

I had an Irvin made by Aviation leathercraft in Thruxton, England, and have owned it for a few months now with moderate amounts of wear.

Personally I am more than satisfied with the jacket.....its very thick and very warm, and the guys there managed to measure me up with resulting in me buying one of the best fitting jackets I have owned- not to mention the warmest.

By now it is becoming softer and even more comfie to wear. I am not sure how Aviation leathercraft Irvins fare when it comes to authenticity but to someone who doesn`t know too much about the historical accuracy of such jackets, its still a fantastic buy.

Here`s a few pics...please excuse my poor photography skills - I didn`t realise that a few of these pictures would come out so blurred when I actually uploaded them.....

 

[aswatland]

Aviation Leathercraft bought the rights to the Irvin Air chute label. Their jackets are very warm and solid. They are not authentic and for a similar price you can buy a good original or a first rate repro from Eastman Leather Clothing. For more on Irvins there is a complete Irvin thread on this forum.

 

[Milu]

Looks great.
Is it the regular model or the lightweight?

 

[Faisalha9159]

Thanks a a lot.

This one is the regular heavyweight one, the lightweight ones just didn`t seem thick enough.

I did have a look at some other brands as well like Eastman etc etc, but for some reason this one took my fancy. I also saw a Cirrus one which looked pretty promising. If you look a lot of the pictures of the old Spitfire pilots, you will notice that their Irvins were a hell of a lot thinner than the ones on sale today, so thats at least one difference between the originals and the ones on sale today.

You can also find good deals on ebay- with a lot of originals popping up now and again. Well worth keeping an eye out if you are interested in them.

 

[Milu]

That is definitely going on my wish list!

 

[aswatland]

Thanks a a lot.

This one is the regular heavyweight one, the lightweight ones just didn`t seem thick enough.

I did have a look at some other brands as well like Eastman etc etc, but for some reason this one took my fancy. I also saw a Cirrus one which looked pretty promising. If you look a lot of the pictures of the old Spitfire pilots, you will notice that their Irvins were a hell of a lot thinner than the ones on sale today, so thats at least one difference between the originals and the ones on sale today.

You can also find good deals on ebay- with a lot of originals popping up now and again. Well worth keeping an eye out if you are interested in them.

You are partly correct about the thickness of the sheepskin on modern so called Irvins compared with Wartime originals. Fleeces varied in thickness and there are examples of very thick Wartime Irvins as well as the thinner early war short pile variety. Also many wartime pictures were taken after the jackets had been well worn and the ends of the cuffs would appear thinner than when new. There are also a few mint originals for comparison.

Original Irvins were a lighter brown colour than the darker variety made today by ALC and Cirrus. They did not have pockets, but had Dot or Lightning zips and they certainly did not have "Irvin" stamped on the waist belt. The Irvin thread on the forum has pictures of mint originals for comparison.

 

[Faisalha9159]

Yep all true mate.

 

[aswatland]

Just to give an example of an original from 1941 with a very thick fleece!

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l15/aswatland/1941Irvinc.jpg

 

[PADDY]

Irvin Thread (link here)

IRVIN THREAD.

http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?t=14753&highlight=irvin

 

[Faisalha9159]

That`s definately what I`d call a thick fleece. Nice looking jacket too- in mint condition.

 

[Speedster]

My Aviation Leathercraft IRVIN

Well, i finally got around to take a couple of photos of my IRVIN (by Aviation Leathercraft):

I bought the jacket at their premises at Thruxton Airport back in 1989 after having wanted one since 1979 (that was when i requested my first catalogue from them). Back then that was the closest thing to an original you could get (that was what i thought). I also visited the premises of Cirrus and was not impressed. I did not know of other alternatives at that time.

I have been extremely happy with this jacket and i still am. It has served me well riding motorbikes and driving open top cars (jeeps and sportscars) during wintertime.

There is no question, however, that if was going to buy an IRVIN today, i would go for one from ELC or Aeroleather in order to get a closer replica of the original jackets.

I know that you can get original jacket for around the same money as the replicas (and i would like to own an original one day) but for hard daily wear i would prefer a replica. I would feel bad about using an old irreplacable jacket daily, but would like the original jacket for occacional wear.

 

[silhouette53]

NICE ONE !

Well, i finally got around to take a couple of photos of my IRVIN (by Aviation Leathercraft):

I bought the jacket at their premises at Thruxton Airport back in 1989

I have been extremely happy with this jacket and i still am. It has served me well riding motorbikes and driving open top cars (jeeps and sportscars) during wintertime.

There is no question, however, that if was going to buy an IRVIN today, i would go for one from ELC or Aeroleather in order to get a closer replica of the original jackets.

Setting aside the issue of whether a jacket looks 'authentic' or not, I'd just like to say that your Irvin looks a very nice jacket indeed and its 18 years of use has given it a wonderful 'broken-in' appearance. I picked up an Aviation leathercraft G1 from ebay a couple of years ago for £54 and I have to say that I wear it a lot - mostly for work and walking the dog in cold weather as it is extremely warm and very comfortable. I wouldn't have paid the new price for it ( over £300 ) if I wanted authenticity, but for 54 quid I think I got a bargain. It was in almost new condition but a lot more 'beat up' now !!
Nice jacket ! - don't ever get rid of it

 

[PADDY]

Looks lovely!!

Now if you were to get a NOS Dot zip put in???

The patina is wonderful btw!!!! You got a bargain there, so don't knock it!!

 

[Marv]

I own both an AL Irvin and an ELC Irvin 42 pattern and both are very well made.
For authenticity it has to be the ELC without a doubt but if you were just looking for a good all round everyday jacket then the AL Irvin would do fine plus it's extremely warm.
The only practical downside to the AL Irvin is the overall bulk of the jacket brought on by the thickness of the fleece etc.
I wouldn't by an AL Irvin new not when you can get an ELC Irvin for the same price but you can always get a good cheap second hand AL as their always floating around on the like of ebay.
Speaking of cheap/bargin jackets, managed to secure myself a mint ELC G1 size 46" off ebay for £50 including postage a couple of months ago so was really pleased with that as I was after one but couldn't seem to find an original in my size.

 

[Spitfire]

Nice jacket, Speedster

My AL Irvin has excatly the same story. Back then I also believed that AL were the only ones producing the jackets. I even had a small sidebusiness selling AL IRVINS made to measure to danes way back in the seventies. (That was before the internet!)
If I could convince my wife, that I really, really needed another jacket - besides the 4 A2s and one IRVIN - I would go for a Eastman or Aero today. (BoB model)

 

[aswatland]

ELC make the best repro IMO. Being a historian I would always buy an original Irvin and they cost much the same as the ELC repro. In my experience of handling many Irvins, they are seldom rotted or fragile like many American fleece jackets.

 

[ToineS]

What a wealth of info!!

You all seem to be very knowledgable about Irvins!
Several makers, differences between makers...
Did you gather all this info through buying lots of Irvins, or is there a book, a 'bible' on Irvins?

I know Mick Prodger's books and although the Irvin is featured, it doesn't really help to understand it's history, patterns and makers.

Cheers, Toine

 

[Alan Eardley]

Irvin's

Toine,

Welcome to the Fedora Lounge. I take it you are the Dutch gentleman who posts regularly on the RAF re-enactor's forum?

There isn't a 'bible' on RAF sheepskins flying clothing, and facts are few and suppositions many. There are even those who dare believe that the estimable Mr. Prodger makes a mistake regarding dating an Irvin jacket in his excellent book...but then even he can't know everything.

I don't think I am exaggerating if I say that this forum contains a number of people who are as knowledgeable about the breed as you are likely to find.

Alan

 

[aswatland]

You all seem to be very knowledgable about Irvins!
Several makers, differences between makers...
Did you gather all this info through buying lots of Irvins, or is there a book, a 'bible' on Irvins?

I know Mick Prodger's books and although the Irvin is featured, it doesn't really help to understand it's history, patterns and makers.

Cheers, Toine

Sadly there are no works of reference on Irvin flying jackets. What is known is from handling originals, looking at labels, original photos. It is much easier to date B3s because the labels were machine stitched in (rather than hand tacked in as on mosts Irvins) and the contract numbers contained the date. I am compiling a list of contract nos for Irvins and will search the archives at Kew for the AM contracts to the four known makers, IAC, Wareings, DGL and Robinson and Ensum.

 

[Clyde R.]

Aswatland,

Interesting your comment regarding the durability and longevity of the Irvins versus the US sheepskin. I've noticed the same thing and not knowing much about them wondered why?

Were the Irvins made with a different and/or better quality sheepskin or what is the explanation? Thanks for any insight.