James Dean Jacket

[Peacoat]

@Technonut, when I saw your post about the eBay jacket, I said, Damn! too. Then I looked at the listing. That jacket wouldn't fit me, so I didn't miss out on anything.

A friend of mine from back then recently died. He was a big James Dean fan in the early 60s. He had the swooped back hair and a red nylon jacket he said was the same kind that James worn in the movie. Don't remember the brand now, but of course I had to get one as well. Mine has long since been gone,* but I imagine he still had his at the time of his death. He still had the swooped back hair, so why not the jacket?
____________
* When I left for flight school, my parents disposed of a fortune in my collectables. Out went the James Dean jacket worth thousands in today's dollars and my baseball card collection, probably worth several hundred thousand dollars today. Gone, all gone, and I didn't even realize they were gone until years later. Such is the price we pay for being kids.

 

[HoosierDaddy]

http://www.foxnews.com/entertainmen...ebel-without-cause-jacket-up-for-auction.html

 

[Peacoat]

HD you need to buy it and bring it home. Then I would have a very good reason for riding up there to see you, the jacket and the grave. Me and 5,000 other fans! It would be a good time.

 

[Big J]

Technonut has posted an interesting jacket. It's been over a year since I read through this whole thread, but I thought the McGreggor anti-freeze was never made in red with a white lining? Some people claimed that I thought(I could be wrong). I remember one lounger chemical treating a green one to turn it red. On the stove.
So is that a real McGreggor, unaltered from off the rack, and was available all along whilst people said it wasn't? I don't know.

And then Van posts that Berma jacket, which seems to have provenance too. Which kind of leaves us all back at step one and none the wiser; did Dean wear a McGreggor, a Berma, both, neither?

 

[Seb Lucas]

I'd love to hear more about the provenance of this thing. Probably the ultimate movie jacket if it's the real item.

At least one of the movie jackets appears to have a darker greyish lining not white. Not sure if they would dye it to stop it flaring on camera. Of course if, the director's story is true about dipping one of them in black "paint" to dull the sheen then the fleece would have gone grey. On at least one of them. Food for thought

The Antron fleece liner is the same fabric used to make the original Muppets. Can I get a Kermit green lining, please?

 

[robrinay]

Well as you all know I’m not one to gloat but........
I paid £9.99 for this on eBay UK just before Christmas. It’s not as shiny as my re-dye but it’s still nice.

 

[robrinay]

They were sold on Amazon- UK recently but are now out of stock.

 

[Big J]

@Seb Lucas, yes, you're absolutely right. It wasn't that McGregor didn't make a red jacket with white lining, but that the jacket in the movie was red with gray lining. My bad.

Operating a muppet under studio lights must have been pretty hot work!

@robrinay, it was you with the chemicals and the pot on the stove? I remember that looked like it worked out very well indeed!
That jacket from Amazon looks pretty good too. I think the pocket flaps might be missing from the Dean jacket, but that's still pretty good! I just checked in Japan, it can still be found on Rakuten, but only 38 and 40

 

[robrinay]

@Seb Lucas, yes, you're absolutely right. It wasn't that McGregor didn't make a red jacket with white lining, but that the jacket in the movie was red with gray lining. My bad.

Operating a muppet under studio lights must have been pretty hot work!

@robrinay, it was you with the chemicals and the pot on the stove? I remember that looked like it worked out very well indeed!
That jacket from Amazon looks pretty good too. I think the pocket flaps might be missing from the Dean jacket, but that's still pretty good! I just checked in Japan, it can still be found on Rakuten, but only 38 and 40

Yes it was me with the stove dye extraction and re-dye. I had to replace the waist elastic too as it had perished. Regarding the pocket flaps they can be tucked in but you can still still see the popper.

 

[EmergencyIan]

This morning, the CBS early show mentioned the auction of the original (or I guess it’s one of the orginal) jacket. Showed footage of the particular jacket.

- Ian

 

[Peacoat]

This morning, the CBS early show mentioned the auction of the original (or I guess it’s one of the orginal) jacket. Showed footage of the particular jacket.
- Ian

Sure wish I had seen that. Do you remember anything about it, such as color of the lining, the label or anything else of interest. And I wonder how the sellers established the jackets provenance? Was that mentioned?

 

[Technonut]

Sure wish I had seen that. Do you remember anything about it, such as color of the lining, the label or anything else of interest. And I wonder how the sellers established the jackets provenance? Was that mentioned?

I ran across this vid earlier:

https://www.usatoday.com/media/cine...ames-deans-iconic-jacket-goes-up-for-auction/

Screenshots from above vid:

EDIT: Another article of interest discussing documentation:

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/local/palm-beach/fl-pn-james-dean-jacket-auction-20180228-story.html

The garment has a Bud Berma tag sewn into its lining, a cigarette burn on the left sleeve and stitching to take in its elasticized waist to fit the trim Dean.

Scott's documentation includes a 1962 letter from Roberts asking his friend's uncle to donate "the red jacket worn by the late actor James Dean in Rebel Without A Cause" to the Hollywood Museum.

"You have a letter from him asking for the jacket back. I don't know how it can be construed any other way than this is the jacket that came from the set," Baca said.

 

[EmergencyIan]

They did not discuss provenance other than it was worn my James Dean in the movie. I looked closely, but the lining was not visible. The label was not shown.

- Ian

 

[Peacoat]

I ran across this vid earlier:

https://www.usatoday.com/media/cine...ames-deans-iconic-jacket-goes-up-for-auction/

Screenshots from above vid:

View attachment 109277

View attachment 109275

View attachment 109276


EDIT: Another article of interest discussing documentation:

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/local/palm-beach/fl-pn-james-dean-jacket-auction-20180228-story.html

Interesting that the Bud Berma brand is now in the mix. Don't remember hearing about it in relation to the jacket before.

 

[Big J]

@robrinay, yeah, that was some deeply impressive stove and chemistry skills.
As for the Amazon jacket; right color shell, right color lining, right label (maybe!), so I think pocket flaps aren't a big problem. It's 'authentic'. And that leads me to the Berma that Van and Technonut have posted.

@Technonut, the Berma in the link has a white lining, but I thought the movie jacket had a gray lining? This was the reason (I didn't recall) why people didn't want to definitively say the movie jacket was a McGregor.

So maybe that jacket isn't the real thing?

 

[Peacoat]

http://www.foxnews.com/entertainmen...ebel-without-cause-jacket-up-for-auction.html

Well, a couple of things we know from that trailer is there were no pocket flaps on the jacket and there was not much, if any, tuck taken in at the waist. It is a blousy waist. Based on the trailer Van has posted, I say the one up for auction isn't the one seen in the movie. I was going to bid but maybe not so much now.

 

[Seb Lucas]

It is interesting. Over the years I have noticed that several companies of the 1950's period did nylon jackets (red in their range) that looked like the McGregor. I once found a Sears version in red/crimson that looked identical and also had the fleece lining.

Are there any good screen shots of the label and lining we can look at? I tried to find them on this thread but couldn't.

If this jacket has movie connections, it may have been used by a double as a 'close enough' jacket.

 

[l0fielectronic]

Are there any good screen shots of the label and lining we can look at? I tried to find them on this thread but couldn't.

If this jacket has movie connections, it may have been used by a double as a 'close enough' jacket.

They're on page six of this thread, but not very good quality, could certainly be this Bud Berma label as much as anything though.

http://www.thefedoralounge.com/threads/james-dean-jacket.6796/page-6


I see it failed to reach its reserve or the estimate of $400,000 - $600,000 and didn't sell yesterday.
Hardly a surprise given it didn't sell for $250,000 last year I suppose. Wonder where it will show up next.

 

[robrinay]

I’ve looked for the scene on YouTube - where Jim hands Plato his jacket - the ‘give me the gun’ scene, but can’t find one that shows the label and I can’t find my own copy of the dvd - I might buy it to stream so I can look again.
Here’s a pic of the label from my 50’s Antifreeze for comparison with Creebobbys pics on page 6 of this thread.
I’ll bet that ‘somewhere out there’ there’s forensic photo software that would enhance the images from the film and answer the question as to which brand was the jacket in this scene. In my opinion it was a McGregor Antifreeze, based on the images on page 6 of this thread. If the costume department had as is claimed, constructed the jacket then why is there a manufacturers label inside it? I accept that it was usual for several jackets to be used in a film and that they might even have been different brands or made up by the costume department but the scene above proves that he wore a branded jacket at least for that scene.

 

[2jakes]

SIZE
21"l, 19"w (at waist, measured flat); no marked size
DESCRIPTION
The red jacket worn by James Dean is one of a few purchased from Mattsons' Sportswear for Men in Hollywood, California for use in the 1955 film REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE. Darts were hastily sewn into the back to accommodate Dean's smaller frame. Upon completion of filming, the jackets were given as gifts. The following provenance information makes reference to several documents, which are depicted in the listing photos. All are available for inspection in person during the preview period. Provenance: Leon Roberts, Wardrobe Supervisor for Rebel Without A Cause (*1) |1955: Mr. Dambres, California (*2) | Ernest H. Dambres, Florida and New York (*3) |Michael Scott, Hobe Sound, Florida (*4).
The Making of Rebel Without A Cause, Douglas L. Rathgeb,
“Leon Roberts and Henry Field would supervise wardrobe selection for Rebel: largely T-shirts, blue jeans and whatever else costume designer Moss Mabry deemed appropriate.” / Rebel Without a Cause Staff & Cast, 3/26/55: Men’s WDBE. Leon Roberts-7570 ½ DeLongpre Ave., Ho. HO50011. (according to consignor’s notes, “their notes, copy from Warner Brothers archives, came from Julien’s Auctions when they wanted to auction it and visited my house in the 90’s.”)

| *2 - Mr. Dambres was a friend and associate of Leon Roberts, having provided laundry/linen services to Warner Brothers. The jacket was given to Mr. Dambres at the end of filming in 1955. |
*3 - Ernest H. Dambres was given the coat by his uncle Mr. Dambres. Ernest wore the coat for years when he was younger. See 9/6/1962 letter to Ernest from Leon Roberts, in which Roberts writes on behalf of the nonprofit Hollywood Museum of Motion Pictures, requesting that Mr. Dambres donate the jacket to the museum to assist in generating public funds for the benefit of aging motion picture industry workers. Additionally, Mr. Roberts says, “I respectively [sic] request that you would consider donating the red jacket worn by the late actor James Dean in Rebel Without A Cause that I gave to your uncle at the end of shooting back in 1955.”
/ Palm Beach Modern Auctions spoke with a representative at the Hollywood Museum who stated that the Museum of Motion Pictures was planned but never came to fruition, although the Academy is still considering the project. |

*4 - Refer to: copy of handwritten, notarized document 4/1/1989 / Michael Scott was a longtime friend and colleague of Ernest H. Dambres in the field of drafting and design. The two shared a common interest in 1950s automobile culture. Mr. Scott did benefit auto shows for the Boys & Girls Clubs of Palm Beach County and Ernest Dambres offered the use of his jacket for display at the shows. When Mr. Dambres moved up north, he left the jacket with Mr. Scott so that he could continue using it for this purpose. When Ernest Dambres passed away, Michael Scott was notified that the jacket was bequeathed to him in the will. |
*5 - Refer to: copy of correspondence between Michael Scott and Marcus Winslow. Michael Scott also noted that he had shown the jacket to Marcus Winslow, Curator and Executor of the James Dean Estate in Fairmont Indiana.
Mr. Winslow requested that Mr. Scott donate it to the museum there.
Mr. Scott declined at the time, and received a response thanking him for sharing the jacket.
In his handwritten notations, Mr. Scott noted that Mr. Winslow believed it to be the “real deal.”